Mid-life crisis!

[Phil Robson]

Does the alpha have a coolant fed oil cooler at all it could be possible that the oil cooler has an internal brake allowing oil and coolant to mix, just a thought

Not to my knowledge

 

[GRTV8]

When I had my BW35 totally rebuilt, the engineer who did the job suggested we bypass the original integrated oil cooler with a larger type which we attached to the front of the radiator. My temp gauge did drop a few points on a long drive. Unfortunatley I didnt take a pic of the process, but similar to this pic and not many $s

 

[Phil Robson]

This was the state of the radiator cap yesterday, after quite a few 'spirited' miles since the sludge was seen:



...although this was the oil filler cap:



There doesn't seem to be any evidence in the oil itself:



and the oil pressure & coolant temperature gauges are where they should be

 

[sdibbers]

I have a VW golf that would generate a lot of condensation if left to a couple of weeks. Took a good few cycles of starting up driving and cooling down before the mayonnaise abated.

 

[cobraboy]

Pull the cam cover and have a look.

Also you could pull off the breather pipe to the air filter and see if that is full of mayo.

Does the rad stay cool until the stat opens, or does the rad get hot straight away on a cold start ?

Do you think the stat is working properly and controlling the coolant temp properly ?

If the coolant is not getting properly hot then condensation in the engine could present as cloudy oil.

Still looking on the bright side

 

[Lewis Stephens]

Mid Life crisis ? Yes I had one car wise when I decided in 1997 to sell my 1976 Spainish Olive P6B in ' as new' condition for a 1985 Series 3 Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign in BRG. It was a good example of the model but bloody expensive to service. The clear coat started to peel off, so I did a bare metal respray. The Jag was a great looker and never let me down, but to be honest was a slug around town compared to the P6B. The fuel consumption of the XJ made my P6B look like a Toyota Prius. I sold it in 2001. Fond memories but no regret in selling it. For most of my working life I also had a company car, you know the usual fleet car suspects. I remember in 1994 my employer said we could choose any Australian built car. So I chose an Australian Ford Capri, a 2 door convertible with a Mazda engine. The car itself was okay, notwithstanding a dodgy manual fold down roof. My love affair with open top motoring quickly dissipated when, with the hood down, i was caught in a traffic jam on a Melbourne freeway heading down to Rosebud, a local seaside town. The problem was it was 38 C and by the time I arrived in Rosebud I resembled a Lobster with heat stroke. Soon after I sold the Capri and went back to a boring old Camry.

 

[Phil Robson]

Also you could pull off the breather pipe to the air filter and see if that is full of mayo.

It's not looking good, plus the car is more difficult to start than usual. I think it's time to bite the bullet!

 

[cobraboy]

I am slightly ahead of you. The incurable rattle has led to another strip down of my 1750 motor, I have gone for new pistons and liners as the originals were out of spec.
The whole bottom end is away at the machine shop being balanced in an attempt to make things sweeter and smoother.
I would say race you to the finish, but everything is taking so long to get done.
Flywheel ring gear was mashed, fitted a new one but now cannot locate a starter pinion gear.

I hope your surfaces are OK and it all goes together well.