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Creamy oil --> need advice

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2026 1:24 pm
by Glenpointe
My friend’s 2009 Vibe GT had coolant mixed with the oil, and the oil looked very creamy. A shop diagnosed it as a blown head gasket.

Today, I removed the cylinder head and inspected everything carefully. The head looks perfect, the gasket appears like new, and overall everything looks great. I’ve inspected both the block and the head multiple times and can’t find any visible damage or obvious failure points.

Where could the coolant be entering the oil passages? Any advice would be appreciated.

Re: Creamy oil --> need advice

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2026 4:05 am
by andrewclaus
Moisture can enter the crankcase via piston rings as well. It's not necessarily coolant--it could be water vapor from combustion. At least that's what I heard about a half a century ago.

Re: Creamy oil --> need advice

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2026 5:57 am
by joatmon
I only recently heard about a problem in some of the 1ZZ engines used in the 03-08 Vibes where coolant could get in the timing cover from the water pump ( viewtopic.php?t=49467 ), but have no idea if such a thing is possible in the 09's engines

Re: Creamy oil --> need advice

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2026 2:26 pm
by jolt
It this point, you can take the cylinder head to a automotive machine shop and have the surface checked to see if it is flat. If not, get the head surfaced. Next is to do the same thing with the block surface - is it flat? It should be true to within 0.004" in all directions. If the head is wrapped, you need to find out way it wrapped. The most common cause is over heating the engine. You can also have the cylinder head pressure tested to check for cracks or leaks.

Replace all head bolts, with the new head gasket, as bolts are torque to yield and should not re-used.

As joatmon said, the water pump passages through the timing cover. If the gasket between the timing cover and block leaks, it can leak inside to let coolant into the crankcase too.

Short drives will build condensation in the engine oil. Add that to not changing the engine oil often, can lead to water in the oil. Long drives of at least 20 miles or more will heat the oil and burn off the water condensation so you will not see the white creamy deposits in the engine crankcase. You will see this more so in the north over the winter. If the oil has had coolant (anti-freeze) in it , expect bearing damage too. Anti-freeze eats up engine bearings and this will depend on how long it was driven this way. Oil pressure check would help determine the bearings condition.

I would have changed the oil and filter first, and then see how long it takes for the oil to get contaminated. I change my oil every 6 month, not by mileage because of short drives. If I go longer then that, I will start to see creamy deposits around the oil filler cap (not creamy oil as that is to far gone at that point). Changing out the PCV valve can also help as the vacuum that this helps regulate in the crankcase can help remove water vapor from the crankcase. Since you leave little information in your post about the history or where this car is, it is hard to say. Look over that head gasket with a magnifying glass, and the surface's too.