Rusty Dipstick + check engine?
 

The other day I was checking my fluids to find my dipstick is rusty, and for whatever reason sludgey at the bottom where the oil rests. I just did an oil change, and with closer inspection I found the inside of the dipstick tube is rusted to. After checking all of this I started to notice the check engine light would come on and off about 5 minutes after driving and then go away.

I don't think the two issues are related, but I'm not quite sure. Any suggestions?

I would try getting an engine flush and oil refill at a place like avis lube unless you want to do it yourself. Also check your headgasket and make sure coolent isn't getting into the oil.

I checked the oil today. There was white milky fluid. I think I know what that means...

I've been there. Get your engine flushed and try buying a can of gasket sealent and follow the directions exactly. My car ran for over a year with that cheap fix.

You ran it for a year without replacing the head gasket? I do my own work so I'll need to read up on an engine flush.

I'm fairly sure my car has blown a head gasket. The oil has been questionable lately, not long after a change, and the check engine light flickers on and off. Yesterday I spotted some white milky liquid in my oil too, which is a big indicator.

I've done work on my Mercury before but haven't gotten to deep engine work yet. I'm just looking for advice on the best way to do this. Will I be able to replace my head gaskets without raising the engine? What specific components will need to be removed in order to complete this repair such as the air conditioning compressor, power steering pump, etc.

Best Regards,

~Stealthlead

The whole point of using gasket sealent is so you don't have to take anything apart in your engine. I preformed this on a 1997 altima I had. My radiator exploded and I blew a head gasket. First I went to avis lube to get all the milky oil flushed out of my engine. Then I replaced my radiator (which you wont have to do) after I bought a self flushing kit for my entire coolent system. It consists of a t-pipe you splice into your water pump hose so you can connect a garden hose to flush out your cooling system. Then after the flush you add the can of gasket sealent with water to your radiator and run your engine in idle with the heat on for about 30 min to get the sealent in every nook and cranny. After that you drain it, open all ports to your cooling system and let it dry over night. Then flush one more time and fill back up with coolent. I had to replace my thermostat because it sealed it shut but I never had another leak after that. The can cost me about 15 bucks from autozone.

I used to have iffy results with that quick fix sealant stuff. The K&W block seal is the best I've seen. Comes in a bright yellow or orange can. Has reinforcement strands in the mix. It works best for me when I followed the instructions but left the stuff in for 500 miles on a large leak so I just leave it in for 500 miles. You must get all the coolant out of the system because the sodium silicate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_silicate wont always work with any A/F in the system. It covers the entire inside of where it passes with a hard glass layer. On an engine with a minor leak you can just follow the intructions but why mess around. Leave it in for 500 or so miles then do the complete drain & refill with coolant. Sodium silicate is the main ingredient in most of the products out there & in fact can be had at your local pharmacist but the K&W has those nano particles that reinforce large cracks. The stuff needs to get hot [210-220*F] to react properly so I block the airflow accross the radiator & keep a close eye on the temp guage. Aslo I would recomend you remove the thermostat when you flush & do the process. When you're flushing a cooling system with the T-stat installed it is kept closed by the cold water circulating in the system & the block will only get what goes through the small bypass port on the t-stat. I've seen the stuff last a few months up to several years & it's much less expensive than pulling the head/heads & the P/S head on your car is a BOOOOGER!!

I agree with mecka. K&W was what I used too but I couldn't remember the name of it at the time. I heard of driving 500 miles with it to get it really baked into the system but I was too scared it might overheat. Removing the thermostat first is the way to go. Its definitly worth it. If it doesn't work (rare) you only invested like $15 anyway. Just make sure you do a coolent flush first so the kw can stick and doesn't clog your radiator due to rust particles.