oil actually pouring out exhaust - Diesel Forum

farnereinar · 09-03-2009, 01:05 AM

my friends 5.4 started smoking white at first, now its running horrible and there is black sludgy oil coming out of the exhaust...dripping

is this a sign of a head gasket or broken piston..etc? the motor sounds ok, no nasty slapping or knocking, just running rough

where would the oil be coming from?

thanks!

ckanderson · 09-30-2009, 01:05 PM

blown head gasket.

chuckster57 · 09-30-2009, 01:26 PM

Black sludge? when the head gasket goes there may be some coolant in the exhaust. If it is dripping then it shouldn't be sludgey. It will appear black as it dissolves some carbon build up. Look at the oil fill for white frothing, Good indicator. In cooler weather the exhaust will normally have water (condensation) dripping from the tail pipe as the exhaust system warms up. Compression test would be in order here. If the head gasket has failed, then it needs to be addressed soon as the cat will fail if too much water is run through it.

akrewat · 10-01-2009, 07:57 AM

Sounds like the oil feed for the overhead cam is leaking into a cylinder.