some more on the oil froth
 

*Flame suit on* Yeah Yeah I know the froth on the dip stick is normal but damnit I can't check my oil. This is going to be my 3rd winter with the car and i'm well aware of the froth but i've never seen it this damn bad before so i took a pic and here we are. If I remember correctly I usually had to pull the dip stick 2-3 times at most before I could get a good accurate look at the oil level. This pic is after 15+ pulls and checks and still I have no idea what the oil level is actually at. The froth is a lot better than the first few times i checked but is unchanged in the last 7-8 pulls. When I checked the first time the froth was almost completly covering the stick top to bottom. I'm going to assume this is a abnormaly normal amount of froth wadda ya think? Anyone think adding a few ounces of MMO to the oil will help knock it down a bit or is that a bad idea? Had the same results today when trying to check my oil level.

Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 - used the same oil since i've had the car.

Are you checking the oil when the engine is cold?

well yeah but it has been driven a hr or 2 prior. I leave for work at 3 am so getting under the hood is the last thing on my mind. i'm really looking for a way to help knock this down as this car already has enough annoying quirks.

Yeah, that's a bad case and if it obscures the oil level it's a problem. Mazda has a TSB that should take care of it.

I think you'll find if you check it immediately after your 1-2 hour drive while it's still hot, you'll get a lot less foam.

TSB will only be covered if car is under warranty still. Hopefully yours is.

I think you should check your oil at least once after it's been sitting awhile to see how much the froth goes away. Checking the oil doesn't really take longer than a few minutes.

does it smell like coolant? if no then its just froth. get teh new dipstick tube and quit hassling with it

^nah not coolant. It does however have a rather strong fuel smell???? I wonder if it's so bad this year because I can't get the damn engine temp above 170

Here is the TSB for MILKY SUBSTANCE ON OIL LEVEL GAUGE (DIPSTICK)

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...50-06-1664.pdf

^.................thank you for editing that and just providing the link! :)
Damn that was long and drawn out!

dude whats mods are you running--still have vacuum to the crankcase?
if so --then go out and drive the hell out of it. The water then will be gone.
its not just on the stick--its all in the pan also. I know.
you could block the air flow to one oil cooler--to get the temps up some.
It is a pain.
OD

4+ years and I've never seen it hot or cold :dunno:

i have never seen it..

but depending on the op tune.. and i am not sure where he is now.. last time it was silly rich. i mean silly..

to op..

drive the car for at least 20 min.. try to hit redline once or twice after it is warmed up..

then check the dipstick..

i hope you get your stuff worked out.

beers :beer:

Sounds like an good flogging is in order!

Thanks for the TSB that has actually been in my favorites folder since before I purchased the car. As for mods well I have quite a few a have recently purchased a Greddy turbo to be rebuilt by BNR. There is no way in hell I'm taking my car to the STEALERSHIP here. Thank God Mazmart is only an hour away.

OD - last year I asked about blocking one oil cooler and everyone seemed to think that was a bad idea. Do you have new light to shine?

Swoope - currently running on stock ECU no flash installed. *AP*

yes --check the dealership oil pressure thread--and it is becoming apparent that some cars may not be the getting the temps of the oil high enough during the cool months and short trips/open road driving.
A lot are seeing their max oil temps 160-170 during that type of a drive. Thats ok but you need to drive for a lot longer time to boil all the combustion water out.
OD

ahh yes yes my oil WILL NOT go over 160.

You might want to try creating some airflow blocking plate for at least on of the coolers, or use some good 'ol black duct tape.

Otherwise, just let it idle for a while, but make sure oil temps don't go too high.

just for the hell of it and since my ambiet temps are in the 40's, i blocked the drivers side cooler one morning and drove about 10-12 miles in a mixture of open road and city. Mostly open--only about 1 mile in the city with little traffic.
i had about a 10-15 degree higher oil temp--until it got to 180F. It did not get any higher than that. Just regular driving--no spirited stuff.
I really dont like a big difference in temps between the oil and coolant so i will not do this anymore. My coolant was at 150F or so and my oil was at 180F.
When the weather is colder--i am going to have to just drive it harder:)
I can see it now......... " But officer--"I HAVE to keep my oil temperatures up!! "
OD

^HAHA, good idea Denny...I could probably get a little leeway with the spirited driving since I will be starting my new job with my local PD at the 1st of the year. :)

I also blocked my driver oil cooler and got temps of +10 during normal driving. Both oil and water were even with that at 165ish. Then I pushed it up a mountain and saw water of 180 and oil of 200. I'm going to do this again tomorrow and see if the milk is any better.

I8U --Congrats! I was in law enforcement for a few years myself--worked local and with a few federal agencies--its a different world.
od

^.............yeah, but Andy would only give you one bullet! :wavey:

So another day of 200 degree oil produced outstanding results. The froth is almost completly gone. Maybe it's a coincidence I dunno but there was a huge difference in the water and oil temp with the blocked cooler. Water barely got to 180 while the oil was close to 205 at one point. They stay very close till I push it and the oil still cools rapidly as soon as you let out a bit. I'm gonna leave the block in for week and check the dip stick daily then i'll remove the block and see what happens from there.

Will be a very good data point.

It's just amazing me that we've always heard......you gotta keep the temps down, buy oil cooler fans, or larger coolers etc. and now we are raising them!
I know it's all just based on the outside temps effecting it, but you have to admit........now we want it at about what......185 to 210, no more.......no less? :lol2:

some serious irony here as I've got a second oil cooler "kit" boxed ready to be installed... threads like this make me want to put it in the FS section for a lucky "southerner" out there.

no ---higher oil temps are not nearly as critical as high coolant temps. Trouble is i dont think you want a big difference between the coolant and the oil? Like 230F for oil and 180f for coolant?
i just got a used engine oil analysis back and fuel dilution may be a problem.Temps affect that also.
OD