Hey dude ... :-)
>So, I thought I'd check my oil in the '95 tonight, and found a nasty surprise:
>Questions: what might have caused this, can I prevent it from happening
>again, or am I going to need something repaired soon?
Hard to say if there are anything lumpy or wiggling on the dipstick :-)
The dark stuff was most likely caused from the rich condition that you had
because of the failed O2 sensor and the partly stuck opened 180F tstat.
I don't recall how long you were running with that rich though.
Probably water is mixed in there as well from condensation from sitting or
making frequent short trips without the engine reaching operating temps.
We know that it wasn't reaching close to op. temp. because of the tstat
and it was sitting for a spell when the two of you made your Christmas
trip :-(
Just as an example of how much condensation can build up from sitting.
When Jon put a weep hole into the new muffler, he said that a good 3
tablespoons of water came out just after 2-4 min. of idling. And the new
muffler had been sitting in the box in the barn since late Nov. or early Dec.!
Get the oil and filter change done. Then I would monitor the dipstick
and probably do another change within a month. I would also consider
going to full synthetic and getting the pcv valve changed if it hasn't been
done recently.
I didn't notice anything usual coming out of your exhaust pipe when
we convoyed to Angel's, umm Jon's, but Jim was between us and
all I saw most of the time was Jim weaving back and forth in his lane :-P
BTW, I commend you for having the courage of putting those pics
up on the web for all to see :-) :-)
Bob
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