I pulled the oil dipstick on a vehicle I just bought and the oil was the color of cappucino with water droplets in it. What is the likely problem?
by 
Spanky
ANSWERS: 2
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You/ve got water in the oil. This can corrdoe the engine, and destroy the oils ability to lubricate causing terminal seizure if not sorted out. Do not use or even start the vehicle save for a compression test ( below). Check for a gasket leak on the head, coolant may be getting into the engine there. Have a mechanic look at it, or if you know how, check the coolant level, the head gasket, and drain the oil and put in new. Do a compression test, following the guidelines. If you get one or two cylinders with readings wildly out of line and lower than the others, this can indicate head gasket failure. Another possibility is a spark plug is loose, and water is getting in the engine that way. That is less severe, Tighten all spark plugs correctly and change oil.
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if you JUST bought the car,and it was from a dealership, most states now have a lemon law. meaning that if it broke down in under a certain amount of time the lot is required to take the car back and return your money. I dont know much about engines, but I had a car with a broken head gasket, and I know that if you try to drive the car even a short distance, it can warp the heads and cost more to fix than the car is worth. the only sign I had that there was anything wrong with it was that there was water in the oil, and it overheated one day. don't drive the car until you have fixed the problem. I sugest trying to return the car, and get one that is more reliable.
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