dear lord,why me?

hey guys. do not want to make a long sob story here,but my friends are tired of me whining, and i know you guys care.(i hope) so long story short,got divorced this january, lost my house,lost my company, lost my 2007 wrangler,lost every thing,going through a depression. all i got left is a shippy little 2 room apt,and my old faithfull 85 amc xj gm v6.
just checked the oil,and all looked good on the dipstick,got penzzoil 5w30 in it,and honestly, i like this oil.seems to be doing a good job so far.now i opened the cover on the rocker arm to add some bardhalls stop leak and anti smoke(was not smoking but figured what the hell) and i almost crapped my pants when i saw the inside of the oil cap! it was jam packed with the dreaded prestone/oil milkshake mix. f! i then stuck my finger inside the rocker arm cover hole(that burned my finger)and dug around.the only thing i could find was black oil,even on the rocker arms.so what do you guys think? oh also my prestone is nice,and i am not missing any,engine does not overheat,no power loss(yes i searched here first for info)no white smoke.yesterday, i was being stupid(beer and anti depressants dont mix apparently) and decided to go through a 1 foot deep of water and ice chunks, stopped in the middle,(4x4 not working) and spun out my tires in it(very nice smoke show!)for about a half an hour before some guy came and helped me out! so anyway, when i got home i checked out to see if i had any damage. when i opened the hood, there were water splashes all over the place,even on the underside of the hood,gave it a good soaking i did! i figured f it, at least i washed the motor!it was then i noticed that the engine oil dipstick had been sticking out a good 3 inches.so long story short, could water have gotten in by the dipstick and created the milkshake?or is it time for head gasket job?(p.s i was spinning it out a 6 rpm or so)i do not really have the money for this,or a garage,and it is my daily driver.god mylife is hell right now.sorry bout the long post,but i hope you guys can help me with this problem.oh another thing,if worse comes to worse,the dealer were i got my wrangler from said that even if i have declared bankruptcy(which i have),he would accept me for a compass or a patriot are these jeeps good? dont want to sell out,but i do not really have a choice for now. thank you guys, have a happy easter,and embrace every moment you spend with your familly,they might not always be there!(first easter alone,gonna go cry now) thanks
dave

If you sprayed the engine bay that badly, and the dipstick was sticking loose, it's entirely possible that water got down the tube. Not highly likely, but certainly possible.

Sorry to hear about your divorce. I've not been through one personally (I've told my wife that if she ever gets tired of me to kill me in my sleep - it would be a kindness...) but I've been in the middle of a couple of acrimonious splits, so I know what they can be like. I always hate to see a marriage go "Foom!"

Change your oil, don't use the "Stop Leak" crap (it often causes more trouble than it cures...) and you might want to switch to something better than Pennzoil - I'll usually use Castrol or Valvoline. Pennzoil has a high concentration of paraffin (wax,) and can sludge up rather badly. I've even seen a couple of engines where there was so much sludge in the sump that I pulled the plug and nothing came out. Crawled out and asked the owners how often they had the oil change - they said every 3K. Then: "You use Pennzoil, right?" In every case, the answer was "Yes, why?" I'd then show them the drain plug in my hand, and the engine still reading Full on the dipstick. Then, I'd take a screwdriver down and punch a hole in the sludge.

You couldn't pay me enough to use the stuff. I wouldn't use it in a two-stroke engine at gunpoint.

wow! the world famous 5-90! thank you for the kind words,and thanks for the advice. going to go change the oil tomorrow,and darn it will not be penzz going in there!

Sorry to hear!! Change the oil and filter. Keep an eye on it and if no problems good to go. Lay off the wheeln for a bit till you get back on your feet.

Don't use a Fram filter.

whats wrong with fram?

they are cheaply made and the filter elements tend to clog easy and break

Oh and i had a Liberty as a Rental once and that 3.7L V6 aint that bad. I really liked driving it. Compass looks too much like a damn car/van. Patriots look nice though. And soory to hear about your divorce. but either way happy easter. I drive the Commander as my DD till i get my cherokee up and running and absolutly love it also.

not mechanical advice,but I once felt the same and now have custody of 3 kids-it can be done,all is not lost.hang in it will get better.but walk for more beer in the meantime. waking up to some guy asking if he can have your breakfast tray is worse than water in the oil.good luck.

xtp45lc said:

not mechanical advice,but I once felt the same and now have custody of 3 kids-it can be done,all is not lost.hang in it will get better.but walk for more beer in the meantime. waking up to some guy asking if he can have your breakfast tray is worse than water in the oil.good luck.

Click to expand...

thanks for the kind words of encouragement, happy easter

Dave, sorry to hear about your hard times. Keep your chin up. I can't match your story but after 6 surgeries and two more to go, I'll agree that sometimes life can beat you up a bit. The only positive thing about being laid up is more time to spend on forum I guess. Silver lining to everything right??

X2 on changing the oil, then just keep a close eye on it. Monitor the color, consistency and level of the oil and keep a close eye on your coolant too. Real short trips can lead to a buildup of moisture in the oil too; don't know if this applies to your driving habits. If this symptom continues, you may want to get some testing done. A cooling system pressure check and a leakdown test are two tests that can provide some valuable information.

Hang in there.....better times ahead.

There is a test kit you can buy (called a block tester ) from Carquest or Napa that will test for a blown head gasket. It "sniffs" your coolant and detects exhaust gases in it. I used to own a Supra and am well versed in OMGWTFBHG.

As for your life situation I can relate. 2 years ago my wife of 10 years basically walked away from our relationship. I went into a pretty deep depression, drank heavily, and made some poor decisions. Im glad to say that Im now sober, finally got the right combination of meds, stopped the money hemoraging I was doing, and managed to find at least a stable safe life, for now. I sold my 500+ hp "arrest me red" supra and ended up getting my now current 90 renix 4x4. I quite happy slowing things down and finding the ocassional "quiet time" in my life.

If you give things some time you will find that nothing is SO important that you need to do something rash, or worse, something permanent. Sometimes just knowing that somewhere out there others know what you are going through can be enough.

Take care man!

I feel your pain. Second Easter divorced. First without the children. I did get to see the children for one hour this morning but its just not like spending the day with them. We've been back and forth and it sucks. We are pretty much done now and it really sucks for the children. I work alot around holidays and don't get to see them much then, but alot during the summer. I went through the same phase your in now. I can't say it gets easier but you just get used to it. I have a 4 year old son and 6 year old girl. They are what I concentrate on. I just go to work and try and be the best dad possible. They like jeepn in the woods so I get to work on my jeep in the few moments of spare time I have. It keeps my mind occupied and keeps me busy. It all works out in the end somehow and I have a nice old jeep to have fun in. Good Luck Happy Easter All good things come to those who wait:sad1:

start here:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=921500
if that doesnt put up a smile, im not sure what will

ps- the 242 (4.0l) is close relative to the AMC 258 and 232. strong engines, not hurt by a little water

Hang in there bro, you always have us, stay in touch and take each day as it comes. I suggest you read the book Sole Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. Puts things in perspective and helps you appreciate what you have. Take care and keep us in your life, we're good for you.

been there done that
i got the jeep, the doublewide with polyester curtains and a redwood deck
she took the rest
last 5yrs freedom PRICELESS

Q:Why are divorces so expensive?
A: Because they're WORTH it!!!

Keep the faith!!! eace: