Tan paint? in engine

[SuperTTA]

Hi,
I changed my oil pan gasket today and when I had the pan down I noticed what looked like tan paint in my engine on the rod caps. It looked similar to having sludge on the parts, but it would not wipe off and everything else was clean. Mobil1 all its life.

The rods have SPS fasteners and at first that alarmed me, but the stock rod bolts are SPS...whew. To my knowledge, my engine is the original one and never opened, except for doing the rear main seal.

What could this tan metal staining be?
Did the factory use something when they did machining? At the machine shop where I worked they always used blue or red dichem....
TIA,
James

 

[turbo buicks]

i know that if you blow a head gasket and coolant mixes w/the oil your oil will look like a milkshake. thats why when people ask if they blow a head gasket everyone asks if their oil looks like a milkshake. they also ask if there are bubbles in the coolant resevoir while the engine is running which is another indication of a blown head gasket. you could also try a compression test is another indication of also ive heard if your run w/the PCV valve disconnected you will build up sludge in the crankcase and other parts of the engine over time b/c of the condensation. some people like to run w/o the PCV and some dont. its a big debate and i dont want to get involved in it. all i know is what ive heard from other forum members so i would say check your head gasket and PCV valve.

 

[TurboDave]

Must be something they do at the factory during engine assembly. I have the original engine out of my 86, and torn apart. The rod caps on it also have tan painted stripes on each rod cap. That engine came out with 120,000 on it, and never had a lick of trouble, still running perfect when I pulled it.

 

[SuperTTA]

Thanks Dave for the confirmation.
It looked strange to me, but as with GM, you never know what they are going to do.
It is funny, I would of never known it was there, but when I had someone else do my rear main seal, the oil pan has leaked ever since. Hopefully, now the pan won't leak.

Turbobuicks...it doesn't have a blown headgasket, I just said the staining looked like it. When I wiped the clean oil off of it, it looked more like dichem.
No sludge.....synthetic rules.

Later,
James

 

[turbo buicks]

sorry, i realized what you said after i posted my message but i forgot to delete it