Hi Folks...

I got a bit sidetracked there by all the MI5 posts.

I had thought head gasket because of the thick, milk chocolate gunk on
the dipstick with no clean oil showing.

One of the benefits of working in a well tooled shop is the
availability of almost anything. I set one of the brighter
apprentices, our only female tech, up to do a thorough leak down test
on each cylinder then check for exhaust gas in the coolant using the
5gas machine. Drained the oil, found it clear. Drained the coolant
using the recycler, found it weak but not contaminated. Put Jessica to
work tracking down the cause. After a couple of hours digging into it
she brought out the dipstick tube which had a three inch split at the
bottom end. The car is parked outside in a perpetually damp Oregon
spot leading me to conclude that outside humidity was the culprit.

Thanks for all your advice on the head removal. I kinda feel like a
kid who has been warned to to run with scissors.

If you ever need advice on International trucks or Citroen DS stuff
just let me kinow.

Regards