We got my grandma's car in our possession recently, said she has no interest in driving and she's not in the best shape to drive anymore anyway. Well the oil has been changed pretty regularly in the past few years. However my dad suggested today I change it and put new plugs and wires in it cause we're trying to do every basic thing we can to get it running a little better.

Well, I drained the oil, and I was surprised. It looks 100% identicle to chocolate milk. The kind that you can get at wal mart in the gallon jug? The real thick stuff? Looks no different than that.

What in the world could of caused the oil to do that? I'm certainly not a mechanic, but I can do basic things to cars, such as the oil change and plug changing. Any input?

I did change the oil and the filter. And we'll be running the car as often as possible for the next week or two and continuously check the oil to see if it starts changing back into the chocolate milk looking stuff.

See the car bounced around a bit. I had the oil changed at jiffy lube twice when she still had it in her possession. Then my uncle took the car for a while and drove it. He too changed the oil, and he just recently rebuilt a 68 Camaro SS so it's not like he's not sure what the hell he's doing. Then we get the car a month later, and it's been driven for about 2 days a week for the last 3 months, and now it's all chocolatey. Kind of strange.

What is the make, model, and year of the car? But if the oil comes out as chocolate milk it sounds like there is rust inside the engine or something is wrong with the fuel line into the engine.

1996 Chevy Corsica, 72,000 original miles, 3.1L V6, all driven locally by my grandfather until he passed in 03. Since then my grandma drove it a few times (few as in, a dozen) in the last three years. Since we've had the car in our possession for the last few months, it's been driven on and off a bit, just enough to keep the engine rolling without it sitting for long periods of time.

I wish I had the knowledge to work on cars. Right now, my truck has a flat tire. Such a hassle.

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Jim Colyer wrote Save The Planet.