what is causing this help

 

you need a new valve cover. also, check if you are loosing antifreeze. that color isnt too good.

 

It's losing antifreeze also

 

shoot...the head gasket could be toasted

 

I was kinda thinking it was something like that. It acts like it wants to die when your going down the road almost like it's out of gas but it's got a full tank

 

can you do a compression test to see what are the numbers? Also verify that you do not have external coolant leak but the thermostat housing or the water pump so we can narrow down the place. also, take the spark plugs out and see how they look, wet, dry, white, black...etc

 

Every now and then I've noted a little leak of antifreeze and it has a oil leak some were you can see burnt oil.

 

That is the PCV hose and it is not uncommon to see that same look in a catch can's contents....mainly oil with trapped water vapor mixed in.

Does it look like that if you take the oil fill cap off and look down in there (the cap itself likely looks like that, but it can be 'normal' there)

Granted if the HG is toast then you are getting all that crap frothed up and sucked through the PCV, intercooler, ect. I would assume you see smoke out the exhaust.

 

The oil cap is clean and when you look down in the motor it's look normal. I hasn't seen any smoke

 

That's good. Check the coolant and see if there's oil in it. If not, that would also be good.

OH - pull the dipstick after you have run the engine for a few minutes and see if the oil is greyish and frothy. No = good news. Yes = water in the oil, bad news.

Do that compression test, both wet and dry. Let us know the numbers.

 

May very well just be that PCV hose acting like a catch can...water vapor building up in that area due to temp / short trips / ect. Eventually it basically burns away / gunks up your intake and intercooler.

 

No oil in the antifreeze and the oil looks good

 

Could the spark plugs be why it runs like crap

 

Of course it could be....but what are the symptoms? 8/10 peoples PVC hoses could look like that but who-knows. Have you replaced the plugs ever? Usually the plugs alone never cause crap running....they just get worse and worse along with gas mileage from not burning efficiently. Now a gunky MAF sensor or the like can cause problems....