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        General >> Problems >> Oil in Coolant.... HELP!!!
        
(Message started by: Seans_Dad on Sep 2^nd, 2008, 8:47pm)

Title: Oil in Coolant.... HELP!!!
Post by Seans_Dad on Sep 2^nd, 2008, 8:47pm

Driving back home on Sunday afternoon, my car started doing strange things.
There was a loud hissing type noise coming from under the bonnet, and the temp gauge went down to COLD!!
When I got home, I popped the bonnet, to find the noise coming from the expansion tank, and the top radiator hose was bulging so much I thought it would burst. I switched off the engine, and gradually released the expansion tank filler cap, and what came gushing out was a horrible slimey brown sludge. As the pressure was released, the top hose returned to normal.
The expansion tank was full of this sludge, so I decided to drain and flush the whole cooling system. The sludge was everywhere, both top & bottom radiator hoses where blocked, the thermostat housing too, and the radiator was full of it. It took an hour & a half to fully flush it all out with a hose pipe. I must have collected half a bucket of the stuff.
My thoughts were drawing towards a broken head gasket, and my heart was sinking too. I checked the engine oil dipstick, and the oil was as it should be, and not a hint of any sludge. So to my mind, water was not getting into the oil, only oil in the coolant. I couldn't understand it.
Anyway, I re-fitted everything, replaced the thermostat with a new one, re-filled the system with coolant, started it up, and took it for a run. All was well, the temp went up to the middle of the gauge as it should do once warmed up, and the engine pulled nicely too. When I got back, I checked to make sure the cooling fans cut in and out properly( with a/c switched off), which they did without fault. I then opened the filler cap on the expansion tank, and found.....................more brown sludge!!!! I checked all around the head for any signs of oil or water seepage which would indicate a blown h/gasket, but found NOTHING!
There is no water leaks from any of the pipes or radiator, so I was now completely foxed by this.

Anyway, today I asked our HGV mechanic to have a quick glance at it, and he has said that it is probably the OIL COOLER that has given up, and is letting oil into the cooling system, which eventually sludges up, and blocks the system, which then causes the very hot running of the engine.

The questions I want to ask, is, is there an oil cooler fitted to the 2.3 auto, where is it, is it easily fixable, and could it be by-passed in any way to confirm my symptoms??? Also, is the oil engine oil, or transmission oil??

I apologise for the long-winded post, but I wanted to give as much info as possible, and your help would be gratefully received.

Thanks all.

Dan.

Title: Re: Oil in Coolant.... HELP!!!
Post by Highlander on Sep 2^nd, 2008, 8:58pm

Pretty sure you have either a head gasket failure or a cracked head :-/

You're showing the exact symptoms Scorpio_man had with his 2.3 with a cracked head

Title: Re: Oil in Coolant.... HELP!!!
Post by gozz on Sep 2^nd, 2008, 10:03pm

There is a little oil cooler in the radiator for the transmission,but the coolant pressure is higher than the cooler, which circulates the oil at very low pressure.A leak in that, usually results in coolant in the transmission oil.
Highlander is most probably right.
GOZZ.

Title: Re: Oil in Coolant.... HELP!!!
Post by Seans_Dad on Sep 2^nd, 2008, 10:26pm

Hi Highlander & Gozz.

Thanks for your replies, even though they have probably confirmed the fears I had in the back of my mind!!

It is not looking too good TBH, as I need a reliable estate car to carry my dog in and tow my caravan, so I think I may have come to the end of the line with my Scorpio. It's a shame, because it's a big, comfortable, and useful car.

Think I'll go and sulk quietly in a corner now!!

Sob! Sob! ;D ;D

Dan.

Title: Re: Oil in Coolant.... HELP!!!
Post by Highlander on Sep 2^nd, 2008, 10:29pm

it may just be a head gasket, though the heads are prone to cracking between the rear two cylinders

Title: Re: Oil in Coolant.... HELP!!!
Post by Snoopy on Sep 3^rd, 2008, 7:53am

It could be the oil cooler in the radiator ... Check the Auto box fluid .. see if that has altered. If so then there is the cause of the oil in the water.... But it does sound like the head gasket ....

Check the auto box oil when its HOT and then that should help tie down where the problem is ....

Title: Re: Oil in Coolant.... HELP!!!
Post by scorpio_man on Sep 3^rd, 2008, 9:16pm

hi there

yep, i think it's a goner. :(

sounds like the head has pitted and the oil way (right next to where the head bolt goes through the head) is pumping oil into the water, hence the pressure.

get the water out of all the pipes quickly as the oil will rot the rubber hoses and they'll never hold again.

if it is the head, it might be cheaper to get a new car (as i've found out! :'()