Oil In Coolant Again :-(

[kidafa]

Hi All,

A bit over a month ago I noticed oil in my coolant, Not much just a tiny bit. Comp tested and two cylinders were down next to eachother and the advice I received was most likely its the head gasket.

Got the head gasket replaced, head machined and tested and new bolts put in..... 4 weeks later and once again theres a very small amount of oil appearing under my radiator cap. I had the radiator flushed out ect after the HG was replaced.....

The mechanic that did the Head gasket change said when he pulled the head of the headgasket visually didnt have any issues. He also told me that there is no factory oil cooler/warmer on my car so it couldnt be that mixing the two.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Cheers,

Chris

[beemae30]

Cracked head/block would be your next bet. Did your mechanic crack test the head while he had it off? Also what caused the oil in coolant, cooked?

Edited September 28, 2011 by beemae30

[kidafa]

Yes the head was crack tested.

Well If i knew what caused it, it wouldnt have happened again

[mad082]

check the oil. it may just be that there was a very small amount of oil left in the cooling system and that is what you are seeing. if you check the oil and it is still fine then you should be ok. if it is going milky then get it checked out

[kidafa]

check the oil. it may just be that there was a very small amount of oil left in the cooling system and that is what you are seeing. if you check the oil and it is still fine then you should be ok. if it is going milky then get it checked out

The oil never got coolant in it last time and I have no traces of it in the oil this time either....

[DVS JEZ]

Is the compression test the same after replacing the headgasket?

[kidafa]

Have not done one yet..... Will get onto that and see what it shows

[kidafa]

What else could be mixing the oil and water if the head gasket and head is fine?

[Moodles2]

^ Oil/water heat exchanger, unless you have an aftermarket oil cooler... the factory oil cooler should still be there (otherwise it would be strange to have no AM cooler with the factory one not there)

[beemae30]

Could be that. Do a teekay test on the coolant and see whether its your headgasket. If the head has no cracks i would be looking at pressure testing the cooling system and seeing whether there is a pressure drop.

[kidafa]

Well according to the mechanic I used (fellow SAU member :-) ) he said there was no factory oil cooler/warmer present on my car and I dont doubt his workmanship at all.

I had a teekay test done on the coolant prior to replacing the HG and it showed no result, but the workshop that did the test still "suspected" it was a HG issue due to the small amount of oil in my coolant and a compression test with the following results:

1. 155 2. 160 3. 135 4. 145. 5. 160 6. 160.

[kidafa]

ANYONE?

[beemae30]

Do a compression test again. Give us the results. Could be a piss poor assembly problem. Bit of rag not letting the head seal properly. Who knows.

[kidafa]

Ok so today I compression tested again so we have readings before and after the head gasket swap. Keeping in mind different compression testers have been used each time and todays tests were with A LOT healthier battery

Todays results:

Cylinder 1 being closest to radiator and 6 closest to firewall:

1. 170 2. 170 3. 162 4. 150 5. 167 6. 165

So cylinder 4 is down. I added a cap of oil and then got a reading of 172

Initial test carried out by mechanic before HG replacement:

No sure which holes they reffered to as 1 and 6 but im assuming its the reverse as what I've done?

1. 155 2. 160 3. 135 4. 145. 5. 160 6. 160.

Where too from here?

[beemae30]

Yeah thats about right. The oil helps the rings seal thus giving better compression. Generally you should do 2 tests, one dry testing the rings then another wet i.e. small amount of oil in the kits. The second test checks whether the valves are seating correctly. I would run another flush through the cooling system and see whether that solves your issue. Is the sludge getting worse/staying the same each time u check your radiator cap/

[YLD-CHLD]

Don't know if this helps but might.

Got an r32gtr(rb26) that started doing the same thing oil in the coolant but no water in the oil,checked HG ,done a compression test all good, done a leak down test all good, done a cooling system leak down test & seemed ok,replaced oil heat exchanger still the same (oil in coolant),had us absolutely baffled.

Then traced the oil circuit in the head & block to see where the oil & water have a close relationship.Going with the assumption that it was a cracked block removed the rocker covers & a headstud just behind the middle headstud on the exh side, when removing found emulsified oil on it.

Then pressurised the cooling system to find it filled up slowly with coolant,cleaned the stud hole out & put a camera down there & inspected the thread to find a crack.

Also on an rb26 the camshaft oil goes around the headstud to lub the camshaft,theres a hole either side of the headstud approx 20mm down the hole & the oil flows around the headstud to get to the other hole then lub the cam.

let me know if this helps or PM me & i can give you my number so we can chat some more about it.

Cheers YLD