S90 1997 Oil mixed with water

[SnineT]

Check this first, does the car have an intercooler that runs both oil and water channels? if it does it might not be the engine but the intercooler itself has ruptured inside but only allowing oil to get into the water, I had a Vectra that did this and I thought head gasket, if you dip the oil is it sludged or clean still? if it's clean like the filler cap is I would get that checked first,

FWIW, being dad's car etc I wouldn't scrap it either, you now have a niche car that's going into the Muscle car realms, it's not a muscle car but like how a 69 Challenger would've been 10 a penny back in 74 and nobody would give it a glance you now have a whats that! car that in that condition can only get more desirable, dare to be different

[Roblaw57]

Originally Posted by griston64

That works out at £17.85 per month over fourteen years. Assuming the car was paid for fourteen years ago that's pretty cheap motoring. I'm pretty certain most of my neighbours will have shelled out close to 50k over that same period to try and impress people they don't know in their Audi's and BMW's on PCP schemes

Thanks Stan…got the mechanic coming today to try another flush through then decide what course of action comes next.

[Roblaw57]

Originally Posted by SnineT

Check this first, does the car have an intercooler that runs both oil and water channels? if it does it might not be the engine but the intercooler itself has ruptured inside but only allowing oil to get into the water, I had a Vectra that did this and I thought head gasket, if you dip the oil is it sludged or clean still? if it's clean like the filler cap is I would get that checked first,

FWIW, being dad's car etc I wouldn't scrap it either, you now have a niche car that's going into the Muscle car realms, it's not a muscle car but like how a 69 Challenger would've been 10 a penny back in 74 and nobody would give it a glance you now have a whats that! car that in that condition can only get more desirable, dare to be different

Thanks for your comment. We changed the oil cooler first, along with the thermostat, but it still mixed the oil & water together. Going to try another flush through today, then see after if I take it further

[Dippydog]

If the oil has mixed with the coolant it can take half a dozen or more flushes[depends how badly it's mixed]to clear it.Use some laundry liquid in with the water and run the engine for a while to help clear it.Not saying this will cure the original problem but it will help clear the "sludge" out.

[SnineT]

Originally Posted by Roblaw57

Thanks for your comment. We changed the oil cooler first, along with the thermostat, but it still mixed the oil & water together. Going to try another flush through today, then see after if I take it further

As I remember it the coolant bottle never recovered it had a greyish tint to it forevermore afterwards,

What's crucial is what's on the dipstick, if that's milky it's time to take the head off and look for cracks, if it's still black you could still have an expired engine but worth looking for other things before pulling it apart,

You need to get your spanner specialist to pressure test the system tbh, forget sniff testing it as anti freeze carries hydro carbons anyway and gives false positives,

On the upside the water pump bearings will be loving the extra lube right now

[Roblaw57]

Originally Posted by SnineT

As I remember it the coolant bottle never recovered it had a greyish tint to it forevermore afterwards,

What's crucial is what's on the dipstick, if that's milky it's time to take the head off and look for cracks, if it's still black you could still have an expired engine but worth looking for other things before pulling it apart,

You need to get your spanner specialist to pressure test the system tbh, forget sniff testing it as anti freeze carries hydro carbons anyway and gives false positives,

On the upside the water pump bearings will be loving the extra lube right now

Thanks for yr reply. The dipstick is still black, as is the oil cap. Tried flushing through twice now. Noticed the oil level has dropped down to the minimum. How do you go about pressure testing it? My mobile mechanic is a little bit sketchy on certain things and I seem to be suggesting things to him, rather than him to me…..

[SnineT]

Originally Posted by Roblaw57

Thanks for yr reply. The dipstick is still black, as is the oil cap. Tried flushing through twice now. Noticed the oil level has dropped down to the minimum. How do you go about pressure testing it? My mobile mechanic is a little bit sketchy on certain things and I seem to be suggesting things to him, rather than him to me…..

You need a vacuum kit that simply screws onto the coolant bottle and then pumps air into the system which then either maintains a pressure or drops pressure, if it drops pressure you have a leak somewhere and then if it's visible you can see it around the engine, if not it's internal, they're called Block Testers.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078RJT1...dDbGljaz10cnVl

Don't confuse it with a sniff tester, the sniff tester will simply fail you as the mixed oil residue in the rad header tank will be full of hydrocarbons which is what the test is designed to test for.

[richmac]

Hi,

I had oil in the coolant paired with a coolant leak 30k miles ago. On recommendation, I very sceptically put a can of 'K Seal' into the system. All leaks and cross contamination stopped very quickly as advertised and haven't returned. It might be worth giving it a try as a stop gap/ severity assessment for £10.

Best regards,

Rich.