Engine oil in coolant

[TheBeagler]

Hi guys,

Has anyone ever found engine oil in the coolant on a 3200gt? My car is having its annual service this week and they've found engine oil in the coolant but no coolant in the engine.....

They've checked the gasket and it's fine, they suspect that in the worst case scenario it has something to do with some cylinder seal or something (sorry I can't remember exactly) which would require a £6k engine rebuild.

Was hoping to see if anyone has any suggestions on what else it might be.

Many thanks,
Henry

 

[TheBeagler]

sorry I meant they didn't find coolant in the engine oil as opposed to the engine full stop!

 

[Maser Sod]

IIRC, 3200's are known to leak a little bit of oil. Mine leaked a very small amount from the rocker cover, but not enough to be a real problem.

The garage will probably suggest that you have the engine rebuild to be on the safe side and to put your mind at rest.

 

[conaero]

Sounds like the cylinder liners base gaskets. As you have oil in the coolant and not the other way round it's subject to compression forcing it. How did they check the head gaskets without removal?

I had to have an engine rebuild (end float) and I removed and refitted the engine myself with David Askew managing the rebuild. Cost me £2.5k so it can be done for a lot less if your handy with the spanners.

 

[Emtee]

IIRC, 3200's are known to leak a little bit of oil. Mine leaked a very small amount from the rocker cover, but not enough to be a real problem.

The garage will probably suggest that you have the engine rebuild to be on the safe side and to put your mind at rest.

Apologies.... temporary thread drift...

Pat! what's the story with the concrete block?

 

[TheBeagler]

Sounds like the cylinder liners base gaskets. As you have oil in the coolant and not the other way round it's subject to compression forcing it. How did they check the head gaskets without removal?

I had to have an engine rebuild (end float) and I removed and refitted the engine myself with David Askew managing the rebuild. Cost me £2.5k so it can be done for a lot less if your handy with the spanners.

They said they did some tests on the head gasket and it passed, I was at work at thef tme so didn't really take everything in but what you said about the cylinder liners sounds familiar! I should hear from them again today so will pay more attention this time.

I'm no good with mechanics or have the time unfortunately.....is this something that has to be done right away or can I wait until some kind of failure??

Many thanks,
Henry

 

[conaero]

Id not consider a rebuild till you have a serious issue. You could pick up a used engine for £2-3k but its risky.

The base liner gaskets are not prone to failure so its a bit of a long shot. Basically the piston moves up and down in a tube or liner. This has the head gasket at the top which is the usual failure point but they also have gaskets at the bottom.

I would have thought if these had gone, then you would have water in the oil as its not subject to compression as its outside the chamber.

Item 1 but the more I think about it, I am less convinced it is this:

 

[Rex B]

Hi

It could be lots of things, the seals on the cylinder liners, cylinder head gasket but not effecting compression or even perhaps something like a turbo. But the only way to find it is to start taking it apart. I think I would agree with Matt, just keep using it and check reguarly that there was no water in oil and that the water looked clean and then perahps change the oil and water at more regular intervals.

Rex B
Manual 3200

 

[Fat Arnie]

Coolant in oil is caused by a HG failure where the compression pressurises the coolant to a pressure greater than the oil pressure. This is the most common type of HGF. Very common on Rover K Series engines.

Oil in the coolant is caused when the oil pressure is greater than the coolant pressure. This occurs a lot in VW PDI diesels.

They are just different types of failure.

In wet liner engines the lower liner seals are unlikely to be the cause as the crank case pressure should not be of the magnitude of the oil feed pressure to the head. So I agree with Conaero.


I'd be interested if there are HCs in the coolant - was the issue discovered doing a hydrocarbon test on the coolant or can you actually see the oil?

Also be aware that if these is a small amount of oil due to a historic HG failure, it will always find its way to the header tank.

 

[rotorheadcase]

Arnie makes a very good point about historic failures. I had a car that blew a head gasket and over 12 months and three coolant flushes later it kept showing oil in the coolant tank. Fortunately there were no other indications and my mechanic was 100% certain that it would eventually clear...which it did.

Neil

 

[conaero]

So I think the advice here is don't do anything major, just keep an eye on it.

Maybe thoroughly flush the collant system and keep an eye on it.

If it persists, remove the heads and have them inspected for cracks, skimmed and refitted.