oil in coolant

meteor428

Registered User
I asked about a week ago and no one has answered. I was getting oil in the coolant along with loosing coolant. After doing some investigating and flushing it out ,adding some bars leak it appears to have helped. There is some black residue in the coolant tank now but not much. It still doesn't seem to be quite right. If this is a head gasket problem where would the oil be at the gasket. Just wondering. This thing runs good and it doesn't smoke. I was wondering if a cracked oil cooler may be the problem. One more thing-while idling air bubbles can be seen in the plastic overflow tank. it has a new cap even went to Ford and got it. thanks DAVID
 
This is not a good thing. 3.8s are prone to HG failure because of the engine design. Try to see if the rad is bubbling as well while the car is idling, if so, then your HG may be gone or going. Also check the oil to see if there's any moisture or coolant mixed in the oil. Overheating, high back pressure, and detonation are the main causes of damaging the HG because there's very little spce between the cylinder walls and the water jacket which the HG trys to keep separated. Detonation burns the gasket, overheating & high back pressure warps the head and creates a gap and all will allow the fluids to mix and then you're faced with replacing the HG which can cost you. Ford replaced lots of them under warranty but I think you're on your own now. Good luck
 
You can start your car up when cold with the radiator cap off. Let it run and during warm up watch the antifreeze in your radiator. When the thermostat opens and you notice movement, look for bubbles. The residue you see could be the Bars Leaks. Its good stuff but I think it may leave a residue in the over flow. You can also have a shop do a sniffer to your antifreeze for combustion products. Good luck.
 
well-i guessed pretty much on the money-but the help here is a good thing to look at and know help is just a few clicks away. also the oil that was like honey and stp mixed went away after my first barsleak treatment has not returned-only the black residue.. and yes it does bubble and gurgle when warming up without the cap on.also the heat gauge isn't exact. the oil cap has a smalll amount of moisture but that has just started. i still was wondering how coolant gets into the oil and vise-versa? is there a passage at the head that allows this when the hg goes? Thanks a bunch David Hager
 
Usually when an HG blows, it lets coolant into the combustion chamber, from there it can get into the oil. The coolant can also pick up oil from there or in the intake from the oil mist let in by the PCV (When my HG's blew on my NA V6 we had coolant in the TB). A lot of strange things can happen when your HG fails.
 
If you have bubbles you want to fix this before you drive it much more. At anytime you may get a bunch of antifreeze in your oil. That will age your main bearings and rod bearings to the point they are toast. If its high milage you may be better off rebuilding anyway, if budget allows.
 
The short answer is that a section of the gasket between an oil hole and a coolant hole is missing so the 2 fluids mix with each other. The link below will answer any question you could ever have & more about head gaskets all you have to do is read up on them specially if you are going to replace them. good luck

Why your head gaskets failed
 
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