oil in coolant

skysoljah · Post by **skysoljah** » 03 Mar 2011, 22:17

I need some help figuring this one out, my car was running fine and no significant loss in power also no smoke coming out of the exhaust during normal operation, I noticed a coffee colored sludge in the coolant tank, the car never overheated but the coolant level did drop due to a leaking hose. I never got the coolant light and know that it works when i started flushing the system. I also noticed the spark plugs were normal and a quick peek at the top of the pistons shows a uniform color consistency. I dont have any noticeable discoloration on the oil when I drained it. I did remember going downhill for 3 miles and saw a puff of smoke when I got to the bottom of the hill. Any input?

Post by **jimmy57** » 03 Mar 2011, 22:21

There is an oil cooler on the back of your oil pan. Pull off the coolant hoses and tie them together. You can get a 5/8 inch hose coupler at an auto supply store for joining them.
Drive it with the hoses off and see if oil comes out of one of the fittings. The cooler can leak and allow oil into coolant with no problem with engine itself.

skysoljah · Post by **skysoljah** » 03 Mar 2011, 22:48

thanks, I will try that this weekend, and post the results

skysoljah · Post by **skysoljah** » 07 Mar 2011, 20:50

Not the oil cooler,I just got residual coolant from it. Can the turbo cause this? I just want to look at all the possibilities before I yank the head. I forgot to add that my gas mileage was also going down, went from 22 to 18.6 on 7 tank fill-up with identical driving conditions.

Post by **jblackburn** » 07 Mar 2011, 21:52

Before you pull it apart, try a combustion gases test on the coolant system. That will let you know for sure. You should be able to pick up a tester at any auto parts store.

If it was the turbo leaking, you'd notice verrrryyyy heavy smoke from the exhaust.

Post by **jimmy57** » 07 Mar 2011, 21:59

you have coolant and oil in the same place on watercooled turbos but I have never seen oil get into coolant via turbo. How long did you run car with coolant hoses disconnected from oil cooler?
Any I have seen that leaked would only leak after I ran the engine for a several minutes at 2000 rpm or higher so the cooler gets warm and the oil pressure is high.

skysoljah · Post by **skysoljah** » 07 Mar 2011, 22:55

I drove the car around(short distances) since I have cleaning solution in the cooling system to get some of the crud out, the cars temperarue was normal and I also noticed a reduction in the "coffee cream" on the tank, after I changed the oil which was over due, I also put a heavier than usual oil 10W 40. I'm researching the procedure for the head removal and would appreciate if there are links to do this. I have done 4 in my lifetime but not on a volvo.

Post by **PCars** » 07 Mar 2011, 23:52

Take care when removing/installing the valve cover. Can be a bit of a challenge to line up the cams correctly.