Oil in coolant 02 S60 2.4T

JWHunterinTN · Post by **JWHunterinTN** » 04 Apr 2012, 20:18

I have a 2002 S60 2.4T and we just noticed a very small amount of oil residue in the coolant box? About a year ago we had a small head gasket leak with a very small amount of coolant leaking into #5 cylinder after the car was turned off. Relieving the pressure I presume. We treated with the product "steel seal" and it cured the problem and it has been running great. Couold the two be connected?? One person has said a cracked head is the fault. One has said it is possibly a pressurized oil line that runs through the head. The posts on this site make me think about the radiator..............confused. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. The car is running great, and we just noticed this today.

Post by **precopster** » 05 Apr 2012, 06:25

Soak up the oil with a rag and smear this oil on your best concrete driveway. If it leaves a stain it is most likely engine oil. If the stain is very light it is most likely trans oil. There are so many pathways where oil and coolant can mix it's probably best to find out what type of oil you have and take it from there. With any luck the Steel Seal is still working and this is not related.

Alternatively you can have the sample analysed.

Keep us posted

Post by **fazool** » 05 Apr 2012, 07:02

Egads! The nightmare and the shakes just started!

One of my worst-ever car experiences began that way. Fortunately for you, yours is a Volvo so you won't suffer the same fate. But its worth mentioning.

That damnable car developed a warped head, leading to a coolant leak. This led to repeated and multiple coil and ignition failures. I got screwed by the now-closed Pontiac dealer, 29 repair visits in 3 years which never qualified under the lemon law. Repairs that weren't covered fully under warranty, etc.

Anyway, I used Silver Solder (Steel Seal) which then got sucked into the cylinder and migrated to the plug threads and actually welded my plug to my block. Long painful story. Just wanted to share.

Like Precopster said, there are so many places the fluids could be getting exchanged. You need to find out more about the location of the leak. It could be a head gasket (but that usually leads to sucking coolant into the cylinder not blowing oil into the coolant), it could be in the radiator if you have an integrated transmission or oil cooler, it could be a crack somewhere wicking oil into the cooling jacket passages, etc, etc.

If I was able to put my bad experience out of my mind and think objectively (which I cant when this topic comes up) I would think the greatest suspicion being near the radiator.

How did you find a small amount of coolant in cyl#5 after the engine was off? How did you seal that? Steel Seal is not good for gasket repair. Did coolant migrate into your oil system from there?

I might suggest a coolant flush and refill. You don't know if the residue was old or new. Then check your compression and watch for more contamination.

Check your oil for signs of water. Check your tranny for signs of water. Try to figure out what type of residue is in your coolant.

JWHunterinTN · Post by **JWHunterinTN** » 05 Apr 2012, 08:16

Will do a little more research and post back. No coolant in oil (that I can tell) will check tranny. We flushed the coolant several times during and after the steel seal and it was clean as a whistle. I check all of our vehicles about twice a month and the coolant has always been clean until yesterday. We have parked it for now just in case. Thanks for the direction to pursue, be back soon with more info.....lol.

draser · Post by **draser** » 06 Apr 2012, 10:50

And of course you can run a compression test, just to take the worst out of the equation.

JWHunterinTN · Post by **JWHunterinTN** » 20 Apr 2012, 16:57

OK, have a bit more info now. Compression is good in all cylinders, no major issues and all seem to be ok. Oil residue in coolant box seems (pretty darned sure) to be oil not tranny fluid. Sorry for the delay, have been on the road and back home now.

Post by **jblackburn** » 20 Apr 2012, 21:35

Look the the oil cooler on the back of the oil pan. Both coolant and oil run through it and it has let the two mix.

Post by **jimmy57** » 20 Apr 2012, 22:36

I agree on oil cooler as your likely suspect. Take the coolant hoses off the cooler and join them to each other. You can get a 5/8 inch hose splice at an automotive store.
Now drive the car 20 minutes and check for oil coming out of one or both coolant nipples on cooler.

Automatic dishwasher soap (Cascade) is the best at getting oil out of cooling system. Add a 1/2 cup and then fill with water, run the car for 1/2 hour at a fast idle. Then drain and flush repeatedly with water then fill with coolant water mix.

JWHunterinTN · Post by **JWHunterinTN** » 22 Apr 2012, 05:52

Thanks for the info guys!! So, if the nipples leak oil when the coolant lines are spliced together off the cooler that indicates the cooler needs to be replaced??

Will try to do that today!!

And Blackburn.........l;ove the tagline!! Have a farm and will work on almost anything once, and seem to live that mantra....lol!! Give me a chevy v8 or just abour any tractor or piece of equipment and I am good. Volvo is mama's car and she loves it so I had to learn (never ending process) how to work on it. Thanks again for the insight, will post back with the results.

Jeffrie

JWHunterinTN · Post by **JWHunterinTN** » 10 May 2012, 11:04

Newsflash: Disconnected and bypassed the oil cooler, car ran pretty good. Drove to town and back and found no evidence of oil on either nipple. Went ahead and drained and began "cleaning" system with water and a half cup detergent. Was at minute 28 or 30 and loss of oil pressure message flashed. Shut her down. Oil is thin and it retreates or separates on the dipstick.

This takes me back to thinkning it is a leaking head gasket. Would that account for all the symptoms?

Jeffrie