1998 V70 Base | 370K KM | sparkplug, distributor, and potential head gasket log | Topic is solved

[yanga001]

Hi Everyone,

Going to do some minor work on the weekend in terms of replacing plugs and the cap and rotor.

The reason for the separate thread is due to the potential for there to have been a head gasket leak.

I have a pinhole in the radiator which is slated for spring to be replaced and recently i had a bit of goop build up on the radiator cap and a small sheen of oil on the surface of the resovoir. I am not losing oil any faster then i had before, and cleaned the idle air control valve as i used to have an issue with really rough idles after start. The engine runs fine now and seems to have issues a bit at random.

I am hoping the cap and rotor will fix it as the old cap looks very old. The car runs great otherwise, little to no rust and the engine feels good. Transmission feels good.

Now the reasons to suggest a potential head gasket leak are the following:
-oil droplets, black in appearance are visible in the coolant reservoir
-a cream coloured buildup is visible on the cap, i thought it might be a contaminant
-some steam on startup although right now it is winter and to be expected


Reasons to suggest against one:
-car is running rich and it does not smell like coolant
-oil is a colour closer to amber and not milky
-transmission fluid is not milky, closer to amber colour
-the rate of loss is not significant for coolant and matches the pinhole in the radiator
-engine has never overheated or run out of coolant while i have driven it over the past 2 years
-oil and transmission fluids never were milky before, during, or after running. For oil i checked the fill cap along with the dipstick
-coolant flush may have introduced contaminants in prior, i tried to flush the system and the coolant remains green, no foam within the coolant before or after running
-coolant reservoir is cracked and a pcv hose came loose at one point pushing gasses into the engine compartment.

Next Steps:
-replace coolant reservoir as needed
-compression test with the spark plugs out
-inspect the plugs to see if they are clean or dirty
-oil change to check for coolant leak
-transmission drain and fill to check for fluid

I was planning on doing a head gasket replacement for knowledge purposes on a parts car. Hoping i do not need to expedite it.

Suspension on this car was just done, i have a spare headliner, front fenders, hood, and a trailer hitch to put on.

Fingers crossed and hoping for the best at this point.

[erikv11]

On a 98, the oil cooler is in the radiator and these have been known to go bad and leak oil into the coolant. Maybe move up the rad exchange to sooner? Given all of the info you outlined I would suspect the rad first.

It is hard to tell this rad/oil cooler issue from a one-way head gasket leak. However if there was no incident of engine overheating etc then it is extremely unlike the head gasket is spontaneously bad with such low mileage (kilometerage).

oops - wrong ^^^

failure to read thread title (NA vehicle)

[foggydogg]

Would an NA have an oil cooler ? I thought those cars used the blank off plate.
If the transmission cooler was compromised, it could obviously leak into the water side - I've seen that happen on old Chevys -but I don't know how common that is in our cars.

[bmdubya1198]

Would an NA have an oil cooler ? I thought those cars used the blank off plate.
If the transmission cooler was compromised, it could obviously leak into the water side - I've seen that happen on old Chevys -but I don't know how common that is in our cars.

Correct, this car should not have an oil cooler.
Transmission/coolant mix has happened on these cars before, but it's not SUPER common.

I would start by flushing the coolant, given that you don't have any other significant symptoms. However, it's worth noting that there isn't another place in these engines that coolant and oil can mix. Maybe on some off chance some oil got in there while you were checking fluids at some point, or even when that PCV hose came apart. I would be prepared to do the head gasket job, but it's worth flushing the cooling system just to see what happens. $20 in coolant wouldn't be too much of a loss compared to the cost of HG replacement parts.
I would recommend replacing the radiator sooner rather than later, as a small coolant leak can turn into a huge coolant leak pretty quickly. That's the one thing I don't mess around with when it comes to leaks.

[yanga001]

Life finds a way to delay all projects...

Took a survey of the coolant on hot and cold and noted that the volume of oil in the coolant has not increased nor has the oil or tranny fluid taken on any liquids.

The car had another rough start period but goes through km's with a smooth ride.

Heres hoping that the stars align and i can do the maintenance tonight.

[yanga001]

Update:

Rotor and distributor cap were toasted, contacts had buildups and were worn out. The car starts a lot better and idles smoother. I might save the sparks for another 30k km before swapping them out as the fuel economy and idle is much better. I checked the coolant and no additional oil in the coolant. I am thinking i used a dirty funnel at one point and dumped some old oil into the system. The colour of the oil does not match up with the tranny fluid nor oil i have had in the vehicle over the last 80 k km. Fingers crossed and hoping for the best.
Thanks for the suggestion everyone!

[yanga001]

Update:

I think i have a slight headgasket leak. Smelled exhaust in the coolant reservoir. Hoping to get to it in spring or summer but the leak is minor and it does not look like it flooded into the oil nor transmission fluid.

Hoping its not living on borrowed time, or at least has enough left to last till summer.

[bmdubya1198]

Keep an eye on it, but you should be alright driving normally for a little while. I would definitely prepare for the job, though.