Have you ever checked your motor oil and found a milky substance on your dipstick? If so, that’s a sign of internal oil leaks. If you find coolant mixed with oil, you need to act quickly as it can cause serious damage to your engine.
Ignoring this problem for an extended period may damage your entire engine system. Hence, as soon you notice coolant in Oil, you should make an immediate repair or seek professional help.
In this article, we will discuss at length coolant in oil symptoms and how to fix it.
How do I know if there is coolant in Oil?
Motor oil mixing coolant indicates head gasket or engine failure. When antifreeze mixes with motor oil, it reduces the oil viscosity and lubricating power. This causes a loss of power. And with no power in the lubrication, the engine suffers.
There are a few things to keep in mind that indicate water in engine oil Symptoms
Coolant Loss: If you notice drops of antifreeze but there are no signs above with the exhaust pipe or on the ground, odds are the antifreeze is headed to the oil crankcase. .
So, if you notice frequently drops of antifreeze, you should inspect for leaks. If you don’t find any coolant leak, check the oil level whether oil is heading to the crankcase.
Sweet smell: when you notice a leak without any drooping around on the ground, or any visual on your engine bay, your coolant has probably missed its passageway to the oil pan. An antifreeze oil has a sweet smell.
Another way you can tell if you have antifreeze and oil mixtures is by dropping your dipstick and whisking it. Even a small amount of coolant in oil will give a sweet smell.
Milky Color: When antifreeze first find its way into the oil pan, it’ll leave an orange, red, green or even brown fluid in the crankcase depending on what coolant your vehicle utilizes. But that’s at the initial stage, with time and the engine running, the two will mix.
And the engine will become one gummed up. That indicates a wasted engine. So, when you drop your dipstick and you find a milky Color, that tells you there is coolant-oil mixture.
Note: there is normal coolant loss when you don’t have to bother about when you notice a coolant loss once in a while
What causes coolant in the oil?
There are a number of different things to take into consideration – in regards to what causes coolant in crankcase. Let’s take a look at the causes one by one
#1. A cracked head or blown head gasket.
The most common place for coolants to enter your crankcase is a cracked cylinder head or blown head gasket.
If you have a bad head gasket you will notice your exhaust pipe smoking. Usually a white smoke. If you have no other symptoms but a coolant and oil mixture then you have other areas where it might be coming from.
#2. Oil Cooler.
Another area that is not very common but indeed possible is your oil Cooler.
An oil Cooler that is made to accommodate both oil and coolant is designed to have a compartment separate and could have small cracks internally that is causing the problem you are having.
If your oil cooler fails you will get oil in your Coolant but not coolant in your Oil.
#3. Leaky Gasket Head.
This is a gasket that is located between the cylinder head and engine block to prevent water (antifreeze) from mixing with the motor oil.
When you have a blown head cylinder gasket, or it begins to leak, it will eventually mix Coolant with the engine oil, which could cause Overheating.
Oil and coolant mixture is another symptom of a blown head gasket which needs to be replaced. You can get a head gasket tester kit from any local shop around you or online and see if that is your problem.
If the tester kit shows you have a damaged gasket, unless you are a mechanical engineer with experience in the field, you may want to contact a professional mechanic to assist you in carrying out the replacement.
This involves removing the timing and the head cylinder first before you can access the head gasket to replace it. The average replacement cost of the head gasket is $1000.
#4. Overheating.
If your engine is overheating, it can lead to a damaged head gasket which could be the reason your antifreeze and motor oil are mixing in the engine.
Once you have a damaged head gasket brought about by an overheating engine, it’ll allow your motor oil and coolant to pass the wrong pathways.
#5. Damaged Engine Block.
A damaged engine block could possibly be leaking oil mixed with antifreeze. That’s the least that can happen since engine blocks are tough.
If you a damaged engine block, your best bet is to replace it. You can get an engine block from an online or local scrap yard to rebuild your engine so it can function well again.
How to fix coolant in Oil?
Depending on what you think is the problem, you can face it or seek help from a professional. The cause could be from engine Overheating, leaky head gasket, or oil cooler. The most common is leaky head gasket.
So, if you are asking how do to fix coolant mixing with engine oil if the problem was a leaky heady gasket, you have two options.
You can either let a mechanic help you pull off the head gasket and replace it and the other damages that it must have done inside, or you can try putting a steel sealant in the radiator and have it done the fix all the way.
If you don’t have enough money to pull off the head gasket and replace it, you can go for the second option because fixing a head gasket leak could be pretty expensive depending on your car model.
However, the second option would be just a temporary fix. if you choose to go with the steel seals, I will show you how to do it correctly.
To begin with, you want to have a clean coolant in the radiator. If your coolant is dirty, you have to flush it out and pour a new one. Then you want to take out the two bolts in the thermostat housing and remove the thermostat.
Then, bolt the thermostat housing without the thermostat in it. With the thermostat out, the sealant will flow well and have better chance to seal the leak.
You may want to take off the spark plug coils and loosen the spark plugs. if you find coolant on any of the spark plugs, it shows that coolant is leaking in that same cylinder. This trick has been working for me for years now.
If you find coolant in any of the spark plugs, you will have to tighten other spark plugs and leave that one open. You may have to unplug that cylinder injector so it doesn’t fire.
- Grab the steel seals and pour them into the radiator and start up the car. It will be making a lot of noise because there is no spark in the hole.
- Let the engine be idling for about say, 30 minutes to let the sealant do its work.
- If you are done after about 30 minutes, Shut off the car.
- Let the engine cool down for about say, 30 minutes, and then repeat this process 3-4 times and when you’re finally done.
- Let it dry overnight without the spark in the hole.
- Don’t forget to put back the thermostat.
The next morning, put your spark back in the hole and tighten it. Now you want to run the car without accelerating it much to let the sealant get a better chance to circulation very well. And that is it.
Unfortunately, some gaskets holes are too big for the sealant to work. But in many cases, this is the best first option. Bringing the engine down is an expensive job.
FAQs.
Q: What happens if you put coolant in Oil?
What if you spill coolant in oil or they mix for some reason? If they do and you leave matters, your engine oil will not only lose its viscosity and lubricating power, but it will also overheat. You may as well kiss your engine bye.
If you notice coolant mixes with oil, turn off your engine and investigate the cause or call your mechanic to properly diagnose the cause.
Q: Can you drive car with oil in Coolant?
Coolant and oil do not mingle; they have separate compartments in your engine. Taking your car for a drive with a mix of both can result in serious issues, which will be costly either fixing the damage or replacing the engine altogether.
Q: What does oil look like with blown head gasket?
As you comprehend by now, oil and coolant, cannot pass through the same route. They have different compartments if you like cool or space.
When coolant finds its way to the crankcase (regardless of the coolant color), the motor oil will change color in no time. Dip in and pull your dipstick and you’ll see a milky color. That’s one of the coolants in oil symptoms;
Q: Can a bad water pump cause coolant in Oil?
Water pumps are meant to pump water through radiator, water hose, engine, and entire cooling system.
A bad water pump cannot cause coolant mixing with oil. The Cooling and oil mixture is caused by a broken radiator causing Coolant mixes in oil or by a blown head gasket.
Q: How bad is oil in Coolant?
Whether you find coolant in oil but no oil in coolant, or just find out from observation that it is oil in cool, then it tells you some engine compartment problems.
You have to ascertain the cause of this and fix it in no time or risk catastrophic engine.
Final word
Finding out that coolant is in the oil is known doubt disheartening, but it’s not the end of the world. Just know that it should be something that’ll hurt your wallet for over $1,000, depending on the extent of the problem.
If it’s the case from the oil cooler, it’s an easy fix, and even if you’re a DIY person you can fix it without needing to contact a mechanic.
If the diagnosis shows that it’s the head gaskets that are the problem, then you can try a steel seal first, using the information above – if it fails, you have to contact a mechanic to pull off the head cylinder and change the head gaskets.
I hope you have found this information on how to fix it should you ever find yourself in this situation.