Causes of Oil in expansion bottle

Hi peeps, thought I had head gasket problem, so my mate did a sniff test on my truck last night which showed no combustion leak, the fluid in the tester stayed blue, so what other possible causes would it be? My mate was thinking if it would be the oil cooler is leaking oil into the coolant. How likely would that be? Thx

Is it Oil? I mean, you say it is but sometimes there is a rainbow in things like this when there's nothing to worry about.

What were the tests looking for? Oil or exhaust gasses?

If it were mine, I would probably empty the bottle, give it the cleaning of its life and refit it with some clean water in to see what appears. Alternately refit with nothing in and see what appears.

I hope it's not your case wilc, but there are times when the gasket fails when water can migrate into the oil, or vice versa, without there being a combustion leak.

As Rich has suggested above, but have a look on the dipstick to see if there is any trace of water. Have you lost any coolant lately?

Also have a look at the underside of the oil filler cap to see if there's any "mayonnaise" or emulsified oil/water creamy stuff.

Probably all fuss over nothing, but best to have a look.

As per Clive's post with a small caveat, i.e. the mayonnaise. It is true that head gaskets can fail across water/oil ways, engine runs fine and no combustion gases. But beware, oil often gets into the cooling system but not the other way around. If the gasket is just starting to go then oil gets into the water paths due to the high pressure perhaps 60+ psi but, when you switch off the oil pressure drops to zero and the cooling system remains pressurised but at a mere 13 -14 psi? This lower pressure may not have enough 'oomph' to get across the leak into the oil gallery. Of course failure is not a case of if but when.

You can purchase a product that you pour into the radiator, it gathers up the oil and then you flush it out, along with the expansion tank. Replace with antifreeze and keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

regards

Dave

Yep, point taken.

The mayonnaise stage generally comes later when the head or block has cracked

I've had mayonnaise through short runs heating the engine and cooling it without getting it warm long enough on the Smart. Gained quite a bit of water in the oil over one winter. [emoji33][emoji33] Also had mayonnaise in a Rover 216 which turned out to be head gasket.

Just a shot in the dark but might it be worth putting a torque spanner on the head bolts to see if any nip up a little ?

StarCruiser said:

I've had mayonnaise through short runs heating the engine and cooling it without getting it warm long enough on the Smart.

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I used to see that on the older OHV Fords, condensation forms on the rocker cover and starts to gel with the oil. I have actually lifted the cover on an old Fiesta, it was like lifting the bucket of your favourite sand castle, bar the movement of the rockers it was the shape of the cover. Only reason I got called out was because the lady could not get oil to go into the engine! Fords redesigned the covers with two layers of steel but it did not seem to help.

regards

Dave

so sorry for late reply, its oil + sludge, not copious amount but enough to float and stick to the rubber tube in the expansion bottle, theres also mayonnaise under the rad cap, bottle drained, washed, refilled, then oil sludge comes back in about a wk time to accumulate, since i noticed this problem i drained engine oil in a big pan, no sign at all of oil/coolant mix, just pure old engine oil. nothing on dip stick showing coolant.

the kit my mate used was one of those u put blue colour solution into the tube and place over the rad top filler hole to check for gas leak, which just stayed blue (not turning yellow), my truck hasnt overheated or lost power at all. actually it goes better after the Terraclean treatment. she leaks oil to mark her territory everywhere she goes so i top her up small amount twice a month, not really losing much coolant but level does go down max about an inch from the top mark on the expansion bottle, i only need to top it once or twice a month, just small amount needed. shes a 96 has done just over 180k with first gen single point LPG.

Losing about 1 inch water level
, and topping it up, once or twice a month, does not sound promising at all.

I dont think Land Cruises are renowned for using water.

In the 7 years I had my 120 series, I dont ever remember putting water in, so good the coolant system

Is your LC an auto with trans oil cooler built into the rad? If it is it could be ATF contaminating the coolant.

yea about an inch in the bottle, not in the rad, which is not a huge amount, but still, it has never boiled over, never overheated and the temp gauge seems sensitive before i changed the faulty fan clutch, temp goes up to 3/4 when i rev her high on motorway with power mode on, and temp stays half way all the way now with the replaced fan clutch, yea its an auto possibly with the oil cooler built in the rad but im not sure ill have a look when im off this wk, i thought most anto 4x4 i had they all have ATF cooler built in with rad, what am i actually looking for tho without dissembling everything?!?! lol sorry im only a nurse, not a competent car mechanic sorry.

thanks to Jeremy hunt, i dont think ill be able to afford a decent LC1xx model this year lol

Further to Towpack's post, if you look at the transmission dipstick the fluid should be a clean and red in colour, very dark red heading towards brown means it could do with the a drain and flush. If the fluid is pinkie white with the appearance of milk of magnesia then Towpack has nailed it, the oil cooler in the trans has cross contaminated with the coolant.

regards

Dave

Do the 80s share the rad or have a separate Trans oil cooler?

Wilc, with your engine stone cold start her up and allow to tick over for no more than 20/30 seconds, then switch off.

Then pop the bonnet, and release the rad cap. If there is ANY pressure there at all then you have a fairly major problem.

The symptoms you are describing are exactly what I was getting a few years ago.... but mine is a diesel.

StarCruiser said:

Do the 80s share the rad or have a separate Trans oil cooler?

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They share the same rad.

Hmmm, I wonder if that could be the cause of my ATF level rising……[emoji22]

Wilc doesn't strike me as the type that enjoys pulling things apart so dare i suggest he pops down to halfords and gets transmission leak stop and coolant leak stop , i know the magic fix is frowned upon but i bought a new seal for my front diff and not having time to replace it before the Romania trip i stuck some leak stop in there and left on a wing and a prayer . 5000 miles later its still bone dry .

If the transmission fluid is rising and is contaminated then I would for testing purposes, disconnect the transmission cooler lines and join them together. No cooler at this time of the year and without towing will not cause any issues. Flush out the cooling system using the treatment to clean out oil. I would get the water out of the oil pretty quick as well before it gets damaged. Run it a few days and see if the coolant is contaminated again.

regards

Dave