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Coolant in oil! Headgasket blown what kind of damage will it cause?

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I am having a problem with coolant getting into the oil so I am going to assume the headgasket is blown which blows. My oil is starting to get a greenish tint to it and I keep having to top off the radiator. So what kind of damage am I going to be doing if I keep driving the truck as it is? This is my DD as of right now since my car is down at least until next week and it sucks because we are suppose to be getting a lot of snow this weekend into next week. :ahhh:I hate to drive the truck as it is but I really do not have a choice. Sometimes I wonder why I bought this truck as it is causing me more trouble than good so far. All I have done is worked on it ughh! :banghead:

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If coolant and oil are mixing I would not drive it any longer... The coolant in the oil will eventually damage all the bearings. I highly suggest you just park the truck.

Park it and drain the oil and coolant, don't want the coolant to set in the engines crank case either as it will etch the bearings. I would change the oil and run it for a few minutes and then drain the coolant and let it set unti you can fix it.

The gasket is around 100 bucks.We could talk you through the job.It is not hard just takes time.Mine went smooth.Step one is getting baggies and a marker.Just label everything and put it back in it's place.The head is over 100 lbs so a cherry picker is handy.A few beefy friends would also help.Turn your windshield wipers on and stop them with the key when they are all the way up.This will help you get the 5 and 6 push rods out of the cowl.Pop off the rubber grommets to get them out.You have a fuel return line on the back of the head.I have been through this and did mine solo.So you can to.I will admit i searched how to do it for a long time before i started.It went well.

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Not what I need to hear :banghead: I cant get my car fixed until next week since I am waiting on the part and I have nothing else. I am not even sure how long it has been bad for. When I got the truck back in July I noticed the coolant was low in the radiator so I topped it all off and had not even looked at it again until 5 days ago when I went to change out all the coolant and noticed the radiator was low but yet the overflow bottle was still full but never had any overheating issues, so I did not assume any problems and I have not changed the oil since than either since I barely have 5k on the oil but I was wanting to change the oil but guess more the reason now. So it really is no telling how long the gasket has been blown because if the radiator was low than and it has been 6 months since than and I have been driving it and the only reason I am noticing it now is because I changed out the coolant and have been adding little bits of coolant the past few days as I suspected air bubbles but apparently not :doh:Yea I think I can replace the head gasket. I just need the time to be able to do it. It is suppose to be cold here the next few weeks and the truck is too tall to fit in the garage so guess it will be under the carport work. Do I need to take the head in and get it resurfaced? Do I also have to remove the VP44 too?You said the gasket is around $100 but do I need other gaskets too? Like manifold and stuff? Isn't there a complete upper build gasket kit from Cummins? I think it is like $200? I am not sure just thought I remember seeing it somewhere.

No sane person will recommend running with oil contamination. Not once but twice bought cars (unknowingly) with a blown head gasket. In the first case, didn't think anything of it when I discovered the radiator cap was on but not fully locked, preventing the coolant from building pressure. (I had the head gasket replaced.) The guy was a farmer... knew it was bad but wasn't concerned since he'd "solved" it.In the second case, I found the cooling fan was jumpered to run all the time... kept the engine very cold (no heat) and prevented overheating which is probably how the head gasket blew. I had a rebuild installed but it was not a good job & we ended up trading it. When I went to the garage the seller used, the mechanic would not talk to me... the guy had known & stuck me.Best wishes,Russ

wow that really sucks man im sorry to hear that! but i know the feeling about working on my truck ever since i bought it, it sucks alot and the money sucks even worse!!!:banghead::banghead::banghead:

Is there a milky looking goo under the oil fill cap? also if it had sat the coolant would have settled to the bottom so when you pulled the drain plug it should have been water draining before oil.If both looked ok then look at the right front corner of the head to block "behind the alternator" and see if there is a coolant trail running down the right front of the block, this is where they tend to start seeping externally. Also check to see if the tranny oil looks ok and the level isn't too high as oil coolers can go bad and cause coolant to leak into either the engine or the tranny via the coolers. Let the drained oil set for a while and see if it has seperated oil from coolant, the coolant will be at the bottom as oil floats on water.

  • Author

Is there a milky looking goo under the oil fill cap? also if it had sat the coolant would have settled to the bottom so when you pulled the drain plug it should have been water draining before oil.If both looked ok then look at the right front corner of the head to block "behind the alternator" and see if there is a coolant trail running down the right front of the block, this is where they tend to start seeping externally. Also check to see if the tranny oil looks ok and the level isn't too high as oil coolers can go bad and cause coolant to leak into either the engine or the tranny via the coolers. Let the drained oil set for a while and see if it has seperated oil from coolant, the coolant will be at the bottom as oil floats on water.

Well as soon as I pulled the drain plug is was just black, I did not notice anything. I had let the truck sit all night and just pulled the plug this morning. The drain plug had oil on it too. As far as the cap goes, There was a film of oil on it that was black with greenish tint I guess you would say. I would not say it was extremely thick and the truck had sat all night about 9 hours in 35 degree weather, so I am sure that would make the oil a bit thicker. Also I am not sure if it makes an difference but I am using Rotella 15-40 oil. But I will check the tranny and see how it looks tomorrow. I already poured the oil into a oil jug but I guess if it sits long enough it will separate, and I could I guess pour the oil back into the pan and see if I notice anything or pour it into a clear container and let it sit. I had been looking on the block and I never have noticed anything that stands out as coolant. What are some ways to make sure the head gasket is blown? Is there any other tests? If it is not leaking externally.

With the oil plug out use a coolant system pressure tester and pump up the coolant system with pressure around 15 lbs and let it sit and keep pumping it up if it drains down and do this for up to a couple hours and see if any coolant comes out of the drain plug.If it has a leak behind the alt on the right front of the block it is usually not wet as it just evaporates but it leaves a stain as it runs down the block this stain is what you are looking for. If you need to pull the head it is a really good idea to have it checked for cracks and checked for straightness and machined flat if needed.

Like Wild & Free stated the oil cap/oil should would have a milky look to it if you were leaking coolant into the oil. I had a real slow leak of coolant that i could'nt find for awhile,it ended up being the water pump had a very light leak that even though i kept looking everytime i had to add coolant and did'nt notice.I would wipe the area under the water pump dry and check after driving. Might have missed in the thread,but how much coolant are you losing? Also call your local Frieghtliner Dealer with your Engine # for the head gasket,if you end up needing one.:2cents:

  • Author

With the oil plug out use a coolant system pressure tester and pump up the coolant system with pressure around 15 lbs and let it sit and keep pumping it up if it drains down and do this for up to a couple hours and see if any coolant comes out of the drain plug. If it has a leak behind the alt on the right front of the block it is usually not wet as it just evaporates but it leaves a stain as it runs down the block this stain is what you are looking for. If you need to pull the head it is a really good idea to have it checked for cracks and checked for straightness and machined flat if needed.

That a good idea. I had actually gone to auto zone and rented a pressure tester but have not used it. But shoulda done that today if I had actually known. I did find a slow leak at the overflow hose where it connects to radiator and also noticed the previous owner had put a 15 psi radiator cap on but those are fixed now. I guess the only other way now is to redrain the oil and check it and put the oil back in depending on what I find. But I will check around on the block again tomorrow or Sunday and see.

Like Wild & Free stated the oil cap/oil should would have a milky look to it if you were leaking coolant into the oil. I had a real slow leak of coolant that i could'nt find for awhile,it ended up being the water pump had a very light leak that even though i kept looking everytime i had to add coolant and did'nt notice.I would wipe the area under the water pump dry and check after driving. Might have missed in the thread,but how much coolant are you losing? Also call your local Frieghtliner Dealer with your Engine # for the head gasket,if you end up needing one.:2cents:

Yea I wiped off the cap when I put it back on after the oil change, maybe in a few days it will have something on it again and I can check than. I never mentioned how much coolant I am actually losing as I am not sure how fast it is disappearing as I had just changed out all the coolant so I assumed air bubbles so we will see how fast it drops now. But I really do not think it is a fast leak. Because I bought the truck in July and I topped it off than but just got around to checking it again on 12/31 and noticed it was low. But the truck was not overheating or any problems. Just not hot heat but I know the heater core has a slow leak too as it seems to fog up my passenger window when it wants to and I can sometimes smell coolant but I really have not smelt the coolant since I changed out the system. But I appreciate all the help you guys have given me so far. Just keep the tips coming :thankyou:

If you find no leaks after a pressure test and no water was evident in the oil, I would run it a while and watch it closer.

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    If you know your heater core is leaking,that would be the first to replace.And if it was fogging your windshield it is.

    --- Update to the previous post...

    Look at pics on Tappet cover unveiled Thread,Thats oil/coolant mix.

    • Author

    If you find no leaks after a pressure test and no water was evident in the oil, I would run it a while and watch it closer.

    Thanks I will give it a try this coming week. Im gonna see if I can find some milk jugs and pour my old oil in it and see if anything happens.

    --- Update to the previous post...

    If you know your heater core is leaking,that would be the first to replace.And if it was fogging your windshield it is.

    --- Update to the previous post...

    Look at pics on Tappet cover unveiled Thread,Thats oil/coolant mix.

    Yea it has a slight leak in it somewhere I guess. It is not leaking onto the floor or anything but I do not have hot heat so need to fix it. But I do need to get it fixed. It just a matter of wanting to destroy the rest of the dash :ahhh: Already got a big chunk missing right over the heater core. Be nice if could just reach down and get it out :lmao:

    But I will check out the thread. I went out and actually checked the coolant level a few minutes ago and it still seems to be the same as yesterday and the overflow bottle has not moved either. But I also found a leak on the overflow hose yesterday where it connects to radiator and installed a new radiator cap 16 psi instead of the 15 psi that was on it. So maybe it helped it. I dunno.

    Edit: Just looked at the one thread and I am assuming you are talking about the last picture in the thread? Yea my oil looked nothing like that. From what I could tell it was oil lol. I will just have to wait and see. Maybe I am just panicking :pray: It just looked like the oil was green. Even wiping on a paper towel the dirty oil, it would spread and leave an outer green section. Maybe I can find one of the paper towels and take a picture to clarify what I mean.

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