Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) oil found in radiator and overflow jug

[TGroves]

well i was pull the front timing cover off to fix an oil leak( kdp was done ) and when it pulled the fan and overflow jug found oil at the top ,open the radiator cap sure enough found oil,, where do i need to look ie,, head , oil heat exchanger,, or rocker pedestals on the head ,,,, thanks

 

[JFaughn]

I would lean towards the heat exchange 1st , then the head gasket .
If you could block off the block and pressurize the crank case you may be able to see leeks .

 

[TGroves]

any ideas how to pressure up the crank case ? or heat exchanger?,,, is this a common problem ?or is the coolant eating away at the heat exchange thus making a hole in the exchanger to leak? any comments or away to go about fixing would be great ... . almost pulled the head but would post it an see what comes back ... .

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

What are you seeing for boost pressure? Is the radiator low? Is your oil level over-full? Do you have excessive blow-by?

 

[TGroves]

boost i could see 40-58 psi ,,, radiators not low and as far as the oil i just changed it last week so not sure on that but the oil is on the money ,, but only put eleven qts in ,,, have no blow by just smoke :-laf

 

[arthr31]

stock head gasket with 40-58psi? Oil in radiator? Um, I'd be very suspicious of the HG... on these trucks i'm an arm chair mechanic- on older diesel tractors i'm a shade tree mechanic
I think if you have oil in the rad, there's a big leak going on somehwere...

 

[TGroves]

as far as boost i can't see any loss the boost gauge moves easly and at a stable speed it does not move ???

 

[Timebomb]

I blew mine at 36psi and a friends blew at 36 as well so it dosnt take much if all the planets aline at the right moment. I noticed oil in my overflow and sure enough blown HG.

 

[gtobey]

Oil in radiator

stock head gasket with 40-58psi? Oil in radiator? Um, I'd be very suspicious of the HG... on these trucks i'm an arm chair mechanic- on older diesel tractors i'm a shade tree mechanic

I think if you have oil in the rad, there's a big leak going on somehwere...

He's right, there probably is a big problem. First, warm the engine, and the use a radiator pressure tester to put about 16psi on the cooling system and see if it loses pressure. If you use the UV dye in the coolant, and a black light, you should be able to see where there is a leak. If the pressure doen't drop on the cooling system after about 4-5 hours and you don't discover any UV dye in the crankcase by removing the oil fill cap and shining the black light in there, then your cooling system is probably still sealed. But, the head gasket as well as the heat exchanger could still leak oil into the cooling system as engine oil pressure is usually higher than the cooling system pressure, thus the entrance of engine oil into the coolant.



This was a common problem in the 5. 7L GM V-8 diesel, but even more common was the combustion gases entering the cooling system and blowing up the radiators. The overflow bottle would spew its guts out all over the engine compartment from overpressurization when the head gaskets blew!



Hope you find it... .

 

[RCarrillo]

TGroves, More than likely it's the oil cooler, I had the same exact problem two weeks ago and pulled the oil cooler and sure enough it had a pin leak due to corrosion probably due to the fact that service dealers use tap water!, I just hope they don't check my batteries! But check that first, Dont take it to a dealer cause' it will cost you $2,000. It's a simple R&R.

RikaRio

 

[TGroves]

well i may just pull the head any way i need to fire ring it ,,, but how hard is it to pull the oil heat exchanger ?... make sure i under stand this ,pressure up the radiator and if the pressure drops its a head gasket and if it does not its the heat exchanger????

 

[wcoomes]

When I had this happen on my 1st gen, it was the head gasket. It happened while I was on vacation and the dealer didn't diagnose it correctly stating it was an engine oil cooler. They finally took it to the Cummins garage and they found the problem and replaced the head gasket. I had to rent a van to come home leaving my boat & truck camper in Eau Claire, then returned the following week and picking everything up.

 

[TGroves]

well i just may pull the oil exchanger first i guess i have a 50 / 50 chance it will be that and if not oh well got only time and some gaskets in it ,,, but i drain the cooling system and it was dark but no oil was flooting in it ,drained like 4 gals of coolant but no oil yet ???????

 

[TGroves]

does any one have a oil heat exchanger for sale just in case i may need one. . funds are kinda low until taxs come back ... . unless the wife has other thing she wants to do with the money any help would be great ,,, or i could do atrade out or something

 

[gtobey]

well i may just pull the head any way i need to fire ring it ,,, but how hard is it to pull the oil heat exchanger ?... make sure i under stand this ,pressure up the radiator and if the pressure drops its a head gasket and if it does not its the heat exchanger????

Well, not exactly. Since both are under the same pressure in the same cooling system, just a loss of pressure won't let you determine which one it is. However, if you were to pull off the oil cooler and plug the lines to it, and then pressurize the vehicle cooling system, if the pressure drops, it tells you the head gasket is leaking. You could pressurize the oil cooler while it is off and check for leaks very easily.

 

[TGroves]

well, once i pull the cooler off and its not that and its the head any ideas on cleaning the cooling system

 

[CToney]

I was told to use Automatic dishwasher detergent in the cooling system to clean it out. I removed oil cooler, rad, and hoses and cleaned them all thoroughly. You will have to flush it several times and you still won't get it all. It's one nasty mess.

 

[gtobey]

Cascade!!!

I was told to use Automatic dishwasher detergent in the cooling system to clean it out. I removed oil cooler, rad, and hoses and cleaned them all thoroughly. You will have to flush it several times and you still won't get it all. It's one nasty mess.

You are correct. At our shop, we used lots of Cascade and hot water.

The reason for using this dishwasher detergent, is that it cuts grease, and it doesn't foam. If you used regular soap, then it would take forever to get all the bubbles out. Also, Purple Cleaner is a great degreaser. But the hotter the water, the better!



In order to get the oil out of the block and water pump, etc. , we ran some Cascade through the cooling system (no thermostat) and warmed up the engine around the block. After a couple of "wash cycles", the water draining out looked clear. We ran it once more with only distilled water and did not see any pretty colors on top of the water when we looked into the radiator. It must've come clean... After about 1K miles, we put coolant back in as it stayed clean...



We have cleaned intercoolers with the stuff also. It takes a while, but it does the job! The oil cooler is small enough that you could find someone with a parts washer, (varsol) and let them run the liquid through it for a while to remove the oil, but then the dishwashing detergent will clean out the coolant side for you to remove any traces of petroleum product... Good luck!

 

[TGroves]

well pulled the cooler off the block tonight and what i found was nothing so far??? the inner block water passage was really clean. a very light coating i'm talking very light ,,,, when the cooler came off it was coolant not mud or a milk shake ... . i'm going to take the cooler to work and test it and see what happens but so far looks like the head now ,,, but oh well only took little less than a hour to pull the cooler ... oh by the way . question on the cooler thats right next to the turbo ,, between the turbo and block thats transmission fluid? and could i just leave that on and flush it all at one time ???

 

[gtobey]

I believe I would, especially since you are only finding a very light coating in the cooling system. It should clean up quickly with that light of a coating.