Oil mixing with antifreeze?

[J DeMaio]

Hey guys:



I was looking under the hood of the dodge tonight and saw a little brown slimy substance in the coolant overflow tank. Both fluid levels are okay and are their prospective colors. Is Oil/coolant mixing together?



Thanks



John

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

It's probably water pump lubricant separating outta your coolent - pretty common...

 

[DieselBuzz]

I've read a couple of "911" threads where the oil cooler leaked. Keep checking the fluids. If the oil drops and the overflow tank fills with the mix, the oil cooler is the usual suspect. I hope it is the water pump lube.

Art

 

[J DeMaio]

Thanks Guys, I was worried for a minute, i thought maybe i'd have to be puttin in a new head gasket or something What is the water pump lube? Why is it escaping and what will lubricate the water pump now? I've never heard of this before.



Thanks again,



John

 

[Jupiter8racing]

The previous owner of my 89' had that problem. The oil cooler indeed leaked. Not a very expensive fix.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

LOOKS like the new system "ate" my last response...



John doesn't indicate what year/model truck HE has, but...



My early '91 has NO transmission cooler in the radiator, or ANY part of the cooling system - the cooler is EXTERNAL, mounted as part of the A/C cooler assembly in front of the radiator - came that way from the factory, NO WAY for transmission oil to get into the radiator!

 

[PMedina]

John,



I had a problem with my oil cooler leaking. The oil cooler is basically a small radiator that mounts inside the block and is cooled by coolant. When mine leaked coolant passed into the oil, but no oil passed into the coolant. Getting coolant into the oil is a serious problem. It starts attacking the main bearing very quickly. My problem happened over 5k miles or less and I had to replace the main bearings. If coolant is getting into the crankcase, you may see some condensation on the underside of your oil filler cap. Some of the oil and coolant mixture turns to a brown slime. I saw evidence of this at the crankcase vent tube and the uderside of the valve covers. Oil analysis is probably the easiest way to determine if you have this problem. They can check the oil for glycol and water. I hope this is not your problem, but I thought you might be interested in hearing what happened to my motor. The oil cooler repair is relatively cheap, $400 for mine, compared to replacing the main bearings.



Paul

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I've gotta eat crow - and admit I forgot the cylindrical transmission heat exchanger along the right side of the engine - THAT might develop a leak in some rare cases... Sorry...