Oil In The Cooling System

[chuckbg]

Hi,

 

Here is what has happened to my Xantia Break 1.9TD

 

In the beginning I have found some oil on the coolant filler cap, but the engine was fine, no overheating or anything else, it was not loosing any obvious quantity of oil... Maybe a month later, while travelling, the engine started to overheat and when I checked the radiator,it was absolutely cold. Trying to get home I disconnected the A/C Bitron plug (to make the radiator fans work at full speed)

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/Clogzz/Pressure_switch.jpg

and switched on the A/C to the maximum temperature and blower speed. It helped for a while - the temperature was slightly above 80 deg celsius, but after a few kilometers the heater started to blow freezing cold and the coolant together with plenty of oil erupted through the coolant filler cap.

 

I am writing here to help others because the problem is maybe rare and the only place I've found to mention it was here. But there it is discussed quite well and helped me a lot. There are two possibilities for the leak of oil into the cooling system. The first (and the cheaper) is defective oil cooler, which I have already checked and changed, as it had a hole, but it did not help. And the only other possibility is a problem with the cylinder head gasket, or the head itself. Now I am saving money to go on with that other (more expensive) possibility. For more information click here (https://www.youcaring.com/myfamily-733336), preliminary thanks, any help will be highly appreciated.

 

Best regards and

wish you safe and smooth driving,

Dimitar

[paul.h]

It is possible the oil cooler was the start of the problem putting oil in to the coolant and coolant in to the oil. Then since you continued to use the car it may have resulted in the head gasket failing. Oil in the coolant would reduce the heat transfer from the engine to the coolant and from the radiator and if the coolant level was low it would also allow the head to overheat.

[chuckbg]

You are absolutely right. Let's hope it's only the gasket ant not the head. I will update when the head is down as I will know more about it and the gasket.

[Rookie2]

chukbg

Hi, just a word of warning, assuming you do not find any obvious damage to the head, it would be a mistake not to have the head checked, and if necessary, skimmed. More often than not, if a head has been seriously overheated then the likelihood is that the head has warped.

Skimming of the head is relatively cheap and certainly worth doing, make sure to buy the next thickness gasket when re assembling after a skim.

Make sure to use only new head bolts

Just out of interest, a good quick check for a blown head gasket is to start the engine from  cold, remove the radiator cap or header tank cap and put a rubber glove over the hole (the thin type of laytex disposable gloves) sealing it around the threads. If you see the fingers of the glove start to inflate then it is a safe bet the head has gone. A more accurate item to use is a condom, which I often use myself but get all sorts of strange questions from  her indoors as to why I find it necessary to keep condoms in the workshop  :wub:

[chuckbg]

Thank you for the good ideas, especially the last one with the glove or a condom, but as for the condom I am not sure that my wife will understand it :unsure: , so I will use the glove method  B)