Oil drops in coolant tank

[Dwoon]

Hi All,

 

Hope that some advise can be given as to how serious it is to find oil droplets in the coolant tank. I just noticed it while filling water into it.

 

Another cause for worry is the consumption of engine oil. It was discovered to be low. Topping up required about half a quart.

 

With the oil droplets found in the coolant tank, coupled with the engine oil loss............. errrr.... is it a very bad sign?

 

Thanks for your feedback.

Edited October 1, 2005 by Dwoon

[Elfenstar]

Sounds like a blown head gasket issue.

 

Okies, when the engine is cool open the radiator cap and have a look at the coolant. does it have a milky colour to it?

 

Also is there any bluish-whitish smoke coming out from your exhaust at any point of time?

 

If the answer is yes to either one of the questions, take the car to the mechanics and get them to check the car over.

 

Edit: Arrgh... just realised you talked about the engine oil level... 99% sure its a blown headgasket.

Edited October 1, 2005 by Elfenstar

[Dwoon]

OK, thanks for the feedback. Guess it'll have to go to the workshop for a checkup.

 

Strange thnig is that there's no bluish smoke. There's always been the white smoke during cold starts and it's probably due to water condensation in the pipes. The white smoke goes away after the car is warmed up.

 

Hmmm...... ok.... radiator cap will have to come off to check. But the coolant in the tank is not milky (still green but kinda dirty). The drops of oil is floating on top and is not dissolved into the coolant.

 

Any idea as to how much the replacement usually costs? (As a general guide)

 

Thanks again

Edited October 1, 2005 by Dwoon

[Elfenstar]

What car, mileage and year are you driving? Could you just have used a slightly dirty container?? If so, maybe the oil loss is another issue and unrelated... Dunno how much in sg, but generally it's about $300 here in aust.

[Dwoon]

It an MY04 Forester but running at 1.1bar. Mileage is at 47K.

 

The oil droplets are brown and its like acouple of drops in the coolant tank, not like a whole layer.

 

Oooh.... doesn't sound cheap to replace.

[Kanr]

Sound very expensive,bro!!!

[Elfenstar]

Have you checked the radiator?? That top section has the least surface area so it's easier to spot if the head gasket has blown (as its hte highest point so most of the oil will float up there). If so I find it strange that the EJ20 would blow a headgasket at such low boost and milage...

 

Also there is an extremly rare chance that your TC has a hole through the centre assay causing the water and oil to mix a lil.

 

Is your car still under warranty?? If so, remove all engine mods before bringing it back to subaru.

[Dwoon]

Yes, I just opened the radiator cap awhile ago to check. The coolant was much, much cleaner than that in overflow tank.

 

I did see a very slight trace of oil (not like the droplets in the tank) like a rainbow coloured film at a certain angle. But hardly noticeable if not looking at it from an angle.

 

Re-checked oil using dipstick...... it is not milky to suggest any entry of water.

 

Although still under warranty.... to remove all my stuff and bring back to agent...... the costs & time would probably out-weigh the changing of the headgaskets I suppose.

 

How arh? What do you think? Serious or just normal to get a little oil in there?

 

Thanks.

[El69]

Have anyone else topped up your coolant level apart from your self? Could be contaminated water poured in during servicing. Fully drain coolant (running water to flush) and top up again just to be sure its not coming from engine.

[Elfenstar]

If the coolant in the rad was not milky you should be fine. I'm guessing that it was just a dirty container. However i would still advise you to take it in for a check as the dropped oil level worries me.

 

I asked you to remove the mods because i don't want subaru to say that if any fault is found that you are to blame because you modded the car. Engine work is usually fairly exp and none of any of the problems i can think of thats related to either oil in the coolant or oil loss should be happenning at such low milage and boost (i'm implying factory fault), but naturally the agent would try and say that it's your fault as it costs them time and money to fix your car.

 

Have you noticed any oilstains under your car in the mornings that may explain the oil loss???

 

Edit: if you want, bring the car to espace service centre and speak to peter about the problems. Tell him that Noel (the ex-cop who drove the megane sport and now is in melb) referred you and see if he'll be nice enough to do a free check.

Edited October 3, 2005 by Elfenstar

[Dwoon]

Thanks Noel for the advise and offer of help. I'd prefer to bring it back to my regular workshop to have it checked.

 

But when I take a step back and try to cancel out the improbabilities, I think you might be correct that the oil might have come from the Turbo. I remember that the turbo has a connection for the coolant to pass through as well as another channel for the oil. It might have come from there since the radiator seems sufficiently clean.

 

I'll get the radiator flushed and coolant changed to see if it comes back.

 

Cheers!

[Elfenstar]

No probs I assumed that as the car was still under warranty you might have just taken her to subaru for servicing etc. I trust Peter thats why i reccomended him. Since you have a reg. mech, go to him. I always find it a good idea to get possible warranty problems checked out by an independant mech before i take it to the agent (in case they want to siam the problem).

 

Like i said earlier any of these reasons are extremly unlikely to be because of milage, or mods. If its anything major, take off the engine mods and go back to subaru, it may be a hassle, but its a lot easier on the wallet.

 

The flush and change is a good idea. Get a compression test done to rule out the head gasket at the very least. Also for the next few weeks park the car in a clean lot and check for oil the next morning in case you missed an oil leak point.

 

Edit: I forgot, scrap the parking lot idea. just check the coolant and oil levels daily over the next few weeks as sometimes the issue might be physically "minor" and thus easy to miss unless you know exactly what you're looking for.

Edited October 3, 2005 by Elfenstar