Oil in the coolant reservoir

[greenextreme]

My 110 Td5 [MY1999] recently set the coolant alarm off and upon checking the coolant reservoir was at normal level, normal color, nothing wrong. Drove a few more days and began hearing a whirring, whistling sound at fast idle in neutral and also while driving in 1st to 4th gear. Temp gauge has stayed in normal range. Today I checked the coolant reservoir and found oil. Not good. 40,000km ago had the dowels replaced, head gasket replaced, new injectors, new radiator and new hoses. Can today's oil in coolant be from a faulty oil cooler, water pump, the head gasket again or possibly something else? What's likely and how can I eliminate possibilities before going to the mechanics?

[harry]

i would drain and flush the coolant system, refill with water and drive it a bit,
you will probably get more oil, so reflush and another drive.

from all that effort, you may be able to skim off a sample of the oil on a blotter and see what oil it is.

i doubt that you would notice any difference in the oil levels.

also pull the rocker cover off, if the oily mess inside it is whiteish, you have water in the engine oil.

the best thing then is just a blown head gasket.

also check the coolant level and bleed the system,
mr rover decided to make the highest point in the cooling system higher than the coolant tank, so you need to bleed the system to fill it properly.

good luck, i hope it is only a head gasket.

[djam1]

What type of coolant was it running before and after the Head Gasket Change.

Its highly likely to be the oil cooler oil pressure of 60 PSI going into the cooling system at 15PSI
The cheap way is to buy a kit from the UK

LAND ROVER DEFENDER 90 110 130 TD5 OIL COOLER REPAIR KIT - DA1127 | eBay

If you buy a new oil cooler from Land Rover it will cost close to $1000
Sadly you will need to replace ALL of the hoses as the oil effects them and they will all go soft.

And its an unholy job cleaning it all out

There is a well known Land Rover Specialist in Perth who will tell you they have made a repair kit
The kit contains a piece of pipe that runs from one union to the other I am not convinced this is a good idea in our climate
It is however cheap

[strangy]

My money would be on the oil cooler.

How is the engine oil. i.e colour , milky, level?
DONT drive it if any coolant is in the oil.

Fuel cooler is highly unlikely and in any case would have diesel in the system rather than oil and coolant in the fuel system and inevitable engine stop.
The head gasket would be a massive failure for this to happen and unlikely for the motor to still be running.

cheers

[greenextreme]

Coolant used after the head gasket job was Fortron OAT [green color] and still the same. No change in coolant type. Most likely the coolant will stay Fortron OAT after this repair job as only recently replaced the radiator, fan and hoses [and got plenty of coolant remaining].

Oil dipstick shows no color change. No milky-ness. Oil level is very slightly low but not unusual.

What's the best approach to know for sure it is the oil cooler? And if it is the oil cooler, are there any other parts that should be replaced while doing the repair job? I'm praying it's only the oil cooler.

[justinc]

Coolant used after the head gasket job was Fortron OAT [green color] and still the same. No change in coolant type. Most likely the coolant will stay Fortron OAT after this repair job as only recently replaced the radiator, fan and hoses [and got plenty of coolant remaining].

Oil dipstick shows no color change. No milky-ness. Oil level is very slightly low but not unusual.

What's the best approach to know for sure it is the oil cooler? And if it is the oil cooler, are there any other parts that should be replaced while doing the repair job? I'm praying it's only the oil cooler.

Very likely all it is, possibly only a pinhole, as mentioned 60+ psi will find a way
Don't try and do it on the cheap, a new cooler matrix and O rings is the best method, ex UK will be cheaper but realise warranty is a waste of time if buying overseas.

JC

[greenextreme]

Mechanic says the oil cooler housing was badly pitted [corroded] and the matrix had a few pin holes. A new housing, matrix and o-rings / gaskets are to be fitted. Better than a cracked head or blown head gasket
Also suspect the whistling/whirring noise might have been two belt tensioners on the way out, which are also being replaced.
Should be back on the road tomorrow and hopefully all good for a long haul trip this weekend

[Rosscoe68]

oops, wrong thread