Thread: Oil in coolant

Originally Posted by bussy1963

Last week i had the radiator on disco series 1 flushed out. Now i have discovered that there is traces of a oil like substance in the header tank.

Any ideas what caused it. My gut feeling is maybe a head gasket issue but before the flush out there wasnt any signs of oil in coolant.

Could be a head gasket problem. That's what I thought with my 95 VW Caravelle and proceeded to take off the head and replace the gasket etc. But it wasn't. The oil cooler had developed a leak and was putting oil into the coolant.

I don't know if Disco 1s have an oil cooler, or whether there is another place where there might be cross contamination from the oil system to the coolant system.

If you think about it head gasket problems usually show the other way around - coolant in the oil. You get the mayo under the oil filler etc. But this is oil in the coolant. A different problem!

Willem

Is the vehicle only doing short runs?

It may be the old, "not getting hot enough to boil off condensation water out of the oil".

ie. As the engine cools down it draws in air. That contains water vapour & that condenses back inside the engine & needs a long hot run to remove it again.

be nice if it was 4bee but your tail first on that one...

the oils in the coolant, not the coolant in the oil.

Personally Id be hoping it was an auto and its leakin ATF in the radiator from the built in cooler.

Maybe I am, Dave, but it's worth investigating as it wouldn't be the first time this scenario has been confused.

it is definately oil into coolant problem. As for not getting hot enuff well i think i could discount that. I have been driving the same distances and times since i have had it now and first time Has anyone got a ruff idea how it would be to replace them.

I Have just had my 1999 TD5 done, it had the same problem. The head locating dowels had sheared off and it allowed the head to move. Had to replace all hoses, oil cooler and fuel cooler as the oil had built up in the coolers.

Originally Posted by Military

. The head locating dowels had sheared off and it allowed the head to move.

This has been covered lots of times here.

The dowels are for assembly only. They are not designed to prevent the head from moving once it is torqued down correctly.

I would suspect you had some other problem which caused your head gasket failure.

Does it have an oil cooler going in to the radiatior (Tdi's). If so it just likely to be some contamination.

John D - Defender 110 2.4