anti freeze in oil

fluffdaddy

Active member
Mar 29, 2008
25
0
always had a little coolant leak at rear of motor. always checked coolant level everyday before starting.. well today i check it. it seems lower than normal.. i fill, drive to appointment and then on way home temp light comes on.. so i pull over let sit a few minutes, reservoir is empty. unscrew reservoir it has pressure and some coolant comes back into tank . i top off, it remains cool the rest of way home..
i get home and its low again, check oil and yes its milky. i check coolant hoses and no presseure in them. no white exhaust . so where should i start. not sure whats been done to motor in past. 177000 on it now.
 

ukoffroad

Well-known member
Jan 13, 2010
2,125
168
Lynchburg, Va
On one of my trucks the front cover seal failed as well. That was how the coolant got into the oil. I did a new gasket when doing the heads, all was good again.
 

ezzzzzzz

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2010
604
7
SE Va
^ this is the first place to start. It's quite a bit of work but not like pulling the heads. If it turns out to be head gaskets you'll not have to go back into the timing cover and oil pan. You could pull each plug and look for indications of steam cleaning on the insulator too. A really clean plug might indicate a head gasket leak on that cylinder.
 

fluffdaddy

Active member
Mar 29, 2008
25
0
im thinking im just going to go ahead and break down do the heads and front seal.. prob should just do timing and water pump as well at this rate.. any advice on best parts or anything else that recommended at this point
 

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
562
Seattle
Call Will Tillery. He is a great source for parts and supplied me with high quality gaskets and the whole shebang for my heads. 540-462-7353. Call during east coast weekday business hours. His prices are tough to beat and his service is solid. If history is unknown then consider getting new hoses and thermostat. Get your radiator checked while it's out. If that is clogged you'll want to address it while you have everything apart.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
On one of my trucks the front cover seal failed as well. That was how the coolant got into the oil. I did a new gasket when doing the heads, all was good again.

This is yhe other possible failure. It's pretty easy to verify. Pull the oil pan and pressure test the cooling system. If your loosing as much coolant as you say, you should see it.
 

kade

Well-known member
Oct 15, 2013
235
7
Upstate, SC
Couldthis not be a slipped liner too? I sure hope not but checking for that when you tear everything down could be wise. I?ve had hg done ( several years ago) on my first Rover just to have it milk shake again.

I don?t know a lot, but it?s one of those three things, right?
 

MNinWI

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2007
83
2
I had a shop do my head gaskets several years ago. I told them to do plug wires at the same time since it would be easier to get to the back of the engine when the top of the engine was off.
 

jprover2

Well-known member
Apr 8, 2017
146
10
Birmingham,Al
Replacing the head gaskets is not a hard job. One could pull this job in a weekend if only focusing on the repair. That being said don't rush it.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
Couldthis not be a slipped liner too? I sure hope not but checking for that when you tear everything down could be wise. I?ve had hg done ( several years ago) on my first Rover just to have it milk shake again.

I don?t know a lot, but it?s one of those three things, right?

The quick answer is No. But don't confuse the slipped liner issue with the coolant leak from a crack behind the liner. If a liner has started to move you get a knocking sound from it hitting the head. If you tear down an engine looking for a slipped liner you look for marks left on the sealing ring of the head gasket. I've seen them stamp off a piece of that ring and wrap it around a valve so it can't close.

If you have the crack behind the liner you get coolant coming out between the liner and the block into the cylinder. It usually causes a misfire on a cold start that clears up pretty fast. That and unexplained coolant loss.
 

Howski

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2009
1,483
209
Alabama
Has this happen to me and it was a cracked front cover. Word of warning, a cause of a cracked cover (pressurization) can be from a bad HG, which I learned a month or two after replacing the front cover. If you already have a coolant leak at the back of the motor I might suggest going ahead and replacing the HG’s, even if you find the front cover has failed
 

fluffdaddy

Active member
Mar 29, 2008
25
0
so im planning on doing head gaskets,going to check heads and see if the need done and if so that too.. ill be doing water pump, timing chain,new seals for both, spark plugs,new hoses and thermostat. ive thought about doing lifters and cam . since im doing time chain ill be dropping the oil pan and cleaning it and putting new seal.

anything else if we are lucky enough to not have a cracked block?