engine and drivetrain Back to ZERO again...more motor wooooooooes...H20 mix

[Guest Anonymous]

After a brazen try of flushing the oil/water mixture out of the engine, It feels like there is something wrong. The car fires up, runs & drives beyond belief. But what the hell ? water is still mixing with oil. I checked the head for cracks before installation and it was good. What is even worse is that water in the radiator seems to be at the same level. IF water is not going anywhere from the radiator, where is it coming from ? I flushed it three times and it is on the fourth now. Could it be possible that there is a crack in the block ? How do I find out that ? I have a spare head that I am willing to put on this weekend and give it another shot but is it worth it ?

TIA

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

little enough so you'd hardly notice a lower coolant level in the radiator... M10 blocks don't crack very often--heads more so--hope it's the latter.

Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

Sheggaw,

Hmnn might be pressure testing time. Try to find a shop that has a gas analyzser. They can normally wave the wand over the rad cap when the car is running to see if exhaust gas is getting into the radiator. That would mean either a head gasket leak or crack from the combustion chamber into the radiator.

Now since you have oil and water mixing, I'd be real careful on driving. Milky oil can quickly kill bearings and parts. You can have a crack or blown gasket and not have combustion gas into the radiator.

Most likely you have a headgasket sealing problem or a crack in the head/block. Did you carefully make sure that the block's head bolt holes were liquid free when torqueing the head down? If there was oil in the holes you could have cracked the block.

Normally head cracks result in really high coolant temps, or coolant loss. I've personally never seen a head crack that let water mix with coolant but I suppose it is possible.

Drop me a line if you need assistance.

-Bernard

[Guest Anonymous]

problem, turned out it was condesation. Are you witnessing the oil/water mix on the dip stick or valve cover cap? My problem, turns out, was caused by short drives, never really driving it for a good long ride. I would consistanly take it out for short 2-3 mile drives. I had heavy Milkshake on the valve cover cap. I spent hours checking things. In my case (hopefully yours too) It was only condensation. I started taking longer drives and it soon dissappeared.

[Guest Anonymous]

Jenn's car had corrosion in a water passage that let water leak out thru a headbolt hole! That took a while to find...

It really is unlikely that the block is cracked, but it's not impossible. For sanity, have an oil sample checked to make sure it really is antifreeze- $29.95 by mail, if it can't be done locally.

Then pressure testing will possibly solve it- but a lot of times, leaks don't leak until you're under throttle. If you pull the head again, try getting the water passageways tested- corrosion can find the thin spots on a casting...

Have you had the head and deck surfaced? On my current car, the deck is original. I have a heck of a time getting a gasket to seal, and even then, I'm lucky if it will hold for an entire track season. (A new motor is bugetted for this winter!)

fwiw,

t