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mthielk
Samba Member
Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 78
Location: Fallbrook, CA
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 Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:08 am Post subject: Oil in the coolant looks like brown crap? |
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I picked up this 85 vanagon and wanted to get an opinion on this stuff in the coolant reservoir.
The compression is ok and the engine runs pretty good.[img]https://picasaweb.google.com/108224029494914097905/VanagonConversion#5805891088750818002 [/img]
Last edited by mthielk on Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:16 am; edited 1 time in total |
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PDXWesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2006
Posts: 6243
Location: Portland OR
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:14 am Post subject: Re: Oil in the coolant looks like brown crap? |
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| mthielk wrote: |
I picked up this 85 vanagon and wanted to get an opinion on this stuff in the coolant reservoir.
The compression is ok and the engine runs pretty good. |
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto |
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elsyr
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Joined: May 06, 2008
Posts: 270
Location: North Florida
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:18 am Post subject: |
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Looks like the way I've always heard oil in the coolant described - cottage cheese looking crud.
Doug
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MarkWard
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Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17116
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:53 am Post subject: |
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Automatic or manual. Either way hopefully the cooler has failed internally. It ia a pain to clean out the oil from the cooling system, but you need to asap. It will cause the hoses to prematurely fail.
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mthielk
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Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 78
Location: Fallbrook, CA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 11:09 am Post subject: |
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| It is an automatic and I was wondering if it could be transmission fluid. |
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ZanaEvyPapa
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Joined: July 31, 2010
Posts: 255
Location: Gainesville, FL
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 11:24 am Post subject: |
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i could be coolant sealant. The brown color could come from the copper variety.
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hans j
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Joined: May 06, 2006
Posts: 2714
Location: Salt Lake City UT
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 11:35 am Post subject: |
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I've successfully used simple green to clean coolant systems of oil after the failure was fixed. Would be a pain to do the multiple flushes required in a vanagon.
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1986 Canadian Syncro Westy TDI - 1989 Syncro Single Cab - 2001 Audi S4 - 1981 VW Caddy ABA - 1980 VW Caddy EV - 1973 VW T-181 |
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elsyr
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Posts: 270
Location: North Florida
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 11:38 am Post subject: |
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| mthielk wrote: |
| It is an automatic and I was wondering if it could be transmission fluid. |
If you suspect tranny fluid infiltrating into the coolant, you could check the tranny fluid for coolant infiltration.
Doug
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Bman
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Joined: April 28, 2005
Posts: 895
Location: South Coast, Oregon
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 11:52 am Post subject: |
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Automatic Tranny? I'd bee line to the oil cooler on the front of the transmission first; and if default forget about a new OEM, go with an aftermarket oil cooler kit from one of the usual vendors, cheaper and will last longer.
DIY flushing is a pain in the ass, but it is necessary, be sure of proper disposal of the coolant, down into a septic system or sewer is NOT ok; bottle it and call county disposal and ask where you can drop it off.
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~Bryan
1990 Burgandy Tintop (Wife's Daily Driver)
1989 Tiico Westfalia "Taj"
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FaceHook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/VW-T3-DokaSinka/129026087217120?ref=hl |
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AtlasShrugged
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Joined: October 30, 2008
Posts: 1605
Location: Decatur, Ga. USA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Show a picture of the ATF dipstick.. |
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MarkWard
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Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17116
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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| hans j wrote: |
| I've successfully used simple green to clean coolant systems of oil after the failure was fixed. Would be a pain to do the multiple flushes required in a vanagon. |
I use a product called "shout". You will need a couple bottles to do so, but you need to determine where the oil is coming from first and fix it. The automatic and engine use a similar type aluminium heat exchanger coolant type cooler. They are made from thin wall aluminum and eventually the corrosion gets to them. They can look fine externally though. Only way to test one is to seal one coolant end and force air into the other end while holding the unit under water. You should see no bubbles. Compressed air works well, but you can use a bicycle pump too.
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mthielk
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Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 78
Location: Fallbrook, CA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Both the oil dip stick and the transmission dipstick look perfectly clean. No evidence of oil contamination from the dip sticks. The water would be on the bottom of the pan if there is any. So draining just a little oil should tell if there is any contamination in the engine or transmission. I will try that next. |
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mthielk
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Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 78
Location: Fallbrook, CA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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I pushed a small tube down the transmission dip stick hole and sucked a little transmission fluid out and it was good. Drained a little oil and it looked good as well.
I remember 40 years ago using some stop leak stuff in the radiator which made the coolant look pretty bad but I don't recall it looking this bad. |
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mthielk
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Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 78
Location: Fallbrook, CA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 2:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Are there any head gasket leak scenarios that could cause oil to get into the coolant with no loss in compression or leaks from the head itself? The guy I got the vanagon from thought it was a a head gasket problem. |
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garryv84
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Joined: August 10, 2010
Posts: 276
Location: Los Angeles
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 2:23 pm Post subject: |
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There is the rubber oring that is at the bottom of each piston cylinder. One side is the crankcase side (oil) and the other side is the water side (antifreeze)
I would pressure test the coolant side (at the pressurized bottle) to 15 psi and see if it holds. |
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denwood
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Joined: July 29, 2012
Posts: 1047
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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You can pressurize the cooling system at 18-20psi or so (15 is the cap release pressure), and leave it that way for a few hours. If the level doesn't change, likely not a leak. do this with the engine and coolant completely cooled down so coolant volume change due to temp doesn't lead you astray. If you have a compressor, just set the pressure reg to 20 and leave connected.
If something blows at 20, better in your driveway than down the line. I just put an air fitting on a piece of hose, attached to the coolant cap overflow. It's my standard leak test after any work on the system.
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mthielk
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Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 78
Location: Fallbrook, CA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| There is the rubber oring that is at the bottom of each piston cylinder. One side is the crankcase side (oil) and the other side is the water side (antifreeze) |
Thanks garryv84, I assume this is not pressurized oil, rather just return oil. So I would expect to see water in the oil if this was leaking. I opened one of the hoses, the entire system is filled with this gunk. The engine was getting quite warm yesterday, I dont think fluid is moving through the radiator very well.
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garryv84
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Joined: August 10, 2010
Posts: 276
Location: Los Angeles
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Original transmission cooler? Pressure test it? The oil is higher pressure than the coolant side, so the oil would go into the coolant. Are you using trans fuild? |
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mthielk
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Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 78
Location: Fallbrook, CA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Original transmission cooler? Pressure test it? The oil is higher pressure than the coolant side, so the oil would go into the coolant. Are you using trans fuild? |
garryv84 I think this is it. The reddish color shows up pretty well. Engine oil would be dirtier. I just got the car so I don't know if it uses transmission fluid. I think I will do one more test. Disconnect the transmission coolant lines and then run the car just in the drive and check for trans, fluid coming out of the coolant lines. |
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USGSHYDROMAN
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Joined: December 08, 2009
Posts: 98
Location: SOUTH CAROLINA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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Two bottles of shout will clean it up. u will have to flush out the cooling system a couple time. running it for 30 minutes or so to really warm it up and get things moving. I had a auto trans leak, cooling tank was pink. two or three flushes and and the pink stuff is gone. Determining where it came from is another issue. After the first time, u can use a shop vac to pull all the fluid out, works great.
1987 WBX auto westy |
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