Oil in the coolant system

[oppirs]

Working on Father's 1996 Ford Windstar. He has some oil in the anti-freeze, not alot, no major scum build-up. Oil psi cold is 50 before the coolant heats up too 16 psi. Gaskets probably blown! He has a rear heater.

Is it a lost cause to try repair this $500 mini-van?
Would stop-leak even work in the radiator?
Van runs fine, 112k miles, would you just drive into the ground?


Ford had a recall for rear axles breaking but not for a 1996.
I replaced anti-freeze, and most likely ever year until he get rid of it!

Main reason to keep it...A/C works great, front & rear. Summer almost here. Plus no funds for another van.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

What would it cost to r&r the head gaskets?

Too much....

then,

Drain out the coolant put some fresh coolant with more water than antifreeze and a bottle of liquid stop leak.

 

[oppirs]

Originally Posted By: LargeCarManX2
What would it cost to r&r the head gaskets?

Too much....



His mechanic said it's not worth it, to R&R. No price but got the instinct feeling it was double the Ford's value.

I may of rambled...

Main question, would a stop-leak even work in radiator?

 

[bullwinkle]

If it runs reliably it's worth more than $500-heck, it's probably worth $400 at the scrapyard. I would keep the cheapest dino in it I could find, and drive it until it (finishes) dropping dead. Saving as much $ along the way to buy something else.

 

[morepwr]

I have seen Bars leak stop some things I never thought it would such as a blown head gasket in a truck. Keep in mind that the head gasket was leaking to the outside of the head and not getting coolant in the oil, but it sealed it and we used that truck for another 30K miles without any issues.

Its cheap enough to try for your van that its worth giving it a shot over spending more than the vehicle is worth on a gasket replacement.

 

[oppirs]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
If it runs reliably it's worth more than $500-heck, it's probably worth $400 at the scrapyard.


Runs well, looks like rust/dents. Even had no heat until I did the youtube plenum door nail trick.

Ford told me they give him $500 for the recall. I told Ford it was a 1999. Got the years mixed up! It maybe worth a few $100 more, doubt it.

 

[antiqueshell]

Where's the problem?

I would NOT add stop leak until the problem becomes more serious.

As long as it doesn't overheat and it seems to be running fine, keep driving it until it dies.

It's worth more to your father than the measly 600 bucks that Ford will give you.

 

[TFB1]

^^^^ Yeah that's right, wait till the gasket blows completely then try to stop it with miracle fixes...

The time to go for the fix-in-a-can is now, before it becomes a real issue...

 

[Dakota1820]

Get some k&w head gasket sealer. That will hold it together .

 

[Dakota1820]

Kbb says its worth around 2500 bucks in fair shape.

 

[mechtech2]

Why assume it is a head gasket or intake gasket?
It could very well be the ATF cooler in the radiator.

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Why assume it is a head gasket or intake gasket?
It could very well be the ATF cooler in the radiator.


This!

(sorry)

Most of the oil in water problems I see are from a leaking ATF cooler in the radiator. Most cars with an auto tranny have one of these and I'm almost 100% certain your father's Windstar does.

After that, the next most common culprit is an oil cooler where the oil filter mounts up. I see this leaking oil into coolant mostly but not exclusively on Fords. Offhand I don't know if the Windstar has one and if I had to guess I'd say no but if you've got the truck there it only takes a minute to look where the filter goes and be sure.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: TFB1
^^^^ Yeah that's right, wait till the gasket blows completely then try to stop it with miracle fixes...

The time to go for the fix-in-a-can is now, before it becomes a real issue...


Except he doesn't say there is a significant amount of oil in that coolant and the car runs fine. Never a good idea to fix something before you know what is actually broken.

If it is seeping a bit of oil from something like the oil cooler or similar I say keep driving it until it gets to the point that the need to either scrap it or repair it. Many times stop leak can make a situation worse.

 

[exranger06]

If the problem is with the ATF cooler in the radiator, then that means coolant is getting into the transmission. Check the transmission fluid for signs of coolant. If it's fine, then you can rule out the cooler.

If it is the cooler, you need to completely flush the transmission and either get a new radiator, or use a separate transmission cooler and bypass the radiator one.

 

[yonyon]

A leaky trans cooler in the radiator will not necessarily allow much if any coolant to leak back to the trans side. These leaks tend to be very very small.

 

[SteveSRT8]

If it's a typical slushbox the pressure in it is higher than the radiator pressure and oil will leak into the coolant.

But then when you shut the car off the opposite occurs!

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
If it's a typical slushbox the pressure in it is higher than the radiator pressure and oil will leak into the coolant.

But then when you shut the car off the opposite occurs!


No doubt. Keep in mind though that reversing the pressure differential can close up the leak because aluminum trans coolers aren't made of glass, they're flexible. Add to that the solids circulating in the coolant that can quickly clog the leak if it isn't quite closed and the typical super tiny trans cooler leak usually works out to be one way for practical purposes. Sometimes you get a worse leak that leaks both ways but it isn't the usual case. That's more likely to happen with a split seam or cracked weld and becomes very obvious very quickly.

 

[mechtech2]

Running oil pressure is higher than coolant pressure, so it is rare to see coolant in the tranny with a cooler leak.

 

[oppirs]

That's the issue, how & where in. Engine oil ok, Trans ok. As you guys said head gasket. It's small leak over 6 months. I verified oil in the coolant. Small amount. oil scum, ect.

Doing the anti-freeze change. Oil present just not to level's that scary me! If Trans cooler easy fix.

Again no coolant in Trans or Engine!

Main Question? would any stop leak work?

 

[yonyon]

I can't see how putting stop leak in the radiator would keep oil from getting in there. It would be like trying to stop a leaking tire by putting duct tape over a rusty nail.

Stop leak in the oil or ATF? Just thinking about it gave me a bit of a queasy feeling, so no comment there.

Have you considered adding an aftermarket trans cooler and bypassing the radiator trans cooler? If that keeps the oil out of the coolant you'll know where the leak is. At that point you'd have to decide if you want to call it fixed or put a new rad in there. If it doesn stop the leak at least you'd know it's engine oil.