Oil in Coolant???

[jackalay23]

Hello all - new member from KY here. I am currently debating the purchase of my first deuce but am a bit concerned about a possible water in oil issue. I went to DMV and inspected the truck and it seems pretty solid. The attendant told me the truck was driven onto the lot in the Spring but unfortunately the batteries were dead so I could not start it. I opened the radiator to check the coolant and saw what appeared to be a small amount of oil floating on top of the coolant. I stuck my finger in their and swished it around and the layer dispersed to some degree. When I rubbed my fingers together the coolant was very slimy. The coolant did have a good color. What else could this be other than oil in the coolant?? I hate to miss out on an otherwise straight truck but I don't want a lemon. The oil in the crankcase was dirty but looked normal. The engine is the Herc Multifuel.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Where in Ky? There are some good motors in central Ohio at good prices. Dmv or drmo? I would think it might be a head gasket.

 

[kcimb]

Is the oil a milky brown color?

Gonna cost you to fix it...

 

[FreightTrain]

if there is coolant in oil and oil in coolant then TOW IT.Do not drive it or your gonna end up overhauling the engine if not already.You will eat the bearings to peices if you run it with watered down oil and/or overheat it with oil in the coolant.

 

[m-35tom]

a little bit of slime on the coolant that has been sitting?? don't worry about it, it is probably nothing. if it had any real oil in the coolant you would have no doubt as it would be a real mess.

 

[WillWagner]

If it were an oil cooler, it would look like oil colored cottage cheese...yuk! If it has the old style head gaskets and they are leaking oil, it is possible that oil is migrating to the coolant passages. If it were fuel, it would be white.

 

[case-basketcase]

Probably wrong here.... but if there is oil in the coolant... would there be some trace of coolant in the oil pan?

 

[1956_4x4]

Someone could have added anti-freeze and there might have been some oil reside in the transfer container. I'd be wanting to start it up before I bought it, these trucks usually start pretty easy with a jump or quick charge on the batteries.

Smitty

 

[devilman96]

Some bone head poured stop leak in my cooling system before I bought it from GL... Part of the by product of this GARBAGE is a substance that looks like motor oil. To date I have completely redone the system, flushed it at LEAST 4 times over the past year for prolly a good few hours total... The nasty crap is still rolling around in the system!!!

Like Tom said above... If its a little bit sitting on top of the coolant I wouldnt worry about it much but I would be sure to get that sucker good and hot several times while checking everything over before a cross country drive.

 

[GunTruckBuilder]

While I can't specifically speak to the multi fuels construction, in a diesel engine fluid cross contamination is often caused by deteriorated injector cup o-rings. This will allow diesel to get into the coolant, and coolant to drain back to the fuel tank. Rarely it can allow motor oil to get into the coolant, however due to pressure differences you won't see coolant in the oil pan unless the block is cracked. If there is oil in the coolant, but no coolant in the oil then you likely have an injector cup o-ring failure. Take a sample from the fuel tank and check for coolant.

 

[Junkyard Wars Crusher]

Well, did you get it?? I see the auction has ended.

Where abouts in KY are you?

 

[WillWagner]

No coppers or injector sleeves on the multi.

 

[N1265]

It sounds to me like BARS stop leak, It looks like oil / tar and is made to be put into the coolant system...... Personally, I would not worry about it.

Devilman is right, Once it is put into a system it is hard to compleatly get the residu out.