coolant in oil

[Cameron1591]

So I recently bought an 86 ranger with the 2.9L V6 and instantly had issues with coolant leaking into the oil.
I just finished a head swap and the issue persists.
This has left me with large amounts of oil mixed with coolant.
Wondering if the coolant can be removed and oil reused, at least for testing purposes?

 

[94 lngbd]

you did install NEW head gaskets correct? And scrap off ALL old head gasket material from block & any on bottom of heads? IF you did all that then drain all oil from engine or just completely remove oil pan. Install cheap oil filter & 3 qrts of cheap oil & 1 qrt of cheap automatic tranny fluid into engine & run for about 15-30 minutes,then drain & add your normal oil & new filter.

Before doing this FLUSH your radiator as there is probably oil mixed in with your coolant as well.

 

[Cameron1591]

Yes I did use new Victor reinz gaskets and scraped all old gaskets off. Surfaces were very clean and scratch free.
I basically have oil coolant mixed from 2 oil changes. 1 b4 head swap and 1 after. Wanted to know if I can reuse it to figure out y its still leaking rather than buying more and more new oil and filters.

I believe the issue now is the lower intake gasket didn't seal correctly based on leakage I've found on the block. And reusing the oil to test would help with the cost of finding the issue.

But what is the purpose of mixing the tranny fluid with oil as you suggested?

 

[adsm08]

Tranny fluid cleans things better than oil and will help pull the goo out.

You did replace the head bolts as well, right? I gotta ask becuase I don't know your skill/knowledge level and you haven't specified that you did.

 

[Cameron1591]

Oh OK. Never heard that about tranny fluid.

And thanks for the concern because this is the 1st major engine work I've ever done. But yes I did replace them. Got the gasket set with bolts. Torqued everything in according to specs from the chilton. I followed every step except for missing the retorque. Had everything labeled to easily reassemble.

I actually took the upper intake off tonight and my lower intake bolts were about 10-12 ft lbs loose on the passenger side and the driver side was about 5 loose. Have to finish reassembly tomorrow and test it out.

I'll post with results.

 

[Mark_88]

Not sure if you can actually separate the two without some really fancy and expensive equipment...so my suggestion would be to use fresh stuff because you won't be able to tell if you've fixed the problem when using oil that is already contaminated.

The loose heads may be contributing to the problem so you won't know until it is tested...and if you could post the results from that maybe others with experience with this engine can further suggest other possible points of entry for the mix...

 

[Cameron1591]

Bummer. I'll just have to hope it works and doesn't ruin more oil.

And I'll be sure to post results. The TRS forum has helped me a lot through this head swap. And I definitely appreciate it.

 

[Cameron1591]

Well I gotta thank you guys for ur help.
I finished retorquing the lower intake and its running fine.
Drove it 3 times now and it hasn't tried to overheat. Although the temp gauge likes to sit just under the high mark but still in range.
No signs of coolant in the oil and the coolant level has stayed the same.
And I do have radiator and therm flow. My uncle helped me make sure of that.

So it seems like I've resolved the issue. Just gonna do what I can to make the cooling system more efficient to avoid future overheating.

 

[Mark_88]

Thanks for the update...good to hear it has been successful...