Need Help!! coolant resivoir has oil in it.

[cheapthrill]

I bought a 1996 6.5 turbo suburban yesterday sight unseen. Then when i got it home the low coolant light came on so i popped the hood and the coolant resivoir is black and has oil in it???? The dipstick on the motor still looks good, but the oil filler cap is milky. What could it be???? I'm new to diesel, but can work my way around sbc's no problem. Also the turbo has oil coming from it. The rubber hose that comes from the intake wasn't clamped down, so I'm hoping that is fixed. An input would be great. This is my first post so Hi all.

[DmaxMaverick]

Welcome to the Forums!

It's probably not oil in the reservoir, but soot. Sounds like a head gasket, but could be hardware. Head gaskets aren't too bad to do, and if you know your way around SBC's, you should be able to handle it. On a cold engine, open the radiator cap to relieve pressure then tighten it. Start the engine and feel (squeeze) the upper radiator hose. You can also place a pressure testing cap on it. If it becomes pressurized very quickly, and/or you get bubbles in the overflow tank, it's likely the head gasket. Could be a head crack (or worse, cylinder crack, but more rare), but you won't know until you get the head off, which is inevitable if you get any combustion gas in the coolant. Certain head cracks are common, and easily repaired with a kit. You can also have the coolant tested for contaminants, but you can usually tell without it. If you have oil in the coolant, it shouldn't turn black, but soot will.

The milky stuff on the oil filler could be as likely from condensation. It's hard to say with a vehicle you just acquired. I suggest a cooling system pressure check and compression test, to start with. Clean up the oil filler and watch for it to return. If you have water/coolant in the oil, it will show during a drain. Let the hot engine sit for 30 minutes before pulling the drain plug to let any water to settle. If the oil comes out milky, thick like pudding, and/or mottled, you have coolant/water in the oil.

[Robyn]

Been there done that.
How many miles?? Check for any external leaks of coolant.
Also check for coolant blow over from the coolant tank out the overflow hose.
As maverick mentioned if the top hose gets hard or there is bubbles in the coolant tank there is a leak somewhere.

The most common on these is the #2 or #7 cylinder head gaskets blow through to the water passages.
The Felpro replacement gaskets had a heavier reinforcement around the end cylinders to stop this.

I would be very careful with this as if the coolant is leaking into a cylinder and you spin the engine over things can break.
I had our 94 Burb lose a gasket and tried to restart it to move the rig and it came up hard on #2 hole and snapped the starter bolts off plus tearing 3 teeth off the ring gear. :eek::eek::eek: Not good, hard to look cool too :rolleyes:

If the rig has high miles I would yank the engine out to do the work as it is much easier and you can really do a nice job then.
While the engine is out a good freshen with rings and bearings and new seals would be in order too.

A Note here. The head bolts are TTY type. This means torque to yield and they are a use once and toss thing.

About $45 for a set I think.

As far as cracks go the heads can and do crack between the valves and the port mouth of the precups can crack some.
If there are cracks on the firedeck of the head generally this is game over.

Clearwater cylinder head in Florida sells new aftermarket heads for a very good price. I have used a set and they were great looking heads.

I would NOT rebuild a 6.5 head for any reason especially a high miler.

The cost of the new heas from Clearwater makes a rebuild just simply not worth thinking about IMHO

Check it out and let us know

Robyn

[cheapthrill]

On a cold engine, open the radiator cap to relieve pressure then tighten it. Start the engine and feel (squeeze) the upper radiator hose. [/QUOTE]


The motor has 216,000 miles on it. i started it with a cold engine, the upper radiator hose is real pliable. it doesn't get hard.

[DmaxMaverick]

You need to pressure test the system. The cap could be bad, or you may have an external leak. Fluid color changes and contamination is usually a good indicator of a problem, but doesn't really tell you anything with an unknown history unless it's obvious.

If you aren't getting combustion gas in the coolant, the black you found could be from another source of contamination. If the engine runs good otherwise, I'd do a full service and start from scratch. It may be nothing more than real crappy service by the PO.

[Robyn]

If you are finding oily residue in the coolant it could also be a cross contamination from the engine oil cooler. The Burbs have these in the radiator LH tank.

If there is an issue there its not all that tough to fix. Just a fresh radiator or have the cooler rebuilt.

Like has been mentioned you need to ring out where the issue is most likely.
If you are not seeing high pressure in the cooling system this is a good thing, but the coolant is going somewhere and seeing white goop in the fill tube is not a good sign.

Good luck

Robyn

[rustyk]

Milky residue on the oil filler cap indicates coolant in the oil. Not good, as ethylene glycol (even just a few ounces) can turn the bottom end into something like a coal mine.

Drain the oil, pull the pan, and clean out any sludge. Then refill the oil, and when you get finished with work on the top, run it a few minutes and change it again. Repeat.

[DmaxMaverick]

Milky residue accumulated on the cap may or may not be indicative of what is in the sump. It can come from a number of sources. This is why I recommended a drain to see what is in the pan. The milky residue is NOT from EG, but the water in in EG. Water from any source can cause this, including condensation or other water contamination not related to the health of the engine. Water in the oil will boil off and rise to higher points, like the filler tube and cap. This is normal under any conditions, but usually isn't enough to cause significant residue. This needs to be confirmed. EG will coagulate engine oil if enough is present. I'm holding off any speculation until we get a report of the simple checks. This problem may not be an engine problem, but just an indicator of a poor service history. No reason to jump off the deep end, yet. Pulling the pan is NOT warranted at this time. I'm not saying there is no problem, but we don't have enough info to call it anything yet.

[cheapthrill]

I got the estimate from the shop today, And they said dump it!!! Head gasket on right side ans will need new coolers. Might even be cracked head. Now it up for sale after 4 days of owning it. 1996 2500 6.5td suburban 4x4
i'm disguited I'm going tonight to look at a powerstroke dually. hopefully I don't get taken again.

[kaylabryn]

Where are you located and how much?

[1999GMC]

You can get new heads for around $400 a piece. I just went fishing with a guy who has a 1994 suburban 6.5L, 196,000 miles. A head cracked, dealer wanted $1000 a piece, called around and found a shop that could get new heads for $500 a piece. Did the work himself. Truck running fine. How much was the quote they gave you?

[cheapthrill]

they quoted 2,000 I did find heads for 280 each new. But tonight I bought a powerstroke dually. I picked it up and it must be a small leak because it I didn't know the problem you could never tell. I live in Northern Il. zip 60050 I want 3,500 for the suburban489