My 99 7.3L has coolant in the oil and is losing coolant as well. There is no coolant in the oil. It is not smoking and no signs of moisture at the exhaust. I am perplexed. It seems that I have 2 problems going at the same time.
Background: I initially noticed that the coolant level was down about an inch in the degass bottle every couple weeks. I saw some moisture on the top of the radiator and thought I would have to replace it in the future (now that moisture no longer exists). I then noticed oil in the coolant. My mechanic said that 99% of the time that this is the oil cooler. Oil cooler was leaking slightly externally so this made sense. I had him replace the O-rings, gaskets and also we replaced the cooler itself. He flushed the system. Still had oil in coolant. He drained the oil and pressurized the coolant and said after a 2 days he got a little coolant out of the pan but no oil from the oil filter housing, so he suspected cavitation of the block.
This diagnosis did not make sense to me and I wondered if the coolant was not present from when he replaced the cooler. My understanding was that cavitation would not put oil in coolant. So, I removed the cooler myself and replaced both endcaps as they had pitting where the inside 0-ring seated. I also noted that it did not look like he pressed the cooler together as far as it should have gone. I felt like I had found the problem. After reassembly, I replaced the coolant and oil.
Again, I was getting oil in the coolant, but suspected that I did not clean the cooling system well enough. I pulled the oil pan drain plug at 500 and 2000 miles later and had no water in the oil. Started to suspect that the water pump was leaking, but drying on engine before getting to the ground.
Last night, I cleaned the cooling system with calgon dishwasher liquid soap twice and once with simple green. I flushed with water between cleanings and pulled the block plugs...the whole deal.Seemed like it cleaned out really well.
Added only water to the system and thought it was topped off. Drove 80 miles and popped the hood to see no water in degass bottle. Took 1.5 gallons to top off. Water in degass bottle stayed clean after running it at temp for a while. Drove home and stopped at the 40 mile point. Water was down half way on degass bottle and had a lot of oil in it. Added about 1/2 gallon and drove another 40 miles. After I got home, I just let it sit for about 2 hours. There was no water in degass bottle at this point. Oil level in engine is not rising. It starts right up and runs like a top.
Sorry for the long post, but I am at a loss. I have spent countless hours researching this and can't figure it out. Prior to today, I thought I just had not cleaned out the coolant system well enough and my water pump was leaking. Now, it seems after cleaning out the coolant system thoroughly, my situation has gotten even worse.
Any and all help will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tim
Background: I initially noticed that the coolant level was down about an inch in the degass bottle every couple weeks. I saw some moisture on the top of the radiator and thought I would have to replace it in the future (now that moisture no longer exists). I then noticed oil in the coolant. My mechanic said that 99% of the time that this is the oil cooler. Oil cooler was leaking slightly externally so this made sense. I had him replace the O-rings, gaskets and also we replaced the cooler itself. He flushed the system. Still had oil in coolant. He drained the oil and pressurized the coolant and said after a 2 days he got a little coolant out of the pan but no oil from the oil filter housing, so he suspected cavitation of the block.
This diagnosis did not make sense to me and I wondered if the coolant was not present from when he replaced the cooler. My understanding was that cavitation would not put oil in coolant. So, I removed the cooler myself and replaced both endcaps as they had pitting where the inside 0-ring seated. I also noted that it did not look like he pressed the cooler together as far as it should have gone. I felt like I had found the problem. After reassembly, I replaced the coolant and oil.
Again, I was getting oil in the coolant, but suspected that I did not clean the cooling system well enough. I pulled the oil pan drain plug at 500 and 2000 miles later and had no water in the oil. Started to suspect that the water pump was leaking, but drying on engine before getting to the ground.
Last night, I cleaned the cooling system with calgon dishwasher liquid soap twice and once with simple green. I flushed with water between cleanings and pulled the block plugs...the whole deal.Seemed like it cleaned out really well.
Added only water to the system and thought it was topped off. Drove 80 miles and popped the hood to see no water in degass bottle. Took 1.5 gallons to top off. Water in degass bottle stayed clean after running it at temp for a while. Drove home and stopped at the 40 mile point. Water was down half way on degass bottle and had a lot of oil in it. Added about 1/2 gallon and drove another 40 miles. After I got home, I just let it sit for about 2 hours. There was no water in degass bottle at this point. Oil level in engine is not rising. It starts right up and runs like a top.
Sorry for the long post, but I am at a loss. I have spent countless hours researching this and can't figure it out. Prior to today, I thought I just had not cleaned out the coolant system well enough and my water pump was leaking. Now, it seems after cleaning out the coolant system thoroughly, my situation has gotten even worse.
Any and all help will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tim