Coolant in oil?

Moderators: 330GT, abrent

Post Reply
zdr
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:01 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Coolant in oil?

Post by zdr »

My 330GT 2+2 has been sitting most of the winter (occasional short drives when weather permits). I keep a drip pan under it while parked, and have noticed that what was usually just oil leaking out of it has changed to what looks like a combo of oil and antifreeze. It does put out white smoke when it starts. Looking under the car, I see dropletts of greenish oil on the oil pan bolts. Is this probable sign of head gasket issue?
Thanks,
David
David Rice
'67 330GT 2+2 #9673
'71 365GTB/4 #14521
David Smith
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2002 10:49 pm
Location: Valparaiso, IN

Re: Coolant in oil?

Post by David Smith »

Maybe a retorque of the heads is all that is needed. I had a similar situation after a rebuild and that solved my problem.
1967 330 GTC #9313
User avatar
tyang
Posts: 4060
Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: New York
Contact:

Re: Coolant in oil?

Post by tyang »

zdr wrote:My 330GT 2+2 has been sitting most of the winter (occasional short drives when weather permits). I keep a drip pan under it while parked, and have noticed that what was usually just oil leaking out of it has changed to what looks like a combo of oil and antifreeze. It does put out white smoke when it starts. Looking under the car, I see dropletts of greenish oil on the oil pan bolts. Is this probable sign of head gasket issue?
Thanks,
David
Hi David,

Coolant seals can sometimes leak from sitting, so let's hope it's not the worst possible scenario. The PF coupe I'm working on had one of these leaks and was solved with new gaskets and some RTV. White smoke at start up is not out of the ordinary, especially in winter, and it also depends on how much smoke you see. If you find yourself loosing coolant, then worry.

Try cleaning the engine area with some solvent and some compressed air. With everything clean, look carefully for the source.

Good luck!

Tom
'63 330 America #5053
Rudy van Daalen Wetters
Posts: 1206
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 5:53 pm

Re: Coolant in oil?

Post by Rudy van Daalen Wetters »

I highly recommend that you do not let the car sit so long. The cold
winter temps will cause the heads and gaskets to shrink and allow
coolant to seep out wherever possible. The answer is to fire it up
at least every couple of weeks, especially if it's cold outside. Once
the engine warms the leaks typically stop due to expansion of the
materials. Seeping fluid typically forms a small channel, then if
left to its own, forms a river at which point you are in trouble.
Even If I don't have the time to drive a car I fire it up just to
avoid all the problems of an unused car. Letting these cars just
sit is a Death Knell.

Rudy van Daalen Wetters
1963 GTE s/n 4001
1966 330 GT s/n 8705
250GT
Posts: 968
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:41 am
Location: germany/holland

Re: Coolant in oil?

Post by 250GT »

Hello, I would also tip on an worn waterpump seal.
Headgaskets normally fly away by overheathing.
Change your oil and filters- once or twice -after repair and everything will be fine

ciao
Cornelis
mdempsey
Posts: 183
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2007 10:08 pm
Location: Huntingtown, MD

Re: Coolant in oil?

Post by mdempsey »

Don't panic. Two years ago I went to check my oil prior to taking out my 365 GT. It was milky and obviously water laden. I immediately started figuring on a major issue-problem with big $$$. Turns out, at least on the 365, when the water pump seal goes coolant can leak into the crankcase. The fix was basically less than $200.00. Doesn't sound like this is your problem. Point is, start with the easy and cheap stuff first. Good luck.
zdr
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:01 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Coolant in oil?

Post by zdr »

Thanks everyone - great ideas. I'll start with the easiest/cheapest (seals) and go from there.

David
David Rice
'67 330GT 2+2 #9673
'71 365GTB/4 #14521
8339
Posts: 128
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:44 am
Location: Reisterstown, MD
Contact:

Re: Coolant in oil?

Post by 8339 »

David, before you replace anything, do some diagnosis, pressure test the cooling system and see if the pressure drops off quickly, if you can remove the timing chain cover on the left just above the water pump, as you pressure test the system see if there is any evidence of coolant leaks behind the drive for the pump. Another test is to use a block tester which uses a blue (litmus)fluid to test for evidence of combustion, (CO or HC) in the cooling system, the fluid will turn green if there is any combustion gases in the cooling system, that will tell you if you have a head gasket problem. The amount of time you spend diagnosing the problem will save countless hours of replacing parts that may not need to be replaced. If you any questions call me.


Richard Garre
Radcliffe Motorcar Co. www.rmccar.com 410-517-1681
jcwconsult
Posts: 128
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2004 11:55 am
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Re: Coolant in oil?

Post by jcwconsult »

I had a massive amount of coolant suddenly appear in the oil last fall after a very short run when I knew the oil was clean before the start of the run. The usual suspects of dried gaskets, water pump seal, etc. were all OK. We pressurized each cylinder in turn with air pressure and found nothing. We pulled the cam covers, pressurized the cooling system and watched things for MANY minutes without seeing anything at all. Then we noticed a very slight but rhythmic change in the reflection of the overhead shop lights in the pool of oil by the cam lobes at the front of the left cylinder head. The forwardmost aluminum plug, 95184 Tappo Conico, had developed a leak right in the center recess boss used to screw it into the head with a ratchet extension bar. Under just 7 pounds of pressure and cold, it would burp a drop of water into that little pool of oil every few seconds, causing a ripple that changed the reflection of the shop lights. These plugs are meant to be permanent and are nearly impossible to remove.

We tied up the chain, removed that cam, and drilled out the center of the plug which is very thin, drilling right through the recess boss used to screw it in. Then we tapped the drilled out hole for a brass plug to permanently seal it. For safety, since the amount of water ingested caused quite a bit of oil frothing, we pulled the lower engine pan and cleaned out the frothy gook from all the baffled areas in the pan. That was a GOOD idea, since the froth does not drain out with the oil. We reassembled everything, rechecked timing on that distributor, filled with new oil, and all was OK.

Like a lot of things inside the engine, it took several hours to find the screwy problem, more hours to get access to do the repair, 15 minutes actually to fix it, and several more hours to clean everything back up and reassemble.

Whee !
Jim Walker
365 GT 2+2 #12451
Post Reply