oil in my radiator

jd4242 · June 3, 2009

ok once again im get oil in my water now not water in my oil.i was getting water in my oil and it was that the lower intake kept coming lose but now that problem is fixed.now im getting oil in my radiator but im not losing oil and i know i dont have a cracked head.is it possible that the radiator is bad and leaking trans oil into my water?i was having water leaking from the sides of the radiator but it has stopped now.

Masterd · June 3, 2009

Cracked head.....head gasket....lower intake.

You can check the tranny fluid level to rule the cooler out.

jd4242 · June 3, 2009

Masterd said:
Cracked head.....head gasket....lower intake.

You can check the tranny fluid level to rule the cooler out.

I've been having tis problem for a wile I know its not any of those things I've checked and replaced all of them 3 times thinking that was it.the last thing is that the tranny lines are leaking into the radiator but ice never heard of that tho
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Maniak · June 3, 2009

Trans is easy to test.. Disconnect the two lines from the radiator.. shove a hose over the end of each.. double clamp them and start the truck...

Even better would be to have those lines go to an aux cooler.. that way you could drive for a few days..

~Mark

jd4242 · June 3, 2009

Maniak said:
Trans is easy to test.. Disconnect the two lines from the radiator.. shove a hose over the end of each.. double clamp them and start the truck...

Even better would be to have those lines go to an aux cooler.. that way you could drive for a few days..

~Mark

that's what im doing tomorrow haha,I just was wondering if anyone has had a problem like this before,o and I got 2 coolers with a fan on one,so I know it will be fine
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Masterd · June 4, 2009

Did you have the heads magnafluxed to check for cracks, or did you just do it visually.

jd4242 · June 4, 2009

Masterd said:
Did you have the heads magnafluxed to check for cracks, or did you just do it visually.

yes this is the 2nd set of heads I had 90tm heads then I had problems so I thought maybee they didn't see a crack so I bought brand new aftermarket cast 95tm heads im allmost a 100% its not the heads
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nitro71 · June 4, 2009

Jd, I'm reading this early in the AM and all I can think is cooling lines in the radiator since you eliminated the heads. How's your tranny fluid look? Nothing odd there? Same with engine oil I imagine? I just read through the service manual. Nothing astounding there. One thing it mentioned was smelling your tranny and engine oil for anti freeze.

Alan_V · June 4, 2009

If your trans fluid is pink, not red, and foamy, you may have a leak in the radiator that's mixing trans fluid and coolant. Radiator's a simple fix.

The bad news is that most mfgs use a water soluable adhesive to adhere the clutch material to the discs in the trans clutches. The sooner you solve it, the longer your trans will live.

jd4242 · June 4, 2009

Alan_V said:
If your trans fluid is pink, not red, and foamy, you may have a leak in the radiator that's mixing trans fluid and coolant. Radiator's a simple fix.

The bad news is that most mfgs use a water soluable adhesive to adhere the clutch material to the discs in the trans clutches. The sooner you solve it, the longer your trans will live.

yea im not getting the milky stuff on any of my dipsticks.what I was thinking that the pressure from the trans is greater than what the radiator is so its just forceing its way into the radiator.im going to pull the lines of today but its freaking poring rain and I got my bike apart and my dad has both his HD apart in my garage.the trans is brand new also but I am having problems like its slipping slightly all the time
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geoph1986 · June 4, 2009

Your radiator has an internal cooler, that is made to withstand the pressure of the transmission lines. It's not that uncommon for the trans cooler to have a pinhole leak in it.
If it is your trans cooler leaking you will very rarely get coolant in your trans fluid. The only way to fix an internal cooler is to replace the rad (on copper/brass setups you can remove the tank & replace the cooler) or just run with an external cooler only. If you want to test the cooler (the back yard mechanic way), pull the trans lines off, blow the fluid out of the cooler using an air compressor, plug one of the lines on the rad, put an air line on the other trans fitting (on the rad), provide about 40lbs constant air pressure, and look into the filler neck for bubbles. Normally it is just a "fizzer" caused by a pinhole leak. Do this with the vehicle NOT running. Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes to see the leak.

P.S.
Once you have fixed the trans fluid problem, have your cooling system flushed with chemical and I don't recommend just using a garden hose attachment. Go to a radiator shop and have them flush it with pressure. I used to work in a rad shop (for about 5 years), and have dealt with stuff like this lots. The garden hose thing is just good for a rinse.

jd4242 · June 4, 2009

geoph1986 said:
Your radiator has an internal cooler, that is made to withstand the pressure of the transmission lines. It's not that uncommon for the trans cooler to have a pinhole leak in it.
If it is your trans cooler leaking you will very rarely get coolant in your trans fluid. The only way to fix an internal cooler is to replace the rad (on copper/brass setups you can remove the tank & replace the cooler) or just run with an external cooler only. If you want to test the cooler (the back yard mechanic way), pull the trans lines off, blow the fluid out of the cooler using an air compressor, plug one of the lines on the rad, put an air line on the other trans fitting (on the rad), provide about 40lbs constant air pressure, and look into the filler neck for bubbles. Normally it is just a "fizzer" caused by a pinhole leak. Do this with the vehicle NOT running. Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes to see the leak.

P.S.
Once you have fixed the trans fluid problem, have your cooling system flushed with chemical and I don't recommend just using a garden hose attachment. Go to a radiator shop and have them flush it with pressure. I used to work in a rad shop (for about 5 years), and have dealt with stuff like this lots. The garden hose thing is just good for a rinse.

so you have head of this before?the milky crap in the radiator isnt red or pink though,i figured it would be

geoph1986 · June 4, 2009

Yes I have personally fixed many, many leaking transmission coolers. In my experience, milky coolant is caused by two things only. 1. Engine oil entering the cooling system. 2. Transmission oil entering the cooling system.
If transmission oil is entering the cooling system it is 100% your transmission cooler. Your coolant will then usually look like a strawberry milkshake (small amounts of transmission fluid may look brown, just floating on top). If engine oil is entering the cooling system, your coolant will usually look like a chocolate milkshake, and then it's the head, head gasket or intake manifold. You said you replaced the heads and LIM...are you sure you have the gaskets installed properly? Intake gasket installed properly? Torqued the bolts down in the proper sequence & to proper torque specs? You can have a bad head, head gasket intake gasket or intake manifold and not have coolant in your oil and vice versa.

jd4242 · June 4, 2009

geoph1986 said:
Yes I have personally fixed many, many leaking transmission coolers. In my experience, milky coolant is caused by two things only. 1. Engine oil entering the cooling system. 2. Transmission oil entering the cooling system.
If transmission oil is entering the cooling system it is 100% your transmission cooler. Your coolant will then usually look like a strawberry milkshake (small amounts of transmission fluid may look brown, just floating on top). If engine oil is entering the cooling system, your coolant will usually look like a chocolate milkshake, and then it's the head, head gasket or intake manifold. You said you replaced the heads and LIM...are you sure you have the gaskets installed properly? Intake gasket installed properly? Torqued the bolts down in the proper sequence & to proper torque specs? You can have a bad head, head gasket intake gasket or intake manifold and not have coolant in your oil and vice versa.

yea im pretty sure it isnt my heads or intake.the milky crap looks white or slightly yellow

geoph1986 · June 4, 2009

Weird...if your sure it's not the heads or lim, test the trans cooler...

Alan_V · June 4, 2009

jd4242 said:
yea im not getting the milky stuff on any of my dipsticks.what I was thinking that the pressure from the trans is greater than what the radiator is so its just forceing its way into the radiator.im going to pull the lines of today but its freaking poring rain and I got my bike apart and my dad has both his HD apart in my garage.the trans is brand new also but I am having problems like its slipping slightly all the time
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I can't speak for the Explorer because I've never been to a class on it, but the cooler is usually considered "unpressurized" as it dumps straight into the pan. There's no element or metered orafice to create pressure in that circuit. The main reason is that if the fluid is under pressure, you will create additional heat. While there is always some pressure present due to volume and flow, it's likely that cooling system pressure exceeds what pressure is in the trans cooler.

jd4242 · June 4, 2009

Alan_V said:
I can't speak for the Explorer because I've never been to a class on it, but the cooler is usually considered "unpressurized" as it dumps straight into the pan. There's no element or metered orafice to create pressure in that circuit. The main reason is that if the fluid is under pressure, you will create additional heat. While there is always some pressure present due to volume and flow, it's likely that cooling system pressure exceeds what pressure is in the trans cooler.

its pressurized and more than likely its greater than the radiator until you turn off the truck,i would think

jd4242 · June 4, 2009

geoph1986 said:
Weird...if your sure it's not the heads or lim, test the trans cooler...

as soon as it stops raining im on it.good idea by the way with the air hose and looking for bubbles :thumbsup:

nitro71 · June 4, 2009

It makes sense to presurize your tranny coolant line going to the radiator. Basic high presure, low presure cooling theory there. Doesn't mean it works like that though in the X.

geoph1986 · June 4, 2009

nitro71 said:
It makes sense to presurize your tranny coolant line going to the radiator. Basic high presure, low presure cooling theory there. Doesn't mean it works like that though in the X.

It's more than a theory...it's a fact, air bubbles rise in water. Purge the tranny cooler of fluid, cap one end, pressurize on the other side. Look down into the radiator fill cap (with a light), and watch for bubbles. A pin hole leak in a cooler will look like the fizz of soda/beer. Also, sometimes they don't show up right away, you have to wait a minute or two. I should also mention that this way of testing only works if the trans cooler is on the same side as the fill cap (on the X it is), and the coolant/water has to cover the cooler completely.

I wouldn't say that I'm an "expert" in cooling systems, but more well educated. I was employed at a rad shop for five years, and have worked on cooling systems for almost every type of car, truck, etc. I have also flushed, tested and repaired many, many oil coolers, fuel cells, and re-cored/repaired radiators of all shapes and sizes. If the cooler has a leak, it will show up.

One other thing to note is that if you have a leak, it may not leak all of the time, due to temperature which causes expansion and contraction.

oil in my radiator

jd4242

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Masterd

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