antifreeze in oil | Ford Explorer Forums

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antifreeze in oil

elmsjetta

Member
Joined
October 18, 2002
Messages
13
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City, State
Malibu and Pittsburgh
Year, Model & Trim Level
1999 xlt
i just got my oil changed and they told me that antifreeze is mxing with the oil and that i was 1/2 gallon low on anti freeze, they stated it might be the headgasket or manifold, if a leaking headgasket is there anything i can add to seal it and if not what do i watch for besides antifreeze levels? and how long can i go before they need replaced?
 



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There isn't much you can do, more than likely your head gasket is starting to go bad.. Possibly your heads might also be warped. The heads are aluminum so they're not though like the old ones.
 






Its a situation that should be resolved asap.

Good luck.....
 






Take it to a mechanic and have it checked. Often thats a sign of a head gasket. There isnt anything you can do to seal it up other than get it replaced. Obviously you would have 2 replaced as there wouldnt be any reason not to do the other. Sorry man I know all of too well how it sucks.
 






Oh dont drive it till you figure it out. If you MUST drive it keep an eye on the temp gauge. Its extremely easy to fry your motor because of this.
 






A radiator pressure test sould tell to if there is a leak somewhere in the cooling system. shouldn't cost you much to have done but it can't be hot when done. ask around maybe a local mechanic will let you use a testor.
 






On the Explorer, there are 2 main culprits for antifreeze in the oil, head gaskets and lower intake manifold gaskets. Both of which require some level of engine disassembly. You need to stop driving it now and get it fixed. If you don't you may ruin the motor completely. Besides the overheating issue, antifreeze doesn't have the same lubricity as oil, which may cause premature wear of components that rely upon the oil for protection.

First you need to figure out where the problem is. Since you already have antifreeze in the oil, you don't need to do a radiator pressure test because that will only tell you that antifreeze is leaking. You need to have a compression test done to determine if it's leaking into the cylinders. If it is, then that's most likely a bad head gasket or a warped head. If it isn't, then it's likely to be the lower intake gasket.

One thing you might want to try is re-torquing the lower intake manifold bolts. I have heard of this fixing antifreeze leaks in the past. However, if the gasket is damaged, or it's a head gasket, it won't fix the problem.
 






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