Bad oil sample - glycol And Fe

[Robbie Jay]

I have 94 XLT 4X4 with the 4.0L V6 and Auto Trans. 138000 KM. I recently browsed this forum to try and solve a problem I was having. The following was happening:

-transmission fluid level going down w/ no external leakage.
-Backfire upon starting which caused vacum lines to blow off.
-rough idle.

With the help of this forum I was able to determine that I had a faulty tranmission Diaphram. It was full of transmission fluid, this allowed the ATF to enter the engine and caused the vacum lines to swell at the manifold on the head. What a pain to replace! ( I didn't drop the exhaust - did it by feel)

Just one week prior to this fix I changed oil. As always, I had an oil analysis done.

I got a call from the lab....Action Required!!!

-positive glycol (antifreeze)
-Fe (iron shot up to 300 Parts per million)
-lead, cromium, and just about everything else is elevated.

I am thinking that it is not likely that the Antifreeze was sucked in from the tranmission, since I would expect higher pressures in the transmission than in the cooling system.

Could be a head or gasket problem?
Would the ATF contamination cause the Iron, (ring/cylinder wear)?

Will next sample improve?
I am going to change oil again and then resample.
Since I have no visible signs of coolant contamination, I am hoping to survive a while longer while I try to detemine the source of the contamination.

IT Runs much better since replacing the Diaphragm, but I am now wondering where to go.

Any thoughts??????

 

[BRacing]

if you still have oil in the pan that was exposed to the faulty diaphram, go ahaid and repace it. Then run the truck through another cycle of oil and have THAT oil analyzed. The goal is to prevent the oil ATF oil from being exposed to newer oil.

The ATF oil will get sucked into the engine, probably causing the problems and elements in the oil. I would wait till the new lab report comes back after the repair before i start worrying.

Good luck!
-Brad

 

[AgExplorer]

The glycol may indicate a bad head gasket. Do the oil change and take another sample at about 500 miles or less. If you have a bad head gasket the glycol will show up again. With the oil possibly being diluted by the ATF, this could have caused the elevated wear metals. Let us know how the next sample comes out.

Who is doing the oil analysis for you?

 

[Robbie Jay]

AgExplorer,

I will change oil again, run for a while and then resample. I will also sample the ATF. (should let me know if there is a transmission oil cooler problem.)

I work for the Western Canadian Caterpillar Dealer, We have our own Labs. You should be able to get sampling done through any Caterpillar Dealer. Cost up here is only $16.00 Canadian. Just request a S.O.S kit (scheduled oil sampling). (some labs even offer online results)



Robbie Jay