2003 Oil in Coolant

[detroitmoe]

Hey everyone. Just bought a 2003 T-Bird w/ 104k miles yesterday and noticed some thick liquid caked on the inside of my coolant cap and reservoir. Went to get it cleaned out at an oil change and mechanic told me it was most likely a head gasket issue since there was a lot of oil surrounding the cap and reservoir and that if it was coming from the transmission the liquid would instead be red. Haven't yet driven he car much so don't know if it overheats, nor do I notice or hear anything wrong when starting or driving the car such as smoke. Carfax says that the car was serviced for a cooling issue a few times in the past year before it was sold at auction. Second opinion at another mechanic took one look as said blown head gasket. Not sure if I should just return car to dealer or get a third opinion as I do not want to part with it. Both strongly recommended I return it to dealer. Hoping for some insight.

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[tmdtmd]

Seems to me that if you had a blown head gasket you would have water in the oil, not oil in the water. The only place where the oil and water are side by side is in the oil cooler where the oil has more presssure than the water the oil cooler is right behind the oil filter. You might be able to cap theses lines off to bypass the cooler or just just change it out. Looks like you can get the cooler off without taking anything else apart.

 

[biddle]

Both strongly recommended I return it to dealer. Hoping for some insight.

They can do pressure tests to confirm a blown head gasket, and it is well known that oil in the coolant in any car is often a head gasket.

I've never heard of a used car dealer taking a 20+ year old car back after you bought it. It's not like it's WalMart. Lol Did you sign an As-Is form?

If you are new to anything regarding cars, your best bet is to find a trusted mechanic. Your car cannot be diagnosed over the internet.

 

[detroitmoe]

They can do pressure tests to confirm a blown head gasket, and it is well known that oil in the coolant in any car is often a head gasket.

I've never heard of a used car dealer taking a 20+ year old car back after you bought it. It's not like it's WalMart. Lol Did you sign an As-Is form?

Hey Biddle! Thanks for the reply. They did not preform a pressure test and the oil in and around coolant reservoir was enough for them to tell me to take it back. Dealer is a friend of mine lol, did not sign an as-in form. Wanted to get it checked out before I registered car in my name.

@tmdtmd Just to clarify, as I'm quite new to anything cars. If it is in fact the oil cooler and not the head gasket, how exactly did oil get in the coolant reservoir. Not too sure how all this works, do lines from reservoir go to or from the oil cooler? And if I choose to capo these lines off, does that mean the oil will not be cooled? I have heard about issues with overheating in T-Birds and as I plan on driving from Detroit to NYC, I'm quite worried.

 

[biddle]

Hey Biddle! Thanks for the reply. They did not preform a pressure test and the oil in and around coolant reservoir was enough for them to tell me to take it back. Dealer is a friend of mine lol, did not sign an as-in form. Wanted to get it checked out before I registered car in my name.

Regardless of what people on the internet say, it would seem like listening to mechanics who looked at your car is enough to take the car back to your friend and find something else.

 

[74 Harley]

While @tmdtmd has a great point, there are oil passages in the head gaskets for oiling the cams.

 

[Daily Driver]

There are plenty of Thunderbirds for sale. Choices
1. Take it back, buy another one
2. Repair what you have, chasing other issues alone the way, $$$$$
3. Since you don't drive the car, clean it up and leave it parked in the garage except for very short trips

 

[detroitmoe]

Quick update for those who face a similar issue. Got a third opinion and it seems like the oil filter housing adapter was faulty and since both oil and coolant lines run through it, it seemed to be the culprit. Resolved that and no signs of oil in coolant anymore.

 

[teeetyme18]

I had the same problem. I replaced the oil filter adapter gasket and that solved the issue. $5.50 for the gasket and about 5 hours of labor for me. It was a challenge but my bird is running good with no more oil leak.

 

[Beer.Tom.Retro]

Seems to me that if you had a blown head gasket you would have water in the oil, not oil in the water. The only place where the oil and water are side by side is in the oil cooler where the oil has more presssure than the water the oil cooler is right behind the oil filter. You might be able to cap theses lines off to bypass the cooler or just just change it out. Looks like you can get the cooler off without taking anything else apart.

Correct me if I'm wrong but...Pressure is only greater when the engine is running, as soon as you shut it off there is no longer oil pressure and the water temp is still there until it cools.

 

[SeanPwnery]

This is a little bit of a thread-necro ?, but this recently happened to me as well. I've recently replaced the radiator, heater valve, water pump, and thermostat housing, as well as all of the related hoses. It ran hot once on the way to work, but the ECU did what it had to do to keep the engine from killing itself, and thankfully I was only a few hundred yards from my shop. I too noticed the oil skim on the top of the degas bottle, and have been checking the oil religiously since. Oil level has been fine, and no signs of milkshake, the coolant circulates in the degas bottle as it normally does, but the oil skim keeps appearing after running for a heat cycle. All that aside, I picked up a Gates hose "without oil cooler" partition, and plan on looping the oil-cooler lines and doing a flush in a few days and seeing if the skim stops. My neighbor is a Ford guy, and a diesel mechanic, and told me that Ford oil coolers are pretty notorious for failing and allowing oil ingress into the coolant circuit on Powerstrokes. He cited the pressure differential allowing the ingress as well. After looking at the design of my cooler, he was saying he wouldn't be surprised if that was what happened to mine as well. There's actually a video out there of a guy with a 4.6L cooler on a Mustang that had a similar situation, but he managed to find the necessary O-rings to "rebuild" his. In all honesty, I'm thinking I just want to go without, and install an air cooled unit.

Hopefully I'll have some positive news in a few days after doing the flush.

 

[74 Harley]

Good luck. An oil cooler failure is cheaper than head gaskets.

 

[citizen 1]

Hey everyone. Just bought a 2003 T-Bird w/ 104k miles yesterday and noticed some thick liquid caked on the inside of my coolant cap and reservoir. Went to get it cleaned out at an oil change and mechanic told me it was most likely a head gasket issue since there was a lot of oil surrounding the cap and reservoir and that if it was coming from the transmission the liquid would instead be red. Haven't yet driven he car much so don't know if it overheats, nor do I notice or hear anything wrong when starting or driving the car such as smoke. Carfax says that the car was serviced for a cooling issue a few times in the past year before it was sold at auction. Second opinion at another mechanic took one look as said blown head gasket. Not sure if I should just return car to dealer or get a third opinion as I do not want to part with it. Both strongly recommended I return it to dealer. Hoping for some insight.

Hey Detroitmoe...I would definidtely take it back. They HAD to know there was a problem.
When was last time dealer serviced your 03?. I mean you haven't even DRIVEN it