Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online!
Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! 
-
Latest | 0 Rplys
Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Opel/Vauxhall > Corsa/Barina
Reply Show Printable Version Show Printable Version | Email this Page Email this Page | Subscription Subscribe to this Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 01-15-2010, 03:46 PM   #1
maheanuu
AF Newbie
 
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 4
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via ICQ to maheanuu
Oil in Cooling Water

But no water showing in the oil. This is my daughter's car, and I became involved in it's repair when I returned home to Tahiti.

The automobile is a Opel Corsa Elegance 1686cc 2002 model Diesel DTi

The mechanic had the car torn down and at the time thought it was a head gasket, but the replacement of that did not fix the problem. I asked if they had observed the head gasket removal and if there was a discolored place between the water and oil holes on the head or the block and they said they didn't know. The mechanic then told me that it was the oil cooler and I ordered a new one from Vauxhall in London and now 3 months later she is showing oil in the water again>

I am not sure if they cleaned the water radiator and it's lines after the replacement of the oil cooler so I am going to put in some detergent and run the car to see if that rid's me of the problem.

I would like to know where the oil cooler is in the circuit is it on the pressurized side of the oil pump or on the return side? I am also in the process of trying to find a repair manual on this car.

Ok, just finished puttihg detergent in the water circuit and man what a lot of oil and carbon washed out, I rinsed out the overflow resivoir and the water is staying oil free now, but want to make a drive and check it afterwards.

One thing for certain, the mechanics here in the outer islands know nothing about the newer cars and the computer circuits etc. In order to have a car repaired, we must ship the car to Papeete and take it to the service center which means around a thousand dollars per trip at a minimum...

I am going to be looking for the readout cable and the codes for this car.

If there is anyone in the forum that owns one and has experience or can tell me where I can order manuals parts guides etc. I would be very appreciative.

Ken Jackson
CPO USN RET

Last edited by maheanuu; 01-15-2010 at 03:51 PM. Reason: Added auto information in description
maheanuu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2010, 04:11 PM   #2
danielsatur
AF Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: garner, North Carolina
Posts: 3,579
Thanks: 86
Thanked 100 Times in 100 Posts
Re: Oil in Cooling Water

A bad head gasket will contaminate the coolant with oil.
There's alot of new/old products coolant additives, that clam to fix head gaskets.
The additives alone could contaminate the coolant system, we like to use metallic block seal for minor coolant leaks for this reason.I haven't used www.steelseal.com yet!

Found a video www.youtube.com/watch?v=3suQy44G_B0
Red Neck fix ! www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BjuAHBxnEw
danielsatur is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2010, 04:22 PM   #3
maheanuu
AF Newbie
Thread starter
 
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 4
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via ICQ to maheanuu
Re: Oil in Cooling Water

Quote:
Originally Posted by danielsatur View Post
A bad head gasket will contaminate the coolant with oil.
There's alot of new/old products coolant additives, that clam to fix head gaskets.
The additives alone could contaminate the coolant system, we like to use metallic block seal for minor coolant leaks for this reason.I haven't used www.steelseal.com yet!
Daniel, the mech had the head off and changed the gasket, I asked him at the time if there was any discoloration on the head or the block between a water channel and an oil channel and he said no all the gasket surfaces were bright steel color. I ordered a new oil cooler as that was where I believed the oil in the water was coming from as the oil pressure is a lot higher than the water pressure, and the fact there was no water in the oil...

Today I think that my daughter just discoverd that there was a skim of oil from the repair. My belief is that the mechanic did NOT clean the water system after the replacement and the oil has been circulating. I just added a quarter of a bottle of dishwashing detergent to the overflow chamber and circulated it for about 45 minutes then drained the system by disconnecting the return side of the expansion chamber and letting the water drain on the ground till there was no more oil nor soap in the water or the lines. My daughter is going to take a drive this afternoon and we will see if I was right or not...

Thanks for the quick comeback, and I really appreciate your reply.

Ken

Last edited by maheanuu; 01-15-2010 at 04:25 PM. Reason: spelling errors
maheanuu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2010, 04:48 PM   #4
danielsatur
AF Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: garner, North Carolina
Posts: 3,579
Thanks: 86
Thanked 100 Times in 100 Posts
Re: Oil in Cooling Water

After the flush with fresh coolant, keep an eye on temps, and fluids.
I wouldn't worry about a little oil contamination, from the previous head gasket repair.
danielsatur is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2010, 04:37 PM   #5
jd_975
AF Newbie
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Barnsley
Posts: 12
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Re: Oil in Cooling Water

Hi, most common thing on these engine for contamination problems is the oil cooler, even once done it`s nearly impossible to get all the old oil out of the cooling system so you will always get some residue showing in the header tank. As for checking out the engine management side I use something called an opcom, works in conjunction with a computer/laptop and offers near dealer level access to modules on the car for fault codes, live data and programming, they are readily available from auction websites. Hope this helps.

John.
jd_975 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2010, 02:43 PM   #6
maheanuu
AF Newbie
Thread starter
 
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 4
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via ICQ to maheanuu
Re: Oil in Cooling Water (8 Months Later) I need Help!

OK....... Everything was hunky dory until 3 days ago and my son in law came by in the Opel and sure enough, there is oil back in the water and NO mayo in the cam shaft fill area or on the fill cap. Checked the dip stick and the oil is dark, but not mayo'd or with droplets of water on it. It looks like the replacement heat exchanger has failed again or one of the gaskets has decided to leak. I have been told that there is a slight possibility that who ever replaced the head gasket did not torque the bolts down or didn't use the correct pattern in tightening. As I do not have a manual to tell me the torquing sequence or the value in inch or foot pounds, I would really appreciate it if someone could supply me with this information. Or if possibly another mechanic has had this same problem and managed to come up with a solution. I find it rather difficult to believe that the heat exchanger has failed again in less than 9 months...

I am to the point where I am not having very much confidence in the mechanics on our island. Most work without any manuals and use bolts that have been tensioned before rather than replacing them with new ones (which are not available) that have to be ordered also

Last edited by maheanuu; 09-04-2010 at 02:53 PM. Reason: added last sentence
maheanuu is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

POST REPLY TO THIS THREAD

Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Opel/Vauxhall > Corsa/Barina

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:15 AM.

Community Participation Guidelines | How to use your User Control Panel

Powered by: vBulletin | Copyright Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
 
 
no new posts