oil in coolant

:banghead: so this is kinda a stupid question cause i already know the answer its the head gasket ... any idea on a price to have this fixed ? kinda just got the truck under 6 months the body and inside and almost eveything is mint ... checked eveything out before i got the truck and didn't see any signs of oil in the coolant but last week about 800 km before my next oil change the check oil light came on :eek: so i checked the oil and yes it was on the add line no big deal i guess it has a small leak on the top head ? covers cheap to fix might even be able to do it myself ... its leaking onto the manifold and makes a little smell here and there .. not really worried ... so did the check under the truck always park in the same spot at home .. no real oil marks damn didn't get off that easy .. engine is kinda getting dirty over the months thats about it .. go inside the house the soon to be father in law says is there any oil in your coolant ..... damn him ... yes ...not to much yet ... now im not 100% its the head gasket but what other way would it get in there ? now i work for a landscape company with a large shop and 2 mechanics they said they could do it for me in the up coming winter when its slows down .. is this going to last till then ? anyone else ever have this problem ?how long do i have ? can i make things much worse by keep driving it to work and back ? will long drives over 200 kms make things worse ? will this do damage to my coolant system ? what kinda money am i looking at ? $700 to $1000 .. the truth is im worried i bought the truck hoping it was going to last me a few years .. the money part is not a huge thing ( well kinda ) the truth is i love the truck love it ... its been kinda a good thing in my life as of late kinda proud of it .. and its been great to be in a car/truck i can trust and be proud of ... don't think im going to sleep well for a couple night over this

one last thing is there anything i might have done to cause this in the 6 months i have owned it .... i got bad luck with cars .. even tho i feel im good to them

please feel free to email me [email protected]
im kinda a dumb kid when it comes to engines
thanks for your time

Oil in coolant=blown head gasket about 99.99% of the time.If u drive it much with a blown head gasket u run risk of 1.warping the head,2.ruining some exhaust vavles,3.gunking up ur cooling system -i.e.radiator and water pump,etc.,etc.Replacing a head gasket is not that difficult and the gasket itself is pretty cheap.If u have to replave a head or valves u r looking at serious money. Replace the gasket ASAP>truck will last a long time. BJ

Agree with head gasket, and replace it soon. If someone already has some experience and a torque wrench, shouldn't be too bad.

so was talking to the guys at work today seems it could also be a craked head or even worse a craked block :banghead: ... anyone ever have this problem with there mazda b3000 ? or any of the other cars that ford uses this engine for ?

If u drive it with a blown head gasket for long u can warp the head,or, if it overheats u can crack a head. Not common. Never seen a cracked block outside of one that sat outside in very cold weather with no antifreeze. Froze and cracked. BJ

If the check oil light came on and you ran it for any longer then maybe 30 seconds after the light came on the engine probably already has been seriously injurred. The stock oil pressure sending unit doesn't cut on until pressure has dropped below 3 psi. Don't run the truck at all until it gets fixed or you risk destroying the engine beyond repair.

Since it is warm outside I would drain the coolant immediatly AND flush the system. Every second that oil is in the coolant it is causing every rubber component in the cooling system to deteriorate and expand. If they deteriorate too much (which can happen in a few days) you will have to replace every rubber coolant line on the truck.

A Felpro head gasket runs for about $40, the whole cylinder head kit which has intake and exhaust gaskets front and rear cam seals, valve cover gasket, valve seals and pretty much everything else for the top in is about $95.

Someone who knows what they're doing can do the job in about 1 weekend if its their first time on this engine. I've done it two or three times and if need be can do it in less then 2 hours by myself. If the head requires rebuilding it could cost another $150-$400 to have it rebuilt or replaced. If you pay a shop to replace the head gasket it will probably run atleast $500 for parts and labor.

Here is some additional reading for you and for your buddies if you decide to have them do the job for you:

B2200 & B2000 Cylinder head details (http://www.mazdatruckin.com/B2200/B22HeadTorque.html)

For B2600i (http://www.mazdatruckin.com/B2600i/B26HeadTorque.html)

If you own one of the other trucks I can scan info from the factory manual for you.

Also all the trucks from 93 and older had a very robust block, the only time I've seen one with a crack in it is the one that was in my truck when I baught it which was rebuilt by some moron who I wouldn't trust with a blender and consequently had a catastauphic failure. There is only one place the head can crack where oil can get into the coolant and it is very unlikely.

If it still has the original head gasket the originals where made without a metal sealing ring and where known to do this when they failed. A new head gasket should have a metal sealing ring around the oil boss for the valvetrain which is designed to prevent this problem.