1997 lumina 3.1L Coolant in oil?

[freeon/neon]

I think I'm getting some coolant in my oil,

1. the temp is going up around the higher end of temp gauge but not in the red.

2. I am getting oarnge jelly stuff on oil cap.

3. Oil filter was full of thick sludge- NOT milky colored!

4. oil is black not milky

5. No heat at all to relieve the engine temp.

a mechanic told me the coolant intake seal is know for going bad and leaking into the oil side of the engine-head. I assume he talking about the upper radiator hose and thermo housing?

Hence the no heat because the hot coolant is not making it to the heater core!

Any ideas, where do I start-replace the thermo housing seal????

[Forscythe87]

The lower intake manifold gasket is known for going bad. Repair can range from $400-850 (from what ive seen).

Is your dexcool still bright orange? It can be a little on the thick side when it gets older (time for a change) and if it wasn't mixed with water when it was not premixed.


Your Oil would most likely look like chocolate milk mixed in a blender if you had a lot of coolant in it. You need to get a pressure test done and see if your loosing any coolant, it could be a leak that's small and your only loosing drops. A pressure test will help diagnose it.

[Dodge1063]

The radiator reservoir gave it away on mine. I use the generic green coolant and i could see it changing with a dark brown color. It was most evident i had the leak. I wasn't leaking any fluid to my knowledge but i think i caught it in time before it could have really messed things up.

I would have this looked at / changed very quickly.