oil in the radiator

[Penster]

I have been having nothing but problem after problem with my 90 Grand Am LE 2.5 engine. What I need to know is should I keep doing a fix here a fix there or should I just junk it & get something new? I have it torn up to replace the valve cover gasket because it was blowing oil all over the engine. Now I take the drain out of the radiator to flush the engine & oil comes out not antifreeze. Whats up now? I'm a mechanic in training & my teacher is my Haynes book so cut me some slack, please.

[xeroinfinity]

so whats Haynes have to say about oil in the Antifreeze? definately not good? Was it just oil, no H2o or green at all? I would find it odd to have nothing But Oil in the radiator, unless someone put it in there. If that is the case, just oil, i'd look for blown gaskets head/intake big cracks. honestly Id junk it! Personally i've not seen any 2.4's(quad 4) that werent leaking something. You'd probley be better off scrapping it, but with any caar you'll have trouble thats garenteed. the newer it is the more, generally, the parts can cost.
you can find a nice 93-97 GA pretty cheap. in my area for $3000-4000$ will get a decent ride. just look for lower mileage and check for leakage under the car your lookin at. Non smokers/lady driven, garaged, those are things I'd look for and try to stay away from 2.4's. people think it gets better MPG but this isnt true. the smaller engine has to work harder,than a larger engine, to pull the same weight . But if you really like ur 90' and if ur willin to learn and get dirty an engine would be cheaper then a newr ride. hope this helps Penster!

[Penster]

My brother was a sailor but this lil sis can cus like one when shes gettin dirty. Thanks. I had a bad feeling that's what I would get told! Now I have to ask myself "Just how dirty do I want to get?"

[GTP Dad]

Before you scrap the engine check a couple of items. Do a compression check on the engine and see if the head gasket is indeed blown. I would also flush everything out of the coolant system and do a pressure test. The only way that much oil got into a radiator is for someone to have drained it and put oil in place of the antifreeze. You may yet be able to save this engine if it otherwise runs OK. By flushing the cooling system a couple of times and then replacing the antifreeze.

Are you sure that this oil is engine oil and not transmission fluid. There is a cooler for the automatic transmission inside radiator and it is probably leaking causing the oil in the coolant. I would pull the transmission pan to see if there is any water in the transmission too. You may not have as big a problem as you originally thought. Simply replace the radiator with another one flush the block, reconnect the tranny cooler lines or put on an external cooler and keep driving.

A lot cheaper than putting in a new engine or a new vehicle. If you find it can't be saved look for a low mileage used engine as you should be able to get one a lot cheaper than a new one. Car-part.com or cherry-auto.com can help you find one. Since you want to get your feet wet as a mechanic here is your chance. Good Luck.

[19k40rocky]

I guess I don't necessarily agree with the junk it and spend 4 grand on another ride that has a probability of having similar problems. Mostly because I don't have that kind of money to just go out and do that. It's alot easier to do this when there are so many helpful folks out there on sites like this willing to share their knowledge or experiences with others. I don't know what all kinds of problems you been having, but if they are relatively simple fixes like the valve cover gasket, I'd keep the car. As for the oil thing, again, what color was what came out? Do you have an automatic tranny? If so is your transmission oil level low? If the oil looks reddish it could be leaking somehow into your radiator. You need a new or repaired radiatior as the transmission oil cooler. Salvage yards are good places to get those kind of parts or even a used engine as well to keep costs down. good luck!

[19k40rocky]

Well said Dad! I hadn't seen your reply when I jumped in.

[xeroinfinity]

being the novice mech., i thought you might take the easy road , but GTP has nailed it down.
Flush everything and notice whats what and check for contamination. But if theres alot of water in the tranny I dont think a flush of it will work, i may be wrong. I just left a tranny out in the rain for a night ,covered up and somehow I drained about 12oz of water . it didnt work until it was disassembled and dried out a few days. but it is very possible the engine can be saved with some work. Good Luck!