Oil in radiator

[svslow]

Checked the radiator today and found some oil in the coolant and the coolant was super low. The gauge always stays at the half way mark. The oil pressure is always between the N and the O when hot with 20w30. At the halfway mark when cold. This is the green car I got from Rob so it has the aluminum head. It runs normal and It doesn't use oil much or any at all. I don't have any tools here in orlando so I won't be able to check the pressures of compression. Any common leaks? Maybe oil cooler ?

[svslow]

Also it sat for a year. Maybe the water evaporated from the coolant and left the lubricant behind ?

[svslow]

False alarm. I was mistaken. You guys can delete this post if you want.

[Raven855]

Well, what did you find?

[svslow]

Well it looked like the coolant was really low but it wasn't. There was some milky residue but not a lot. I'm sure it was just from sitting for a year.

[Meotchh]

Fill the cooling system & pressure test it with a pressure testing kit ( a kit will usually set you back $60 to $120). Once you have it up to 16PSI, allow it to sit for 24 hours & check for leaks or drops in pressure. If it holds up, perform a thorough flush of the cooling system. Just did this in the car I am selling. Flushed the system 3 times with just distilled water. I then ran the prestone flush through the system followed by another distilled water flush. The last cycle produced only a mildly cloudy water upon draining the system.

[MikeFleming]

... Once you have it up to 16PSI, allow it to sit for 24 hours & check for leaks or drops in pressure. Pay special attention to any pressure drop in the first 15-30 minutes. If it's not holding pressure after 15 minutes, IMMEDIATELY release all pressure and look for drops.

Unless you happen to like removing carpet to clean the spilled coolant out.

Most likely leak points are hose connections, heater core, water pump, thermostat housing and radiator cap.

[Meotchh]

Pay special attention to any pressure drop in the first 15-30 minutes. If it's not holding pressure after 15 minutes, IMMEDIATELY release all pressure and look for drops.

Unless you happen to like removing carpet to clean the spilled coolant out.

Most likely leak points are hose connections, heater core, water pump, thermostat housing and radiator cap.

I made up a hose & adaptor set to test only the heater core once it is bypassed. First you need to force the coolant out of the heater core before capping off one side to pressure test it. The pump for the pressure tester will make easy work of that.