Coolant in oil

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Coolant in oil

Postby dindin » Wed Feb 17, 2016 5:18 pm

Just found out my Cosworth has coolant in oil, anything besides a head gasket will cause this??

Compression is good, runs good, no big clouds from exhaust or sweet smelling..

Al
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby Monza Harry » Wed Feb 17, 2016 5:31 pm

Al is it coolant or water? Cars/engines that run little or in short bursts do tend to have problems with condensation, but if it is coolant there is another, possibility cracked block can cause this, but don't panic yet, head gasket is the leading cause on a straight four (especially an "aluminum" one from that period, but the aluminum/aluminum Cosworth was much less prone than the standard aluminum/cast iron Vega). Put air in each cylinder with the valve guide tool and watch the rad cap this may take some time I would wait at least 3+ minutes each to see if bubbles show up. If it is a head gasket replace with a multi-layer stainless steel* one. *(composite core) Keep us posted please. Harry
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby cosvega76 » Thu Feb 18, 2016 10:29 am

One problem with Cosworths is that since they tend to sit for long periods of time without coolant system service, there can be an erosion problem with the tops of the bores of the aluminum block because of the acids in the coolant. Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to remove the head.


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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby dindin » Thu Feb 18, 2016 10:37 am

Harry,

I was thinking (hoping)..praying..LOL it was just condensation so I had the oil tested and lab said coolant is in the oil.

I checked the radiator for combustion and nothing showed up, it was one of those testers that turn yellow when it detects stuff in the coolant..

I did pull a head bolt when the head was being torqued town and I used the same gasket after I repaired the threads..its a hand made molina the club sells and very expensive, maybe this caused the gasket not to seat properly??

Anyway I need to take the head off, would the gasket show if its been breached?? and whats this stainless multi layer gasket you speak of??



Thanks Al
Last edited by dindin on Thu Feb 18, 2016 10:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby dindin » Thu Feb 18, 2016 10:39 am

Thanks Chuck, I had the head resurfaced and rebuilt..and the block resurfaced as well..

Al
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby cjbiagi » Thu Feb 18, 2016 12:54 pm

I don't think you can reuse a head gasket, once it is compressed it is not going to seal properly if reused.
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby dindin » Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:07 pm

cjbiagi wrote:I don't think you can reuse a head gasket, once it is compressed it is not going to seal properly if reused.


I thought the same thing so I called the guy who makes them and he said it should not be a problem..so I rolled the dice hopefully its just that gaket

, on a positive note at least now I know what I would never have know if everything went without hiccups, I learned alot with this build and still learning.

Al
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby hammerdown7 » Fri Feb 19, 2016 12:24 pm

If the head gasket did fail you should be able to see where the failure occurred. I had talked to Mark Rock who has rebuilt a few CV engines and he told me he has reused head gaskets without a problem. Last year I installed new pistons to bump the compression ratio and had previously only had about a thousand miles on the engine. I decided to reuse my stock head gasket and haven't had a problem, at least so far!

Dick
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby dindin » Fri Feb 19, 2016 2:03 pm

Thanks Dick,

I will have it apart this weekend and look for clues of a gasket fail, my first time so I may have messed up when I installed it..

Al
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby hammerdown7 » Fri Feb 19, 2016 2:43 pm

Al,
I'm not familiar with the head gasket you used. I'm assuming it had the oil restriction in the passenger side front corner. The stock Vega gasket has a kidney shaped opening there and the Cosworth one has a small, roughly .090", round hole there.
Dick
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby dindin » Fri Feb 19, 2016 3:38 pm

Dick,
Its a custom made head gasket the club sells with restrictor built in. only $235.00 :dance: I just ordered another one :lol: :cry:

AL
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby hammerdown7 » Fri Feb 19, 2016 3:48 pm

:th:
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby Monza Harry » Fri Feb 19, 2016 10:18 pm

dindin wrote:Harry,

I was thinking (hoping)..praying..LOL it was just condensation so I had the oil tested and lab said coolant is in the oil.

I checked the radiator for combustion and nothing showed up, it was one of those testers that turn yellow when it detects stuff in the coolant..

I did pull a head bolt when the head was being torqued town and I used the same gasket after I repaired the threads..its a hand made molina the club sells and very expensive, maybe this caused the gasket not to seat properly??

Anyway I need to take the head off, would the gasket show if its been breached?? and whats this stainless multi layer gasket you speak of??
Thanks Al

Here is a link to a SBC [no Cosworth listed go figure :bang: ] to Jegs and a Cometic head gasket "MLS" this is a multi layer gasket with a stainless steel shim on the top and bottom to prevent the "Pilling" caused by the uneven expansion rates of aluminum an steel, this would have saved the Vega's reputation if it had ben available at the time! {and the Dumb @$$'s had used it} Harry http://www.jegs.com/i/Cometic-Gaskets/2 ... Id=2848865
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby cammerjeff » Sat Feb 20, 2016 10:01 am

They never would have got it past the accountants Harry, sorry to say. That is the reason for the cast Iron Head, small Radiator, no coolant recovery bottle (on the 71's), inner fender liners ..... They would never spend $0.01 extra on the car than they thought was necessary. Sorry to say.
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Re: Coolant in oil

Postby hammerdown7 » Sat Feb 20, 2016 3:59 pm

cammerjeff wrote:They never would have got it past the accountants Harry, sorry to say. That is the reason for the cast Iron Head, small Radiator, no coolant recovery bottle (on the 71's), inner fender liners ..... They would never spend $0.01 extra on the car than they thought was necessary. Sorry to say.


And the reason the accountants were so stingy is that GM thought that price was what was going to sell the car. I think the Pinto came out at $1919 and the Vega ended up starting at $2070 or there abouts. Unfortunately the cars short comings cost GM way more in repairs and warranty work then was ever saved by the marketing genius's.

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