oil in coolant(part 2)

[82blazer]

I posted about oil in the coolant about a week ago and was about to bypass the rad. cooler( which I did ). I have driven the truck(1982 Blazer 4x4) for about a week and I'm still getting oil in the coolant and now I'm finding traces of the reverse. I have put on heads before without any problems(I'm not going to say it's not the heads or gaskets) but these are 83 heads, new head bolts, etc.

Is there any way it could be the block? The oil cooler lines pass through what could be close to the water jacket, right? My son and I are both fans of the motor but this is fustrating to say the least. I am unsure of what to do next, the head gasket job ran around $400 including injectors. I think I went the wrong direction. Any ideas? thanks

[rustyk]

I can't give you much advice, since the interchange could be the block or the heads, but if there's coolant intrusion into the oil, you need to park the truck. Only a little ethylene glycol in the lube oil will turn the crankcase into a coal mine, with catastrophic results.

Most likely is a crack in the block, but a head or head gasket problem (less likely) can't be ruled out.

Nevertheless, it's time to park the truck and find out where coolant is getting into the crankcase, because that'san issue that will mature very rapidly - to the damage to your checkbook.

[john8662]

You mention that the cooler is bypassed, how?

Had the oil been changed after the cooler was bypassed?

How much coolant are we talking about here?

If the truck sits for a couple of days and pull the oil plug, does the water (milky) come out first?

May be conaminated oil system.

The water will boil off over time, to get rid of the traces after an oil change.

I recommend getting the store brand oil and changing it and seeing what happens.

The head gaskets could be leaking coolant into the oil via the lifter/pushrod access.

I've seen blocks that are knicked that would be suspect to leaking coolant, and at the closest place, to the lifter area and into the oil.

It's possible the block is cracked, although not as common in 6.2's, really only a '506 6.5 block problem.

J

[82blazer]

You mention that the cooler is bypassed, how?

We put in fittings, 2 elbows, and an 8 inch pipe beside of the radiator on the oil cooler side.

Had the oil been changed after the cooler was bypassed
Yes it has with rotella 15-40.

Had the oil been changed after the cooler was bypassed
When driving it approx. 1/2 gal. in 25 miles lost but very little in the oil. You can just see traces in the oil.

If the truck sits for a couple of days and pull the oil plug, does the water (milky) come out first?

It didn't appear to drop any when we changed the oil and it had sat about a week.

I recommend getting the store brand oil and changing it and seeing what happens.

As said above we changed the oil and flushed the cooling system as best as we could. We used dish liquid (twice) and prestone flush. Not prefect but fairly good. We could see some traces but not much.

It's possible the block is cracked, although not as common in 6.2's, really only a '506 6.5 block problem.
We (my son and I) are at a loss. I drove the truck today to work (23 miles one way) and when I checked before comming home it was about 1/2 qt. low on oil and 3/4 gal low on coolant. At home I raised the hood and it was milky around the oil fill tube, when I opened the cap it looked like a column of steam though not at all hot.

I hope I have done this posting right and have answered all questions. thanks for replying:D any help always welcome. thanks again, Frank

[john8662]

Starting to sound like a cracked block to me as well.

Possible cylinder wall crack, that would explain both situations.

Oil Loss and Coolant Loss.

The only thing I can think to try troubleshooting wise would be to run a compression test. It's likely that the faulty hole will show up in the test.

J

[Patrick m.]

if the compression test doesnt uncover the problem, you may want to remove all of the glow plugs and drain the engine oil, then pressure test the cooling system.
Leave the pressure on the system for several hours if need be. You can then spin the engine over and see if coolant has entered a cylinder or the oil pan.

Leaking nearly a gallon after 23 miles of travel is a big leak, this should reveal the location

[a5150nut]

Next time you flush your cooling system use Simple Green. Works well on Cat motors.

[oilburnertoo]

Are the heads '82/'83 vintage? IIRC they have a sort of a kidney shaped coolant passage in the head near the end. GM had a special brass plug "feild repair kit" that was to be installed in this opening that sealed it off to stop coolant leakage. Its been so long since I have dealt with an '82/'83 that is about all I can recall about there being an odd shaped passage in the heads causing leakage.

[82blazer]

I was told about such a kit but have been unable to locate any info or a kit.( I have a friend in a chevy parts dept.)
This was what I was told was the problem by an "expert" and was why I switched the heads. The original heads were '82(original to the truck) I have an '83 long block that I took the heads from for the switch. The expert said that the problem was limited to early '82 though. problem 2 is that the oil is in the rad. I don't see how that can be heads? At least not in the quanity I seem to get it. If you can tell me any more about this problem or field kit I would like to know. Thanks for your responses, Frank

[82blazer]

Out of answers I'm either goin to build an '83 block and drop in or replace with a 4BT cummins. Any thoughts?
I will post pics. if I can find problem with '82 engine. Thanks to all who replied.

[82blazer]

Found cracks on 3 and 4 mains unsure on #5 where I believe it should be for the problem. Pics to come.

[82blazer]

325
This is the third main, right side. The crack stretches from the top of the web all the way to the cam bearing.
326
This is the fourth main, left side.
327
This is the fifth main. The fluid issues are believed to have originated at this crack. Still unsure if this is a crack or a casting mark.
328
This is the second main.
We are going to try and dye the cracks to determine what actually happened.

[john8662]

WOW! Thanks for the pics, this does explain the situation.

That one main that the crack running up nearly all the way up to the cam is one of the largest cracks I've seen on these engines.

One of the cracks may have penetrated the waterjacket on a cylinder bore.

One of the marks is a casting mark.

J