Oil in water?

[Stevo14286]

Hi, Recently bought a Y reg 1.7dti astra van. 98000 on the clock. There was minimal history with the van so i got the cam belt changed. When my mechanic did the cambelt job he told me the head gasket had gone as there was oil leak at the base of head and there was oil in the header tank.

Head wasnt skimmed as it didtn over heat and warp. had all new head gasket and rocker gaskets, stretch bolts etc.

Coolent system was drained n flushed with rad flush.

However i have done about 600 miles in it since. And i have had to removed header tank and clean it out 3 times as it keeps getting a thick oil sludge floating on the water.

The water level isnt goin down and i havent noticed the oil going down, Plus no mayo sludge on oil filler cap.

Im at a loss as to what the problem mayb, Surely not the head gasket again, Read about some ppl needing new oil coolers???Didint kno they had one?

Any help on this would be much appreciated as i dont fancy another 350 repair bill.

 

[Bahco]

I seem to remember having a head gasket changed on a Nissan 140j many years ago.

It still leaked oil into the rad.

 

[andyandy2]

If this is the same engine as the W and X reg astra's (not sure what year the engine changed) a common fault with them is the oil cooler, it is part of the oil filter housing, bolts on back of engine, with a couple of water hoses attached. Often overlooked and heads removed unnecessarily, the oil in the header tank can be a pain to get rid of though, i've tried all sorts of detergents etc to flush cooling system, but never had brilliant success

 

[Stivino]

Isuzu engine?

 

[stevegough]

hi if you remove expansion bottle cap and start engine let it worm up and give it some revs if no water comes out of bottle or there are no bubbles in there then head gasket is fine also check if engine oil is normal colour then its not leaking i have found this somtimes. reidue from were the head has already been done sits on top of the water and you will never get it all out how much oil do you have there ???

 

[^neo^]

I'd go with the oil cooler suggestion

 

[hi1]

Hi,
i have a similar problem with a peugeot 406 2.0l hdi. This has a round oil cooler which the oil filter screws on to (tin can) lh side of engine. I have tried various motor factors and a specalised rad/ cooler company where i even saw the picture in the catalogue, but all come back can't get hold of one, no call etc. Tried e**y and a google search for the part and manufacturers of oil coolers no joy. Any further avenues to try before i have to stump up £155+vat to the local main dealer?
The factors were quoting £52+ vat!

 

[Watchmaker]

"Any further avenues to try before i have to stump up £155+vat to the local main dealer? "
Yes, join the inlet and outlet coolant pipes, on the oil filter housing, with a short piece of copper pipe and hose clips. I doubt if the oil, or engine, will suffer much from the negligible effect of bypassing the oil cooler.

 

[hi1]

Thanks for your reply Watchmaker, i had considered that but wonder if the oil makes the water heat up initially and whether this has some influence on fuel efficiency etc when starting from cold. I don't want to give the ecu any more excuses not to work. Immobiliser died in it last year. Sorry for hijacking thread.

 

[^neo^]

if you bypass the cooler as stated above and run the engine for a while, oil will come out of the hose flanges on the cooler if it is knackered. If it doesn't, then it ain't the cooler

 

[gundog123]

Your mechanic was mistaken
there was no need to replace head gasket or head bolts or any of the items mentioned apart from the cambelt which was a good choice.
the problem is the oil cooler.
On this model (Vauxhall1.7DTi) they are very prone to failing and the initial signs of failure is the appearence of oil in the header tank. A new replacement should have been sourced and fitted which will eliminate your problems.

 

[bhm1712]

Tits always good practice to have the heads machine or at least checked for being true regardless as whether it has visibly over heated.

I would agree with the oil cooler comments as i have the Isuzu 1.7 and it displayed the exact symptoms last year and turned out to be that.