Oil droplets in Coolant Reservoir after Intake Manifold replacement

NGB5548

MEMBER
2002 PONTIAC GRAND AM
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
150,000 MILES

I recently had my intake manifold gasket replaced on my car. When I got my car back, the mechanics mentioned the mixing of coolant and oil, which was found in the radiator and the coolant reservoir. They mentioned they did a full flush, but that there may be some residual sludge left in the system. This was in February, and today I checked my coolant level and noticed some droplets of oil in the reservoir. Is this normal? I have not lost any coolant, and the oil level is fine. I am just wondering if this is some of the left over sludge they warned me about. I am going to keep an eye on it. This oil may or may not be recent. I have not taken the cap off to check the level since February.

2 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

Sounds like you have nothing to worry about. Once any oil gets pushed into the reservoir it will float to the top and won't get sucked back into the rest of the cooling system unless the level gets real low.

You can catch those drops of oil with a paper towel dunked in there but a few drops isn't much of an issue. A lot of oil will rot the rubber heater and radiator hoses over time but nothing else will be damaged.