Water is mixed in the motor oil, is this a blown head gasket?

JOSHDRAGON

MEMBER
2004 MERCEDES BENZ ML350
82,000 MILES

Water is mixed in motor oil in the crankcase. Is this a blown head gasket? And estimate how much to repair? What else could it be or how do I confirm it is a head gasket?

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 AT 2:06 AM

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,747 POSTS

Hi,

If you have coolant mixing with the engine oil, in most cases it is a blown head gasket. To get started, take a look through this link. It explains what to look for that identifies a head gasket issue.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

As far as cost, if you look at pic 1 below, it shows parts and labor for the head gaskets only. You will have other costs related to valve cover gaskets, coolant, and shop supplies.

When looking at the attached pic, not that labor is identified in hours. So, you will need to know what the shop charges per hour and multiply that by the number of hours. Note, both cylinder head gaskets is 16.2 hours. If someone charges $100.00 an hour, labor will be 1620.00 dollars plus parts.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions.

Take care,

Joe

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