Oil in the water coolant

Tiny
MARC OLIVER
  • MEMBER
  • 2006 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
  • 3.2L
  • V6
  • TURBO
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 155,000 MILES
The coolant light keeps coming on and when I checked the coolant chamber it was full to the top with a black syrupy liquid that feel like oil to the touch.
Sunday, March 31st, 2019 AT 12:20 PM

8 Replies

Tiny
SCGRANTURISMO
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,897 POSTS
Hello,

This sounds to me like you probably have a blown head gasket. Your vehicle's engine block and cylinder head have passages to transfer coolant and oil between the two engine halves. It is protected and sealed tight by a gasket that is called the head gasket. When the head gasket blows out you have oil and coolant mixing as well as loss of compression. I have included a few links for you to go to down below:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/coolantantifreeze-in-the-engine-oil
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/the-reasons-for-low-compression
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

Please go through these guides and get back to us with what you find out.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros
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Sunday, March 31st, 2019 AT 3:38 PM
Tiny
MARC OLIVER
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  • 5 POSTS
Thanks very much.
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Sunday, March 31st, 2019 AT 3:45 PM
Tiny
MOTOR MASTER
  • MECHANIC
  • 279 POSTS
Hello my name is Dave.

An alternative way to test for a blown head gasket that some people find easier is to use a block leak tester which a lot of auto parts stores have in their loaner tools. This is the most reliable method to test for a blown head gasket because if it is blown there will be exhaust gases in the coolant and that is what this tool checks for. I would also check the oil cooler because oil pressure is greater than coolant pressure and therefore if the cooler fails the most common symptom is oil in the water. While it does happen it is unusual for a head gasket to mix oil into the water due to the fact that oil passages rarely are compromised unless the head cracks. The other question I would have is does the car overheat, if it doesn't I would have serious doubts about the head gasket. I hope this has been helpful and thank you for using 2CarPros.
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Thursday, April 4th, 2019 AT 4:21 AM
Tiny
MARC OLIVER
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Thanks for your advice and help.
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Thursday, April 4th, 2019 AT 4:28 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
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Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.
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Monday, April 8th, 2019 AT 12:45 PM
Tiny
MARC OLIVER
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Hi,

I had the oil cooler fixed at the garage and it presented the problem that the head gasket had definitely gone. I was advised by them and a few friends to try a steel seal gasket repair liquid. I followed the instructions on the bottle and so far so good. I have the car booked in on Wednesday to test the exhaust gases in the coolant chamber to see if the steel sealer has worked properly.

Kind regards,

Marc
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Monday, April 8th, 2019 AT 1:49 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 48,363 POSTS
Nice work, we are here to help, please use 2CarPros anytime.
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Tuesday, April 9th, 2019 AT 10:47 AM
Tiny
MARC OLIVER
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Thanks very much
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Tuesday, April 9th, 2019 AT 10:54 AM

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