Is there any way to check a oil cooler? I removed it and used a plate to air presser test it. I flushed cooland system 4 times 2 diffrent times with dawn. It had some oil in lower hose that came out first time i drained it and now it has some in coolant tank.After 1 cleaning coolant tank had junk in it that looked like bars leak stop. Its a PX 8 paccar 315 that was bought this summer from a dealer.
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Oil in coolant
- Thread starter Old Doug
- Start date
RZucker
Senior Member
Don't use a detergent that will foam to flush an engine, I use Cascade dishwasher powder mixed pretty stiff, pull the thermostats and reinstall the housing. For an engine that size I use 5 pounds of powder dissolved in hot water pour that into the rad and follow with more hot water til full. Run the engine with the fan disabled or cover the radiator to keep it a 195-200 degrees for at least an hour. After that shut it down and dump it at 140 degrees and refill with hot water and circulate another hour, dump that at 140 degrees and watch for a "rainbow" in the drain water, pull the t-stat housing and wipe your finger in there looking for oil residue.
I have used 15 pounds in a really bad 3406E where the coolant came out looking like chocolate mousse. One trip at 15 pounds cleaned it right out the first time.
Did the pressure plate test show a leak? did you submerge it in HOT water to look for bubbles?
Oh and if possible, eliminate the surge tank while flushing. It just collects crap and doesn't contribute to the flush procedure.
The test didnt show a leak submerged in cool water.The truck looks to have had a engine swap. They called the dealer and he said they had saw oil in water and done some work on it but they dont seem very trust worthy. I just put a paper towel hooked on a wire in the coolant tank and it was black with oil.
fast1buzz
Active Member
I agree with RZucker on cleaning the oil out cascade works as good as you can get. This being said I wonder if your problem may lie somewhere else other than the oil cooler. First is it using a lot of oil? Is it pushing oil out of the radiator overflow? If your answer is yes to either or both questions replace the oil cooler I have never found in 30 yrs an effective way to test one to many variables. Now if the answer to both questions is NO we have a new game. If so combustion being pushed into coolant can appear like oil as it is mixed with antifreeze. Easy to see this just fill radiator completely full to level at cap start let it idle look for bubbles coming up , it will also have been using coolant at fairly high rate. If this is the case then you probably blew a head gasket or something in that area.
funwithfuel
Senior Member
No chance of it being fuel?
fast1buzz
Active Member
I believe at this point I would clean the cooling system out using the cascade then replace the oil cooler. It doesn't take a lot of oil to make a fairly significant mess. The cooler may be leaking just a little so replacing it is just insuring that the problem is solved.
RZucker
Senior Member
Ok, Run the truck til it's hot, shut the engine down and use some of those Choke off pliers on the hoses going to the surge tank. take the tank off the truck and steam it out. Reinstall the tank and fill to the cold full level. That should float out any
My experience with fuel leaks in 3406E's and C-15's was that the fuel would stay clear in the coolant and not turn black. and they would dribble clean fuel from the overflow.
funwithfuel
Senior Member
Agreed, I just haven't had experience yet with fuel on OAT coolant, don't know how it would behave. Worth a sniff, simple enough to tell the difference. Plus, no statement of coolant in oil, it's gotta be a 2 way path, whichever pressure is greater at the time. Also, OP reports no oil loss, no coolant loss. Only other option might be heat exchanger for trans oil. Aside from Auto trans, I think all manuals use oil to air, if at all.
Just throwing out variables to be crossed off. I'd flop a cork if I swapped a cooler but needed cups or vice versa
I pulled the tank off 2 diffrent times and cleaned it but i drained system clamping off hose is a good ideal i will do that monday. I changed the oil and didnt see any thing and i losened oil plug one time after and didnt see any thing.
Tenwheeler
Senior Member
On a Deere doing that I had the cooler in hot water,250 F , at 50 PSI with no bubbles for hours. I replaced the cooler anyway as advised. That fixed the problem. What is the least cost first step if you cannot guarantee the fault?
grandpa
Senior Member
Better be looking into the egr cooler...as well.
Can this put oil the the coolant?