The reason why there is coolant in your motor oil is that the head gasket has blown. Del Hatt Automotive is not going to candy-coat this. A cracked head gasket is a serious engine problem that takes some time and money to resolve. We will have to go into the engine and partially rebuild it in order to replace the head gasket. If your automobile has sentimental value, this repair work is worth it. Aside from coolant in the motor oil, here are other signs that you’ve got a blown head gasket under the hood.
Coolant in the Cylinders
The coolant is also going to leak out of the engine and into the cylinders through the crack in the head gasket. This causes two separate problems that can create additional damage in the engine. The first problem is that the engine becomes starved for coolant and starts to overheat. The second problem is that the coolant is burned in the cylinders. The only thing that should be burned in the cylinders is a mixture of air and fuel. You do not want coolant burning in the cylinders, as well.
Overheating Constantly
As we just mentioned, when the coolant leaks into the cylinders, it causes the engine to overheat. Unfortunately, the coolant will continue to leak into the cylinders until you have the head gasket replaced. It doesn’t matter if you add coolant to the engine; the engine is still going to overheat.
In fact, because the cracked head gasket also introduces the heat produced in the combustion chamber to the engine, the engine can get so hot that it will also crack the cylinder block and the exhaust manifold. It is never a good idea to drive your automobile with a cracked head gasket because of this heat. Some people have even reported that the coolant that is left in the engine started to boil.
Burning/Noticeable Exhaust
In addition to the above problems, you are also going to notice exhaust flowing out of your tailpipe if the coolant is burning away in the cylinders. The color of the exhaust will be white. If the exhaust looks a little bit blue, you’ve also got motor oil leaking into the cylinders and burning. Naturally, this, too, can damage the engine. You need plenty of coolant and undiluted motor oil circulating through the engine to protect it.
Call Del Hatt Automotive in Poughkeepsie, NY, today to schedule a service visit for your automobile so we can inspect the head gasket and advise you of the damage.