Oil Intrusion in Coolant Reservoirs Causes and Consequences

The only good news is that oil in the coolant is better than coolant in the oil... Expensive fix, but probably worth doing. Any car can have a head gasket fail. When a head gasket fails, oil can leak into the cooling passages and then end up in the coolant. This results in the brown sludge that can be seen in the top of ... The reason is that oil floats on the coolant, so it would tend to wind up at the top of the radiator, and whatever's on top in the radiator, ... I inspected my engine to find watery oil on the outside of the air intake and abs brake module (behind the coolant reservoir). A quick check of ... Only way to tell at this point is to perform a compression and leak-down test to see if it really is the head gasket or something else. Fresh ... A leak between the oil containing part of the block and the cooling part is the only way that you can get motor oil in the coolant. The oil always ends up in the overflow. It floats on the coolant, so it's the first to get pushed out into the expansion tank when the motor warms up. You should be able to see the colour of your antifreeze in the reservoir tank when you remove the radiator or coolant reservoir lid. Oil remnants will be seen ... I noticed oil in the coolant. No foam on the cap and no foam on the oil cap either. Checked everything and doesnt seem like a head gasket thats blown. I have a 09 Beetle, my mechanic called me with my issue and it was a failed oil cooler. I had oil in the coolant and the car overheated.