Oil in coolant help

[Brandonp]

I have a 2006 Jazz that recently started overheating. Had been driving it 2 weeks ago when it started over heating and had the car towed to my mechanic.

At the mechanics place we saw that there had been oil in the radiator. The mechanic said its most likely the radiator broken and he replaced the radiator. When I picked the car up he said there is still a little oil residue in the system and I should keep topping up the radiator with water. So I drive the car to work the next day and its fine but the following day it starts over heating again. I open the radiator cap and see that the oil is still mixing with the water and is like chocolate milk. The car has just been parked off since then.

Could it be a head gasket problem or something else? Any advice would be appreciated.

[MicktheMonster]

You need to go to a different mechanic I think. There is no way for oil to get to the radiator unless it gets into the coolant inside the engine and is then pumped through the cooling system into the radiator. Changing the radiator will not fix this, the problem within the engine needs to be fixed first, then the coolant needs changing as it is now contaminated with oil. Good luck.

[culzean]

I have a 2006 Jazz that recently started overheating. Had been driving it 2 weeks ago when it started over heating and had the car towed to my mechanic.

At the mechanics place we saw that there had been oil in the radiator. The mechanic said its most likely the radiator broken and he replaced the radiator. When I picked the car up he said there is still a little oil residue in the system and I should keep topping up the radiator with water. So I drive the car to work the next day and its fine but the following day it starts over heating again. I open the radiator cap and see that the oil is still mixing with the water and is like chocolate milk. The car has just been parked off since then.

Could it be a head gasket problem or something else? Any advice would be appreciated.

Oil in coolant + overheating = head gasket gone.  I cannot fathom out why the mechanic thought the radiator was broken ?? The only other explanation for oil in radiator is that someone mistook it for the oil filler cap and poured oil in there.  Sometimes automatic gearbox cars use the water in engine radiator flowing through a heat exchanger to cool the oil and this is another path for oil ( transmission fluid ) to get into radiator.   

Overheating is normally a sign of head gasket deciding it no longer wants to live.

PS - I think your mechanic may have oil in his / her head.

[E27006]

I have a 2006 Jazz that recently started overheating. Had been driving it 2 weeks ago when it started over heating and had the car towed to my mechanic.

At the mechanics place we saw that there had been oil in the radiator. The mechanic said its most likely the radiator broken and he replaced the radiator. When I picked the car up he said there is still a little oil residue in the system and I should keep topping up the radiator with water. So I drive the car to work the next day and its fine but the following day it starts over heating again. I open the radiator cap and see that the oil is still mixing with the water and is like chocolate milk. The car has just been parked off since then.

Could it be a head gasket problem or something else? Any advice would be appreciated.

Oil in coolant + overheating = head gasket gone.  I cannot fathom out why the mechanic thought the radiator was broken ?? The only other explanation for oil in radiator is that someone mistook it for the oil filler cap and poured oil in there.  Sometimes automatic gearbox cars use the water in engine radiator flowing through a heat exchanger to cool the oil and this is another path for oil ( transmission fluid ) to get into radiator.   

Overheating is normally a sign of head gasket deciding it no longer wants to live.

PS - I think your mechanic may have oil in his / her head.

I agree with your post, head gasket failure top of the list.
1) thinking of the radiator issue "broken "  it is a possibility the radiator failed by clogging of flow then allowing the coolant to boil and trigger a head gasket failure?
2) Coolant change on a Dsi Jazz, is this tricky?  Does the Dsi have issues with air locks in the block or cylinder head? Is there a procedure for bleeding or "burping" the cylinder head of trapped air as part of a coolant change? Trapped air can stop the flow and cause an overheat.
3) Some Honda cars have a  small heat exchanger built into the engine oil filter mount, it is not always obvious it is there, the heat exchanger lets   engine oil dump heat into the coolant system.
I do not think this applies to a Dsi Jazz, but better to make sure

[culzean]

I agree with your post,
1) thinking of the radiator issue "broken "  it is a possibility the radiator failed by clogging of flow then allowing the coolant to boil and trigger a head gasket failure?
2) Coolant change on a Dsi Jazz, is this tricky?  Does the Dsi have issues with air locks in the block or cylinder head? Is there a procedure for bleeding or "burping" the cylinder head of trapped air as part of a coolant change? Trapped air can stop the flow and cause an overheat

As far as airlocks concerned I learnt my lesson many years ago after trying to get airlocks out. I never fully drain coolant when changing it - I just drain what will come easily out of radiator with engine cold ( thermostat shut ) and vacuum suck the expansion bottle and refill it ( normally about 50% of total system volume comes out of radiator and hoses) check the volume that came out in a measuring jug  = make sure that much goes back in ( 50% premixed ).  I then run car for a week,  repeat the radiator drain and refill and that is me done.  I never wanted to fiddle around with taking plugs out of cylinder block with the danger of stripping a thread or causing a leak - life is too short.  I reckon by the time I have drained 50% twice I have changed 75% of coolant - good enough for me.  Proper ( Blue ) Honda premixed coolant from Cox motors was about £19 for 5 litres a few months ago,  cheaper than generic stuff.  The anti-freeze bit in coolant lasts a lot longer than the anti-corrosion chemicals,  but now with 10 year coolant it means most owners never have to bother with changing it - sure beats having to do it every year like in the old days.

[nadabro]

Oil in coolant + overheating = head gasket gone.  I cannot fathom out why the mechanic thought the radiator was broken ?? The only other explanation for oil in radiator is that someone mistook it for the oil filler cap and poured oil in there.  Sometimes automatic gearbox cars use the water in engine radiator flowing through a heat exchanger to cool the oil and this is another path for oil ( transmission fluid ) to get into radiator.   

Overheating is normally a sign of head gasket deciding it no longer wants to live.

PS - I think your mechanic may have oil in his / her head.

+1 for head gasket.
A couple of years ago i had the same problem (different car), overheating+oil in the radiator.. the head gasket was completely rotten. Was a bit extensive work to fix it...mainly head surfacing and removing all the oil from the whole system..

[embee]

...... I never fully drain coolant when changing it - I just drain what will come easily out of radiator with engine cold ( thermostat shut ) and vacuum suck the expansion bottle and refill it ( normally about 50% of total system volume comes out of radiator and hoses)....

Same here. Use a decent quality coolant and it'll give good corrosion protection, change half (or whatever) of it every 2 or 3 or 4yrs and it'll keep on going. My Yaris is 21yrs old and still clean as a whistle inside having been treated this way. I had to fit a new rad last year because the external fins were falling out due to road salt.

FWIW I use Comma stuff, they do a range containing various varieties of additive types, most of my engines (bikes) need a silicate free coolant so the Comma G30 fits the bill (based on BASF Glysantin 30 antifreeze). I think the Honda stuff from Cox's is pretty reasonable price and will be decent.

[culzean]

...... I never fully drain coolant when changing it - I just drain what will come easily out of radiator with engine cold ( thermostat shut ) and vacuum suck the expansion bottle and refill it ( normally about 50% of total system volume comes out of radiator and hoses)....

Same here. Use a decent quality coolant and it'll give good corrosion protection, change half (or whatever) of it every 2 or 3 or 4yrs and it'll keep on going. My Yaris is 21yrs old and still clean as a whistle inside having been treated this way. I had to fit a new rad last year because the external fins were falling out due to road salt.

FWIW I use Comma stuff, they do a range containing various varieties of additive types, most of my engines (bikes) need a silicate free coolant so the Comma G30 fits the bill (based on BASF Glysantin 30 antifreeze). I think the Honda stuff from Cox's is pretty reasonable price and will be decent.

I just used Comma G30 in my motorbike 

[guest4871]

Their product finder is useful if you are unsure:

https://www.commaoil.com/

[Brandonp]

I have a 2006 Jazz that recently started overheating. Had been driving it 2 weeks ago when it started over heating and had the car towed to my mechanic.

At the mechanics place we saw that there had been oil in the radiator. The mechanic said its most likely the radiator broken and he replaced the radiator. When I picked the car up he said there is still a little oil residue in the system and I should keep topping up the radiator with water. So I drive the car to work the next day and its fine but the following day it starts over heating again. I open the radiator cap and see that the oil is still mixing with the water and is like chocolate milk. The car has just been parked off since then.

Could it be a head gasket problem or something else? Any advice would be appreciated.

Oil in coolant + overheating = head gasket gone.  I cannot fathom out why the mechanic thought the radiator was broken ?? The only other explanation for oil in radiator is that someone mistook it for the oil filler cap and poured oil in there.  Sometimes automatic gearbox cars use the water in engine radiator flowing through a heat exchanger to cool the oil and this is another path for oil ( transmission fluid ) to get into radiator.   

Overheating is normally a sign of head gasket deciding it no longer wants to live.

PS - I think your mechanic may have oil in his / her head.

Haha yeah I actually think the same thing now. And he charged me quiet abit to change the radiator. Never going back to the guy.

I had another mechanic come home and he said most probably a head gasket failure. He said he might need to send it to the engineers for skimming. I thought it would just need the gasket to be replaced?

[Brandonp]

+1 for head gasket.
A couple of years ago i had the same problem (different car), overheating+oil in the radiator.. the head gasket was completely rotten. Was a bit extensive work to fix it...mainly head surfacing and removing all the oil from the whole system..
[/quote]

I don't have much knowledge about cars just a basic understanding. After bringing the car home and noticed oil building up in the new radiator after driving a few days I did a flush of the system. Added new coolant and it did the same thing.

Had another mechanic come by and he said its the head gasket. Would just the head gasket need to be changed or would the head need to be skimmed and then a need gasket fitted? Does it depend any other factors?

[springswood]

Did either mechanic also check to see if water has been getting into the oil? Easily done, take off the filler cap, if it looks like oil, OK, if it looks like mayonnaise then the oil needs changing too.

I'm not sure about skimming, I imagine it's only when the head is off you'll know for sure.

By the way I see your car is a 2006 1.5 vtec, we only got iDsi engines before 2009 in the UK. Someone wiser than me may know if that makes a difference.

[Brandonp]

Did either mechanic also check to see if water has been getting into the oil? Easily done, take off the filler cap, if it looks like oil, OK, if it looks like mayonnaise then the oil needs changing too.

I'm not sure about skimming, I imagine it's only when the head is off you'll know for sure.

By the way I see your car is a 2006 1.5 vtec, we only got iDsi engines before 2009 in the UK. Someone wiser than me may know if that makes a difference.

I had a look at the oil and also the oil cap,the oil looks like normal oil. Funny thing is I filled oil and when I check the oil again a few days later it was day. The radiator and radiator cap has sludge.

Really hope the head is not warped so I can avoid the skimming. I'm from South Africa, so not to sure about the engine.

[Ozzie]

I am thinking is it worth changing the head gasket on a 15 year old car?