Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by white exec »

Brownish (meringue) is what you might see under the rocker cover on an engine that isn't regularly getting up to proper working temperature - eg lots of very short journeys. It is caused by condensation (water) under the cover not properly evaporating, building up, and emulsifying with the oil. Unusual to see that in the cooling system, but I suppose possible.

Just a thought...
If the goop in the reservoir is not actually black oil, am wondering whether you might have suffered an unfortunate reaction between two different coolant mixes - you did say you had recently changed both oil and coolant. Reaction between coolants can happen, and have been reported as producing sediment, crystallisation, slime or goo.
Before removing the head, it might be worth draining and thoroughly flushing the cooling system (with water), and finishing off with a system cleaner (LiquiMoly radiator cleaner #2506 recommended). Then refill with known good new coolant (use standard glycol type; avoid long-life OAT), and see what happens. Much less work and expense than HG.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Often described as Mayonnaise, have a look at this post, there are some pictures of what this can look like:

viewtopic.php?p=625376#p625376
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by Blazer811 »

white exec wrote: 31 Jan 2020, 07:36 Brownish (meringue) is what you might see under the rocker cover on an engine that isn't regularly getting up to proper working temperature - eg lots of very short journeys. It is caused by condensation (water) under the cover not properly evaporating, building up, and emulsifying with the oil. Unusual to see that in the cooling system, but I suppose possible.

Just a thought...
If the goop in the reservoir is not actually black oil, am wondering whether you might have suffered an unfortunate reaction between two different coolant mixes - you did say you had recently changed both oil and coolant. Reaction between coolants can happen, and have been reported as producing sediment, crystallisation, slime or goo.
Before removing the head, it might be worth draining and thoroughly flushing the cooling system (with water), and finishing off with a system cleaner (LiquiMoly radiator cleaner #2506 recommended). Then refill with known good new coolant (use standard glycol type; avoid long-life OAT), and see what happens. Much less work and expense than HG.
I emptied the cooling system today and after my red coolant drained, this is what followed, is this the mayonnaise look Marc was referring too?
E5ED5179-C3F1-4AA7-9CC9-86390DA59631.jpeg
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by white exec »

That does look like oil+water that has emulsified. The quantity of oil in there might be quite small.
Couple of QQ:
- is your engine oil black?
- what, if anything, had collected in the expansion tank? Any black oil there?

I'd be inclined to throughly flush the system out (garden hose), do a clean with the LiquiMoly 2506, flush again, and then refill with standard glycol coolant. That will leave the system clean, and free from previous coolant. Then see what happens, and how quickly.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by Sharkie »

Old oil is usually black or dark. If you just changed it recently it won't be that color and will look like mayo in the expansion tank. It's best to replace headgasket asap before water in oil eats the entire engine.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by Blazer811 »

Sharkie wrote: 01 Feb 2020, 11:38 Old oil is usually black or dark. If you just changed it recently it won't be that color and will look like mayo in the expansion tank. It's best to replace headgasket asap before water in oil eats the entire engine.
Thanks Sharkie, as I mentioned in an earlier post this disaster was noticed about one week after I checked the coolant and it was fine then, but I do remember seeing a very small trace of oil but dismissed the thought of a blown head gasket until I checked it a week later. So I guess (fingers crossed) that I got it in it’s early stage.

I’ve already dismantled most of the top and was surprised at how easy and quick it is to strip. I just need to jack the motor up to remove the top engine mount and remove the head. Below is a pic of under the rocker cover, no sign of water or gunk in there.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by Blazer811 »

white exec wrote: 01 Feb 2020, 07:51 That does look like oil+water that has emulsified. The quantity of oil in there might be quite small.
Couple of QQ:
- is your engine oil black?
- what, if anything, had collected in the expansion tank? Any black oil there?

I'd be inclined to throughly flush the system out (garden hose), do a clean with the LiquiMoly 2506, flush again, and then refill with standard glycol coolant. That will leave the system clean, and free from previous coolant. Then see what happens, and how quickly.
No black oil in expansion tank and water in oil, just a brownish layer floating on top, but when I started stripping the top down it was prominent inside my hoses and throughout the system. Got 95% stripped and will have the head off either tomorrow or day after for further inspection....fingers crossed it’s just a HG problem.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by Blazer811 »

Apologies White exec, I meant NO oil in water.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by Blazer811 »

Lol. It’s been a long day.......no water in oil.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by white exec »

Looks like you're well into replacing the HG. Glad it turned out relatively easy to do.
Worth getting hold of some of that cooling system cleaner, as it doesn't take much oil to produce an emulsion, which I'm guessing is what the brown stuff is.

Good that engine top looks water-free. Oil pressure much higher than coolant pressure, most (!) of the time.

Mistakes in posts:
Hit the Edit button (the 2nd one in: pencil icon) to edit something you've previously written, then Submit to re-post it. The next button [×] allows your own posts to be deleted.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by Blazer811 »

white exec wrote: 01 Feb 2020, 14:08 Looks like you're well into replacing the HG. Glad it turned out relatively easy to do.
Worth getting hold of some of that cooling system cleaner, as it doesn't take much oil to produce an emulsion, which I'm guessing is what the brown stuff is.

Good that engine top looks water-free. Oil pressure much higher than coolant pressure, most (!) of the time.

Mistakes in posts:
Hit the Edit button (the 2nd one in: pencil icon) to edit something you've previously written, then Submit to re-post it. The next button [×] allows your own posts to be deleted.
Thanks Chris, I’m not only a novice at replacing my HG, but also on this forum. I was trying to figure out how to edit my previous post, but thanks to you, I now know. 🤣

Anyway got the head off today without too much difficulty apart from one of the flange bolts snapping off, luckily I had just enough to double nut the thread and get it off.

This was the state of the gasket when the head was removed but a little bit worse as some of the holes for the cooling was partially blocked.
D2619D51-6AB5-428C-9B2A-7B81E7B28C02.jpeg
And this is the block
1A2346B4-885B-4582-A7C1-5F54D5FCBE79.jpeg
Can you tell me what is the most effective way of cleaning the face of both the head & block and what would be the best way to remove the crap inside the block? Is there a drain plug for the cooling system on the block so I can flush it thoroughly?

Your advice and tips would be appreciated.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by white exec »

Other folk will know this engine better than I do, so I'm sure someone will advise on cleaning out the block.

For the block face and head, I'm a bit old school on this.
Try to use solvent (petrol, thinner) to shift as much grot as will dissolve.
Avoid anything that would scar the metal faces, such as a chisel.
Stubborn stuff: a gently used stanley knife blade, hand held, low angle, gently.
Gently use a large FLAT file across the surfaces, to remove grot, not metal.
Final clean up with petrol/solvent.
Check carefully for flatness, cleanliness.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by RichardW »

When I did my BX I cleaned the head and block with green pan scourers, worked, but took a good while! Note, it would probably be best to clamp the liners just in case you turn the engine (deliberately or otherwise) and wreck the seals at the bottom of the liners!!
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by Blazer811 »

RichardW wrote: 02 Feb 2020, 13:53 When I did my BX I cleaned the head and block with green pan scourers, worked, but took a good while! Note, it would probably be best to clamp the liners just in case you turn the engine (deliberately or otherwise) and wreck the seals at the bottom of the liners!!
Thanks Richard, I was meaning to ask whether it was necessary to clamp the liners as I didn’t have the tool, but to be on the safe side I locked the flywheel in place to avoid turning the engine.
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Re: Oil cooler location on 2004 Berlingo Van 1.4

Post by Blazer811 »

white exec wrote: 02 Feb 2020, 13:07 Other folk will know this engine better than I do, so I'm sure someone will advise on cleaning out the block.

For the block face and head, I'm a bit old school on this.
Try to use solvent (petrol, thinner) to shift as much grot as will dissolve.
Avoid anything that would scar the metal faces, such as a chisel.
Stubborn stuff: a gently used stanley knife blade, hand held, low angle, gently.
Gently use a large FLAT file across the surfaces, to remove grot, not metal.
Final clean up with petrol/solvent.
Check carefully for flatness, cleanliness.
Thanks Chris for all you input and advice.
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