Oil in radiator - C8

[jscadden]

Took the car through London a couple of weeks ago and with all the stop/start, the gearbox cut out for a while until the engine temperature dropped to 90!

Since then, I happened to remove the radiator cap and black gunge, which I assume to be oil, oozed out! The engine's running fine otherwise and the gearbox (automatic) isn't playing up any more than usual! (That's another story!) Did have to put another litre of oil in today but there is a gradual drop in level anyway so that might be incidental. Keep getting a coolant level warning

Wasn't intending to keep the car after the MOT falls due in November anyway but if there is something I can do in the meantime, I would be obliged!

John.

[MattBLancs]

Very heavy oil contamination of the coolant can be failure of the oil cooler - not a cooler in the conventional sense, but actually an oil-to-coolant heat exchanger.

Earlier engines had a "sandwich plate" type where this heat exchanger sat between metal canister oil filter and the block / oil filter mounting bracket.

Later ones (with paper element, under the big black plastic screw on lid) have the heat exchanger off to one side of the oil filter housing - mounted on the same casting.

Could try a second hand one - the failure doesn't seem to be especially common.

Matt

[Paul-R]

And also look into why the vehicle overheated. It sounds like the radiator fan(s) aren't working. It could be that the fan motor has seized up over the winter and needs taking off to check. You might be lucky and free the spindle off but my experience is that they need replacing. Check the fuse (probably a maxi-fuse) as this could have blown causing the fan to not work, equally the fuse could have blown because the fan has seized.

[jscadden]

Not too worried about the overheating as it only affected the gearbox which is knackered anyway, hence my decision to scrap it when the MOT is due! The engine was still running but lost forward drive until the temperature gauge had dropped to 90. I was traveling across London through the centre from M4 to M13 via Victoria, incurring £27 in congestion charges. Have done a couple of journeys of over 100 miles on the motorways since then and the temperature was controlled to just under 90. I will have a look at the oil cooler through!

Thanks!