Coolant and oil are essential for the operation of the car’s engine. They have their own circuits and should not mix, but if you have checked the vehicle and found that the antifreeze has a strange color, it is possible that there may be oil in the coolant. We tell you why it happens and how to solve it.
To find out if these two elements have mixed, just check the antifreeze tank and check its texture and color. If it looks milky brown, it could be because some oil has entered the compartment.
How do you know if there is oil in the coolant?
You can also check for oil in the coolant after a leak if you see an oily sheen on the top of the antifreeze. The most serious case is when it is not displayed correctly and the vehicle overheats. To avoid problems, it is necessary to repair the leak as soon as possible by flushing the tanks and replacing the fluids as soon as possible.
Why can there be oil in the coolant?
In order to solve the problem, the first thing to do is to know what may be causing it. The most frequent causes when you discover that there is oil in the coolant have to do with a defective oil cooler, a bad cylinder head gasket or a leak in the transmission cooler.
Defective oil cooler
This type of device is very common in turbocharged cars, but not so much in gasoline cars. If your car has this element, you will be able to check if it is defective quickly if there is oil in the coolant since it does not produce losses in the performance of the engine.
Cylinder head gasket in bad condition
The cylinder head gasket can fail and this will cause the oil to leak into the cooling system. If it gets into these ducts, it can end up mixing with the antifreeze, creating a brown mass that will appear on the top of the radiator and in the tank. In addition, if it is damaged, you will notice a considerable loss of engine performance.
This coolant can also leak into the combustion chamber, causing a cloud of sweet-smelling white smoke that can be seen when driving the vehicle. To find out if the problem comes from the cylinder head gasket, it will be necessary to perform a compression test, this will diagnose if the gasket is blown or not. If it is, it should be repaired as soon as possible. Go to a workshop to replace the gasket and flush the entire cooling system. Once this has been done, check the condition of the radiator and water pump for damage.
Transmission cooler leak
Automatic transmission vehicles have a transmission fluid cooler that is part of the radiator. This can cause cracks in the two elements. When this happens, the fluid can mix with the coolant. In this case, the color it will acquire will be pink and foamy. If it is not fixed in time, it can cause problems in the transmission and make it necessary to replace it.