Fuel in the oil.

It means the rings are worn and the engine has some blow-by. Compression leaks past the piston rings and leaves some fuel in the oil. Don't put any stopleak in the cooling system.

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Uh oh, already put in some GM coolant sealing tablets. What's going to happen now that's bad? Since it's leaking a gallon or two every couple weeks or so, if that's bad I added the tablets, then with luck, they'll wash out? Or did you mean Bar'sLeak stop leak stuff only? That did look nasty.

Thanks for your explanation. Blow-by eh? That's been a problem with all my engines. Someone has to nurse the babies along and keep them out of the graveyard.

Thanks for the advice.

You mean the "dog treats" originally sold by Cadillac dealers for us in the first aluminum V8s? They make a mess out of the cooling system, but will prevent electrolysis. So will using distilled water, which is cheaper and cleaner.

If you're losing a gallon or two a WEEK, you have serious problems. Time to tear that thing down or swap out for a rebuild..

No stop leak will repair a leaking waterpump. Bar'sLeak is permenant nasty. The GM pills will not cause a problem. They are made of ground-up nut shells... Almond I think? One pill is plenty for your size cooling system. Don't worry they will wash out. I've never heard about them having a neutralizing effect... I suspect that is very likely true.

all engines get some fuel dilution in the oil with time.

to check head gasket seal, you need to do a cylinder leakdown test and compression test

cylinder to top dead center- put shop line pressure (175 psi) into the cylinder with a threaded adapter that matches spark plug threads. You will hear the cylinder "leak down"- it's normal for it to leakdown into the crankcase- but if it bubbles into the radiator, you have a bad head gasket, or cracked casting

you need to test every cylinder that way

also a cranking compression test

if leakdown readings are over 5%, it's time for a new motor- the engine will still run, but not efficiently

with 210,000 on it now, what more do you want ? The Jap plasma type ring sets give up at 220,000- and start using oil pretty badly at that point. You'll see smoke going down a steep hill on deceleration, or at WOT (wide open throttle)

basically at that point in mileage, you should be 1) looking for a new car 2) getting an engine overhaul, and preferably #1, because there is a multitude of newer cars out there now for dirt cheap.

Fuel dilution in the oil is usually a sign that the engine is used for short-trip driving and the oil never gets hot enough to force the fuel to evaporate back out and get purged by the PCV system. It *can* be a sign of running too rich- which can result from a leaky fuel injector, bad sensor (02, MAP, throttle-position, coolant temp- any number of them), or even a bad fuel pressure regulator.

No "sealer" will help a water pump, because that's a rotating seal. The GM pills wont do any permanent harm, but flush them out. They do reduce the effectiveness of the cooling system.

DEFINITELY. You have a huge coolant leak there.

You already have confirmation that the head gasket isn't leaking coolant into the oil. Unless you can SEE coolant leaking to the exterior of the engine, why on earth would you change a head gasket?????

Desperation? Leaking brain gasket? Changing the head gasket on a non-leaking van with 210,000 miles on is neither rational nor logical. Sometimes my fingers keep on typing while my brain has gone into reverse.

Been there done THAT :-)

But there is a possibility that a head gasket might leak coolant out the side and NOT into the oil. When you're in there doing the water pump, look everything over real good and see if there are any other signs of leakage.

Just HAS been there, and done that, as my earlier post about my 318 sucking air proved. However, at 85K it was good to get the top end off the engine, clean up deposits on the valve stems, inspect and clean the lifters bodies pressure wash the cooling jackets and decarbonize the chambers and piston crowns. Only regret there is that no one supplies a real 318 (3.93" bore) head gasket anymore, even DC, and you have to settle for a 340/360, which may rob a little compression. Now, however, it runs better than when new and gets superb fuel economy for a big RWD car along with very low emissions. The 5 lb loss in compression can easily be traced to removing the carbon, so maybe the head gasket isn't all that bad a thing.

The real culprit? A bad lip seal on a cheap rebuilt water pump put on by a garage during a trip to Las Vegas. Lesson: ALWAYS ask where a guy gets his parts. If they won't say or say Poop Boys or AutoBone, supply your own.

i wonder why the dealer or mechanics did not suggest this. the dealer did just an ordinary pressure test. and that mechanic probably mistook the fuel in the oil for coolant in the oil. the mechanic also missed that the leak was in the water pump and not from the head gasket. i had asked for a good mechanic, an older guy there with gray hair who really knows his stuff about cars. they gave me a very young hotshot who apparently did not want to bother with an old car. I FEEL DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. should i picket the agency or call up Chrysler to complain and a lack of competence? or just get in line :)

i'm going by mpg as a rough indicator. the car can do around 25 mpg at

60-65 mph. not too bad. i figure if and when the mileage drop to 20 mpg then the engine is almost completely shot.

you really know how to hurt a guy. i have 10,000 miles left until armageddon. is that you are telling me?

what is dirt cheap? could you give a price range? dirt cheap to me is around $1000 but i think you mean $3000 or $4000.

I was told the GM tablets are ginger root. Not sure if this is true or not. I know GMN recommends two tablets be crushed and added to their radiators when doing a flush.

Bob

You are loosing power on hills because of loss of compression from worn rings. This is normal for your mileage and also increases fuel dilution in the oil. Your oil annalysis proves that your head gaskets are not leaking. You should replace the waterpump and refill 50/50 anti-freeze and water. If you continue changing oil and filter at the same intervals, you will not have any problems with fuel dilution. The number of tablets depends on the ammount of coolant in the system. During training presented by a GMC factory engineer he explained that two pills are more than enough for a 1 Ton pick-up with heavy-duty cooling system.

View this thread: Uh oh, I put in 4 tablets for a smallish 3 liter. The Cadillac dealer said they use 6 tablets for their hulking 4.9 liter but that thing is a sieve. Did the engineer say 2 tablets for a leaking or non-leaking 1 ton pickup?

I put in 3 tablets some months ago. It seemed to hold for about 3 weeks and then leaked again. I guess if it does not leak out a lot, then I'll get the coolant flushed.

Also, 2 tablets? Is that for the regular oil change as a maintenance item as opposed to actually trying to stop a leak? They come in a 5 blister pack for around $3.70. The best deal, ?, at the Cadillac dealer.

Felt a bit awkward, what kind of car do you have the parts guy asked me? "Plymouth Voyager van." Oh well, at least Cadillac still exists. Cadillac-lac-lac-lac as the song goes.

The dealer didn't tell you about the leakdown test, because they don't know any better.

What I'm saying is, at 210,000 miles, your car is already beyond it's useful life- without a lot of M-R work and expense (maintenance/repair). An engine doesn't run forever, it wears constantly as it runs. At 10,000 miles it already has some wear on it, that's not there at zero miles, and the wear cycle continues.

Very soon that car is going to start using a LOT of oil, like a quart every week or two. And it's not worth rebuilding. You could buy a used 2002 model with under 100,000 miles from a private owner, in the $3500-4000 range, the market is flooded with trade ins. May sell them privately to get more than the dealer offers on the trade.

If you are looking at $1000 cars, you'd better be a mechanically inclined to start with- as well as equipped with tools. Anything in that price range will need to be gone through completely to make it reliable.

thanks for the good advice.

No, man! If you mean Billy Joel's song ("Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" IIRC), it's "Cadillac-ack-ack-ack-ack. :)

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Seargeant O'Leary is walking the beat. At night, he becomes a bartender. He works at Mr. Cacciatorre's down on Sullivant Street, Across from the medical center, And he's trading in his Chevy for a Cadillac, lac, lac, lac; You oughtta know by now, If he can't drive with a broken back, At least he can polish the fenders. And it seems such a waste of time, If that's what it's all about... Momma, if that's moving up, than I'm moving out.

For some reason, the name of the song was changed to Movin' Out. This is from the 1977 alblum, The Stranger. And who isn't?

Thanks for the memories, man.

And note, for the gloating goating record, exactly, precisely, only 3 lac's :)

No no no. It ain't 'lac' - it's 'ac' or 'ack'. The same hook was used in the first verse "Working too hard can give you a heart attack -ack

-ack -ack -ack -ack". Definitely 5 'ac's. I just listened to it, and all the lyric sites agree.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Look, are you trying to make me crazy?

You said above, and I quote, sorry to be so exact:

I was posting and then you responded about my Cadillac, lac, lac, lac. A heart attack is not a Cadillac, not hardly, although you did find an ack ack ack ack to red herring your mistake on my lac lac lac. Bad boy. No dinner for you.

Good try, not bad. Do you do this about car questions too? You could drive a man to motor oil.

I await your next obfuscation with, with with;