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98 Accord LX oil in water

I had overheated the car but not badly, I shut it down quickly.

I had the mechanic replace the radiator, had the cylinder head rebuilt plus new head gasket, timing belt (84,000 miles) and water pump, new hoses, new radiator fan, etc. I asked the mechanic if the bottom end (block/pistons) could have been damaged before he started the job and he said they never get damaged. He said they are strong. He specializes in Honda and Toyota.

The engine is very smooth. The repair was about two months ago but I noticed I have oil in my radiator with the milky coffee look. I flushed it again and the "coffee" came back the same day.. I also added oil because it was a little low. The mechanic is an honest guy and a good mech. I am taking it back but I am wonder what it could be beside even more money to shell out.

Reply to
Fabiorossi5
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Bad head gasket? When it overheated, you may have warped the head...

Reply to
Joe LaVigne

I suspect your new radiator has a defective transmission fluid cooling loop - assuming the transmission is an automatic. All too often, the coolant also gets into the transmission and can cause real trouble if allowed to go on long, so check the tranny dipstick for signs of milkiness. This won't be something the mechanic did wrong, if that is indeed the problem. The failure will be inside the radiator rather than in the way it was put in.

It's also possible the oil was contamination inside the new radiator, though, and now has floated to the surface.

My understanding is that it is unlikely head gasket trouble will mix oil and coolant in Honda engines, but I haven't had a head off yet to see for myself.

We've seen a couple reports of oil in the radiator recently, but I don't think anybody has reported back what the cause was. You can look at threads from the last few months and see if there is a clue for you.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

A good test for this is to check the crankcase oil for the presence of water - if it's seeping one way, it will likely seep the other way as well. Check the tranny fluid too, to see if water is getting in there.

Reply to
Matt Ion

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