Anti-freeze in oil?

On Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:25:44 -0600, against all advice, something compelled snipped-for-privacy@example.com, to say:

Was it running well? I guess I'd do a compression test were I worried about it, but what I'd probably do is ignore it until it started running badly.

The head gasket IS the less expensive to repair. Other options are cracked head or block - mabee a few others - but none simpler than the head gasket.

At which point you could scrap it.. 181000 on a Soob is not exceptionally high miles.

I don't have a huge amount of experience with coolant getting into the oil, but bubbles weren't the tell-tale.

On the 3 "BHG" episodes I've been involved with, the oil was the color of a chocolate milkshake (heavy on the chocolate). That was long before baristas in booths, so it would be more like a mocha. The mix gets so "churned"/homogenized by the engine that the water/coolant mix and the oil won't separate for weeks (if the engine isn't run).

This has been many years ago, could be that present oils and coolants could have changed that.

I SUPPOSE under certain low-use/odd conditions, there could be some condensation collect in the oil pan. But I'd say 99% BHG. And sometimes a compression test may be OK on a 'cold' car. Are you losing coolant from the reservoir/radiator? Are there bubbles of exhaust in the radiator?

Carl

At that age and miles, swapping the motor out is about the same price as a head gasket repair.

Ditto on the oil looking like chocolate/coffee with cream if there is a mixture of coolant and oil. And it takes very little coolant to accomplish this. I can't believe you have "globets" of antifreeze floating/suspend in the oil. Also replacing a head gasket isn't cheap if you pay someone else. Dealers charge between $1500 to over $2000 for this repair.

Nothing odd looking when I changed the oil this time. No coolant nor oil had to be added. Must have been....

Certain foresters and outbacks have an oil-coolant heat exchanger, I could see a small crack or defect letting a small amount of coolant into the oil.

Dave