2000 Dakota update- There is coolant in oil

No, it is not necessarily a lost cause. You will have to open the engine and see what you have. There is no way to be sure, at this point, just what is involved, but I would say that the most of the time it would be a blown head gasket that caused the coolant to dump into the engine.

The crankshaft and bearings may have no damage at all. You will just have to open her up and find out.

It sat for about 4 months but not ran like this. I plan on taking the heads off. Is it necessary to take the oil pan off and look at the bearings too? I am nt sure if i can do this. I am working in my driveway and it is hard for me to get under the truck? What would i be looking for?

Wouldnt the anti freeze keep the bearings from rusting?

Wouldnt the anti freeze keep the bearings from rusting?

****************** The contact surfaces of the bearings are not made of iron or steel, and dont "rust" in the same way that ferritic surfaces do. They usually contain aluminum, lead, copper and perhaps other alloys.

If you are lucky and most of the antifreeze is below the crankshaft bearing level, there may be little problem.

Sometimes you can get the oil pan off easily enough, and you can take off some bearing caps and have a look at the bearings and surfaces. If possible, I might try to do this. (If you do, be sure to keep the bearings and caps oriented just as they came off, and torque them back down when you are finished.

If you are really borderline on this engine, just fix the upper engine, change the oil and filter, and start that puppy up. Be sure you have oil pressure, and watch temperature closely for a while. Change the oil and filter after a few hours of running, just to be sure you got everything dry and clean.

And then just drive it until it fails.

That's the good news. If there was only a quart or so in the pan, there was oil on top of the antifreeze.... they don't mix well. So the odds are good that most of the engine was protected by oil.

Running an engine with an antifreeze/oil is mix is sure death, but just leaving it in the driveway for a while is not as bad since the coolant will tend to separate out.

The chances of having your oil pump ruined are greater than those of having your bearings ruined, but it's a lot easier to change the oil pump.

I'd do this if the oil pan were easy to get to, definitely. On some cars you need to practically pull the engine to get the oil pan off. On others it's a ten-minute job.

I'd tend to do this, but I'd probably pull the head, take it to someone who can check it for cracks, then if it tests well, I'd put it back on with a new gasket and drive. But I wouldn't sell it to someone without letting them know it could have a hidden failure waiting to happen.

--scott

You should look at them as HLS suggested, but some bearings call for replacement whenever the caps are removed. Replacing the bearings is not much more work than examining them, except that you must check the clearances on the new bearings.

Removing the oil pan is not much work. Get crossmembers and such out of the way, loosen all the screws in a crisscross fashion, and use a mallet to whack the pan loose before you finish removing the screws. The bearing caps will be in plain view, you may have to remove the oil pickup (now is a good time to check the condition of the screen). Use the correct six point socket to remove the nuts because you will be really mad at yourself if you round one. Do not allow the rod studs to scrape the polished journals on the crankshaft. I wrap them with several turns of masking tape whenever they are exposed. Working underneath, it is very easy to accidentally lose control of a rod and drop it on the crank.

After checking clearances, make sure everything is clean and lube the bearings and journals with engine oil for the final installation. Use a torque wrench and aim for the middle of the torque range on each nut. Reinstall the pan with Ultra Blue silicone or similar, waiting for the silicone to skin over slightly before installing it.

You would be looking for corrosion and pitting in the bearings.

The bearings don't "rust" since they don't have iron in them. The antifreeze corrodes and pits the bearings through other chemical processes.

There was about 1/2 gallon of anti freeze or possibly more. I may just do the heads and hope for the best. (ANd get them crack checked and milled).

I plan on driving it a little while. I have to do this cheaply though as money is tight.

By the way, do the head bolts have to be replaced?

Antifreeze is hard on cam bearings too. Causes cams to freeze up and break.

So, Midas flushed the cooling system prior to the vehicle being unused all winter.

Have you checked the freeze point of the coolant they installed to see if it was strong enough for the lowest temperature experienced this winter?

If i were unsure about the condition of the bearings and -if- the engine was run or even cranked (in an attempt to start it) long enough that coolant may have been introduced into the oiling system I would drain all of the coolant from the system, radiator and block, I would then do a thorough oil change with filter and then start the engine with no coolant in it and listen for any obvious mechanical noises that may indicate whether serious damage has been done to the internals. You have a couple three minute window running the engine without coolant before heat becomes an issue.

Of course, non of this proves or disproves a cracked block which is a distinct possibility if the antifreeze was too weak...

By the way, do the head bolts have to be replaced?

********** Probably should. I would have to check for the specific engine, but when you have a problem like this, it is wise to replace them, regardless of the assembly instructions.