Help, I just read 11,636 of your listings looking for one that shows when I search the internew for coolant in the oil of 2001 3.0L ranger. My truck has 50k on 3.0 and has very slow coolant loss, with 1st 5-10 drops out of oil pan plug after sitting overnight COOLANT IN THE OIL PAN,,,WHERE SHOULD I START LOOKING?? Coolant loss is so slow that radiator pressure test does not show pressure loss..

 

Welcome to FTE!

Sounds like you might have a fairly serious problem there. Coolant in the oil is a sign of one or more of the following: blown head gasket, blown lower intake gasket, cracked head. The fact that it's leaked into the pan to such an extent leads me to think it's gasket related.

What other warning signs have you noticed? Any white lingering smoke when you start the truck in the morning? A sweet smell to go along with the white smoke? What do your oil cap and oil dipstick look like? Any crappy looking substance on them?

Another thing to be concerned with is the possibility of bearing damage. Acids in the coolant can really go to work on the bearings. How long do you suspect that you have had coolant in the oil? IMO, you risk further damage if you continue to drive it.

 

None of that sounds good. At this point you have nothing to loose so I would try some stopleak. Bars or Alumaseal, etc. If the leak is small it will probably work. Do a couple of oil changes and the send a sample to be tested. They can spot a leak b4 you can see any coolant by eye. You may have a head gasket leak but you won't knw until you pull the heads, re-assemble and run another test. Otherwise its time for a new engine. Good luck.

 

uh oh,read my other thread about my lower intake manifold gasket..

 

Thanks for the advice, I suspect/hope for intake gskts, we purchased this truck used with 42k and it has coolant loss ever since. Ford has offered assistance IF they can verify the problem!!! I'll be returning there tomorrow with my drain sample of oil/coolant and give another try----THANKS AGAIN,,,,Tim

 

A compression check should tell you if the head gasket has failed. A vacuum test should tell you if the intake manifold has failed. I would do both of these before tearing into the engine.