• Last weekend checked engine oil routinely while gassing up and found almost no oil on the dipstick.
• Came home and added 1.5 qts to the crankcase
• This weekend added 1 qt again and drained cooling system.
• Suspicion confirmed: oil in the cooling system, looks like liquid peanut butter after the water & coolant mostly drain out.
• I get my oil analyzed regularly with Blackstone and the report 4k ago showed no signs of anitfreeze, etc. In fact they told me the oil looked great and I could have run it longer.
• I have not yet pulled another sample, but some of the older posts on this issue suggest I should, as there could be coolant in the crankcase. Did not try the burn/sizzle test...yet, should I?
• The oil cooler above the filter seems to be a common thought on older posts, but there is no conclusion to this thought in the posts.
• I'm curious how the coolant might get into the crankcase if there is a head gasket leak/failure. The lubricating system is much more high pressure than the cooling system.
• I don't have any aftermarket gauges, but the idiot temp guage on the dash has never shown any distressing temps.
• I did notice a fair amount of oil drip crud on the steering linkage, can a head gasket failure also cause external leakage.
• I ask this b/c it seems that 2.5qts of oil added to the cooling system should have made the cooling system overflow, so I'm not convinced that all the oil loss is headed into the coolant.

Any thoughts/opinions would be appreciated. If it is a head gasket issue, can anyone reccomend a good mechanic in the North Dallas area? I can tackle a lot, but I just don't have the time for this type of repair. I know the Ford dealers generally do good work, but my wallet can't pay their parts and labor prices.

If better judgement tells me to try to replace the oil cooler above the filter first, does anyone have a step-by-step on this repair? Are they any other symptoms that could make this a tell-tale oil cooler failure?

Thanks folks!

 

Sounds like the oil cooler rotted through (or is leaking internally).

There is a gasket where the oil cooler attaches to the side of the block, and I've heard that that gasket can leak and cause oil to get into the coolant.

I would suggest taking the oil cooler off and getting it pressure tested to verify it's good, and using a new gasket, it just might cure your problems.

 

I agree with the preasure test.

I didnt think the oil cooler was in the radiator, I thought that was the tranny cooler??? If you preasureize the system (15psi) you will most likly, see or hear it. While the oils drained. preasurize the Cooling system , if antifreeze comes out the oil drain hole, there ya go.

You are just going to have to try to isolate it.

I kniow those plastic upper intaces can play havoc with the cooling system

 

The oil cooler is right above the oil filter. There are two hoses running to it from the lower radiator hose.

The trick is, someone on the V10 forum said they had the same thing, and it was the gasket for the housing where the lower radiator hose connects to the engine. Seems there is oil and coolant running right through that housing and the gasket was allowing oil to get into the coolant at that point.

 

Thanks for the insight guys. I had already begun checking out the oil cooler and appurtenances as they are a far cry in price from having the head gasket(s) replaced. And I have the time to pull the oil cooler and lines. I'll be pulling the cooler Thursday and take it to be pressure tested. I'll provide an update this weekend.

 

Well, I got the oil cooler removed and replaced last Sunday. FYI, you need a 14mm hex bit to remove the threaded stem holding the cooler to the block (Sears only had this in a set with 3 others for $40, bummer). I cleaned the old one out in the parts washer and then hooked up some air line and a quick connect to the suspect cooler. Stuck it in a bucket of water under pressure. The result was a minimal amount of bubbling after all the orifices had been filled with water, it wasn't even terribly steady bubbling. The biggest test will be later this week when I check the oil level. I changed oil when replacing the oil cooler and have a good reference mark on the dipstick. If I'm still loosing oil, guess I didn't fix the problem.

Are there any other cooling sytem/oil system interfaces besides at the head gasket? I've never overheated the truck so the head gasket seems like an unlikely place on only an 8-9 year old truck.

 

If the cooler was bubbling, it was leaking, eh?

 

checked the oil level this weekend and it seems to be holding steady now that the oil cooler has been replaced. The cooling system seems to have a bit less oil in it this weekend. Did a thorough flush, pulled various hoses, flushed 15 gallons of water through the system. Will probably do the same next weekend and hopefully be able to put coolant/distilled water back in the system.

Thanks for the diagnosis boys!

 

IF you want to get rid of the oil, some detergent like dish detergent or car soap might work wonders.

 

I know this is an older thread but I am having some oil issues myself. I've been smelling some burning oil everytime I pull into the garage but no spots on the floor. One day, started her up and the low oil light comes on with pressure guage falling to zero.

Turns out I was missing at least 2.5quarts! Is the oil-cooler issue a common problem area for leaking and would that be too far forward to have oil be burned off and create the smell I am experiencing.

I can't see anything obvious from the valve covers but there is a bit of staining I can see under the intake at the head area. I am really hoping this is not a head R&R for gaskets. How much would this run me? I think that would be too much for me to get into myself. Thanks.

 

johnbox, the tell-tale sign if the oil cooler has failed will be oil in the cooling system. The lubrication system is much higher pressure, especially under load, than the cooling system. If there is a leak in the oil cooler, there will be oil in the coolant. Take off the overflow reservoir cap and take a smell. You should be able to see the oil floating on top. I was probaly 1.5qts low on oil when I first noticed this problem and it didn't cause my cooling system to overflow, so 2.5qts may not either. If you do have oil in the reservoir, the oil cooler is a much cheaper "try it and hope for the best" fix than head gaskets. The oil cooler is about $50-60 bucks and you need a large hex key to get the cooler removed from the block. Take a look in the reservoir. Let us know if you find oil. I'll find the hex key size and I can post a how-to for you to R&R the oil cooler.

 

Thanks for the detailed information frisco. I will check this out tomorrow morning. While poking around with a small flashlight I actually noticed what looks like oil drips on the exhaust visible just through the passenger front wheel well. Wife picked up son from school and I checked it out again and the oil drips from before were gone but now in a different spot. Couldn't locate where this was coming from but definitely from passenger side towards rear of engine.

I'm trying to locate the oil-pressure switch and wondering if it is in this general area. I need to wait until I can get enough time to roll myself under the truck for a real look but this is driving me crazy-scared of what is to come. Thanks again for the reply.