oil in radiotor

[Aryashahin]

hi everyone.
Lately I have notices an oily like residue on my radiator cap and also in coolant compartment.[ black sticky ]
I have checked the engine oil level over and over and it doesn't seems to be loosing oil. The engine works fine and there is no over heating.
its been like this for 2 month now

could this be a problem with valley seals?!!! or blown head gasket.

[cpbait]

not 100% sure on holdens, but i don't think it would be valley seals, sounds more like head gaskets, we used to get it all the time where i used to work and they were blown head gaskets, (not holden vehicles) but most of them weren't over heating either, it was just that we noticed it when they came in for service or the customer noticed it, so yeh sounds like head gaskets.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Valley cover gaskets can cause this problem, especially on the super 6, try tightening all the valley cover bolts first, see how many were loose.

[Aryashahin]

Valley cover gaskets can cause this problem, especially on the super 6, try tightening all the valley cover bolts first, see how many were loose.

I took it to holden service center , they reckon its gona coast me ~ $600ish to replace the valley seals, + the radiator has to get flushed , so that will be $110
etc......
unless there is someone in brisbane who's willing to do this for me with $$ off course..

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Pay my airfare and I'll do it for free. You supply the parts....

[VT Berlina 07]

2nd that. but what are Valley Seals?

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Intake manifold gaskets. Or seals that live in the Napa Valley, California?

[Rhino Racing]

Intake manifold gaskets. Or seals that live in the Napa Valley, California?

BAHAHAHAHHAHA! That is gold NAAF!
PMSL

[VT Berlina 07]

lol ok thanks

[vncruzr]

mate if there is oil in your radiator it could be auto fluid. if you have an auto they run the cooler thru the radiator in which case it could be a stuffed radiator.

[daron]

yeah mine did the same thing it was trans fluid cause they share the same radiator
needed everything flushed and new radiator

[Bluewildangel]

the lower intake gaskets are plastic and after many thousands of km the start to **** themselves intense-racing (us) sell the updated metal ones if thats the problem at all

[Aryashahin]

mate if there is oil in your radiator it could be auto fluid. if you have an auto they run the cooler thru the radiator in which case it could be a stuffed radiator.

it is an auto and i never thought about that.. but when took it to holden they said it was valley seals ...
i guess i have to check with couple of mechanics
how do i check for auto fluid?!!1

[Aryashahin]

yeah mine did the same thing it was trans fluid cause they share the same radiator
needed everything flushed and new radiator

hmm i haven't check my trans fluid.
but last night the coolant started to spill form under the coolant compartmented.
however the oil residue is soft of brownish and whitish mixture.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

If there is milky residue in the radiator it is engine oil, if it looks like a strawberry milkshake it is trans fluid.

[Aryashahin]

If there is milky residue in the radiator it is engine oil, if it looks like a strawberry milkshake it is trans fluid.

actually its chocolate brown with whitish spots-[residue ] which means ?!!!!! valley seals I hope..

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Chocolate milkshake with marshmallow...mmm...

Brown could be just the coolant pellets used by Holden to seal small leaks. A lot of people have been fooled by that. Get a pressure test done on the cooling system, if the gaskets were buggered it will drop pressure.

[vncruzr]

if there is oil in your water then there is a sure bet that there is water in the oil if you know what i mean, prob best to check both dipsticks in the auto and the engine and see if there is any sign of contamination mate.

[Aryashahin]

Chocolate milkshake with marshmallow...mmm...

Brown could be just the coolant pellets used by Holden to seal small leaks. A lot of people have been fooled by that. Get a pressure test done on the cooling system, if the gaskets were buggered it will drop pressure.

yeah i am getting that done, not sure how much its going cost me though.
BTW how much do you think it will cost to get the gaskets changed..

[Aryashahin]

if there is oil in your water then there is a sure bet that there is water in the oil if you know what i mean, prob best to check both dipsticks in the auto and the engine and see if there is any sign of contamination mate.

there was no contamination, i double check with a mechanic as well

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

It's mostly time, the parts are not expensive. 2-3 hours, with parts, coolant and labour, expect to pay $450 or there abouts. A pressure test shouldn't cost anything, only takes about 5 minutes. All it is as a pump with a guage on it connected to a special cap that goes on the radiator. They pump it up and watch the guage to see if it drops.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

if there is oil in your water then there is a sure bet that there is water in the oil if you know what i mean, prob best to check both dipsticks in the auto and the engine and see if there is any sign of contamination mate.

Not necessarily, oil pressure is higher than the coolant pressure and oil is lighter and thinner than water so it will get through a breach before water will.

[Aryashahin]

It's mostly time, the parts are not expensive. 2-3 hours, with parts, coolant and labour, expect to pay $450 or there abouts. A pressure test shouldn't cost anything, only takes about 5 minutes. All it is as a pump with a guage on it connected to a special cap that goes on the radiator. They pump it up and watch the guage to see if it drops.

My Calais died today, the engine was keep over heating and coolant was over flowing from the compartment.
had to call in a tow truck, got lucky and tow guy didn't charge me $ 251.00.
so tomorrow i will find out what wrong with it..
i'll keep you posted

[spanks]

What was the end result of the oil in your coolant?

[pedrod59]

My Calais died today, the engine was keep over heating and coolant was over flowing from the compartment.
had to call in a tow truck, got lucky and tow guy didn't charge me $ 251.00.
so tomorrow i will find out what wrong with it..
i'll keep you posted

Hi there Aryashahin,
I appear to have the same problem with my VY Series II Calais, too.
What was the result of your problem? Was it the Valley Cover seals?

I went to The Holden dealer here in Hervey Bay (Qld) and mentioned my problem and the mechanic said he hadn't heard of the problem before. He said he will do a pressure test when I bring the car in, but was not very helpfull.
I have had the oil leak for about 7 months. Thought I had fixed it up, 6 months ago. Took it to a Radiator repair shop and they thought it was the Trans Oil cooler in the radiator. I had to replace the radiator and thought everything was fine, but noticed oil again forming in the overflow bottle and under the radiator cap.

I hope yours is fixed and can give me an idea of what the result was for you.

Thanks

Peter