Hey Guys. I have been lurking the forum for about the past 6 months, but I am now in need of some help.

I just finished up replacing the timing chain, gaskets, hoses, water pump, and other misc. parts while I was in there (thanks to all the previous write-ups I found on this site). This all stemmed from a slow coolant leak that had developed from the timing cover gasket.

I was able to get everything put back together, but now I seem to have coolant in my oil. I backed the truck out of the garage to 'burp' the coolant system, and when I got it out, I checked the oil level. When pulling the dipstick out, I noticed the milky white residue on the dipstick that appears from water/coolant in the oil.

I know that coolant got into the oil pan when I pulled the timing cover off, so I am not sure if this is left over residue or not. I had left the oil drain plug off until I got everything put back together in hopes that any coolant might have run threw, and I also ran about a quart and a half of oil through before I put the drain plug back in to try and help flush out any remaining coolant.

The truck ran for about 1 minute before I turned it off to check the oil. Prior to this, I have never had issues of coolant in my oil. During the the re-assembly of everything, I thought I was very careful of all the possible leak paths. I made sure that the oil pan seal was still in good shape, I used the felpro gaskets for the timing cover and water pump. I used the ultra-black RTV on both sides of the gaskets. I made sure all the bolts were torqued back down to spec.

So now I am wondering if I screwed something up, or, is this just some coolant residue that did not get flushed out. Any insight you guys might have, I would greatly appreciate.

Truck info:
2002 Dodge Ram
4wd 5.9L
150K miles
I have also never had any problems with the truck over-heating.

Thanks!
Dan

 

pressure test the cooling system to see if pressure drops.

also on bob is the oil guy forum it takes up to 4 oil changes to get antifreeze out of the used oil sample, when something invasive is done such as intake gaskets, timing cover(with coolant ports) etc.

i would run it 100 miles change the oil and go from their. mike

 

Good to hear that it takes a little time to get the coolant out of your system. I will be running out to get a cooling system pressure tester. Thanks for the quick reply!

 

I'd prolly put some cheap (dino) oil in and plan on changes maybe every 500-1000 miles.

Also, old redneck trick might work for you too. Back in the day, if we submerged an engine and got water in it (and did not hydralock the thing) we'd mix Marvel Mystery Oil with the cheap oil and it seemed to take the water out WAY better than just the oil itself. I've personally done this a couple of times with swamped ATVs. I'd start with a 50/50 MMO to oil mix and work it down in increments over a few oil changes. The Marvel has properties that make the water molecules stick to it unlike regular oil (remember the adage "oil and water don't mix"?)

Since coolant is 50% water, this may work for you. The MMO can't hurt anything even if it doesn't do the trick.

So for just a little coolant in the oil, I wouldn't go 50/50, but one quart or maybe two mixed with the oil might just get that coolant out more efficiently.

I've not done this myself in a car/truck engine but I do know people who have swamped their rig and have used this trick with positive results...

 

I let the pressure gauge sit on the truck overnight, and the system was holding tight (after chasing down a few hose clamps that needed an extra turn.) So, with the engine cold, everything looks to be okay.

I have never used MMO before, but reading about it online, there are some interesting uses for it. My next oil change I will throw a quart of the MMO in and see how it goes from there.