Found coolant in my engine oil. Please Help!

[moose074]

Is your coolant low and now since oil has set is it cloudy if answer to both is yes then you have a major problem most likely blown head gasket or cracked head if no to both get test ran but don’t lose sleep until you get results

[Paulie1138]

I have been told by others the oil cooler is usually the culprit in more cases than usually admitted to. It is "the weakest link"! Yes, the fluids can flow both ways, as when you shut down the hot engine, the coolant gets hotter, raising the pressure into the oil. Another sign the cooler is failing, you will find oil in the coolant as well. If you catch it soon enough, it should be ok. I had one engine run another 100,000 after finding that problem.

[PaulRod]

In the Ford Paperwork in with the owners manual you will find a phone number for The Ford Motorhome Hotline. One of the things they help with is finding a dealership in your area that can work on your rig. Second no one mentioned removing and checking the inside of the oil filler cap for beige sludge. Also water will never mix with water. So let the waste oil settle then remove most of the top oil. Pour the remaining into a large clear jar and let it settle again. Now you will have a manageable amount of liquid to look at. Also check your air filter see if it had been wet. Once wet they never look the same. It's a stretch but you never know.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by PaulRod

In the Ford Paperwork in with the owners manual you will find a phone number for The Ford Motorhome Hotline. One of the things they help with is finding a dealership in your area that can work on your rig. Second no one mentioned removing and checking the inside of the oil filler cap for beige sludge. Also water will never mix with water. So let the waste oil settle then remove most of the top oil. Pour the remaining into a large clear jar and let it settle again. Now you will have a manageable amount of liquid to look at. Also check your air filter see if it had been wet. Once wet they never look the same. It's a stretch but you never know.

mtnbronco said he took it to a Ford dealer !!!

[mtnbronco]

Thanks again everyone for all the great advice! I couldn't tell if there was a noticeable drop in the coolant reservoir level and the coolant in the reservoir is clear with no signs of oil in it. I'll probably get my RV back from Ford this week and I'll get a coolant pressure test done and go from there.

[Wolverine 1945]

Last time I changed the oil in my 0turn mower I got some grayish looking foam @ the beginning of the drain,,, it was also in the filter ???
I change the oil way before it is recommended,,, and always warm the engine before I drain !!! I see after letting the oil set in a clear bottle,,, the grayish foam dissipated ???
Neither I or my mower mechanic,,, have any idea what it could be !!!
Mower is air cooled,,, and I use Mobil One !!!

[Crusadernoob]

Advice from a master certified technician. I would take a sample and send it to Blackstone, I've used them a lot. They will tell you on the results in a short amount of time, coolant is the number 1 bearing killer, it doesn't take much. They will also tell you the amount of all other engine metals. This is very useful when approaching the service manager when you will argue if anything is wrong and what will be repaired. Oil cooler would be a great first "guess"

[mtnbronco]

Thanks Crusadernoob! I'll get the oil test so I can have some proof if something is wrong. If something is wrong I'll try a different Ford dealer.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by mtnbronco

Thanks Crusadernoob! I'll get the oil test so I can have some proof if something is wrong. If something is wrong I'll try a different Ford dealer.

Ask your Local Ford dealer to have it tested !!!
If necessary agree to pay for it !!!

I am not sure how anyone would see water coming out when you drain the engine oil,,, I am too busy trying to get out of the way,,, with the plug !!!

[Crusadernoob]

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

Ask your Local Ford dealer to have it tested !!!
If necessary agree to pay for it !!!

I am not sure how anyone would see water coming out when you drain the engine oil,,, I am too busy trying to get out of the way,,, with the plug !!!

Coolant/water is very easy to see while pulling the plug. A Ford dealer MAY send out a sample but IF they did how would you know for sure it came from HIS truck, do your own investigations and show them the proof if need be. This way you will have a leg to stand on when talking about it with the service manager. It also makes it easier when he is calling his area rep.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by Crusadernoob

Coolant/water is very easy to see while pulling the plug. A Ford dealer MAY send out a sample but IF they did how would you know for sure it came from HIS truck, do your own investigations and show them the proof if need be. This way you will have a leg to stand on when talking about it with the service manager. It also makes it easier when he is calling his area rep.

I have more trust in my local Ford dealer that that !!!
If I did not I would not even buy from them !!!
I go to a Small Ford dealer in a rural area !!!
As far away from Big City Dealers as I can get !!!

[DieselDrax]

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

I have more trust in my local Ford dealer that that !!!
If I did not I would not even buy from them !!!
I go to a Small Ford dealer in a rural area !!!
As far away from Big City Dealers as I can get !!!

I wish I could trust dealers and their service departments, so far the only one I've been able to generally trust is the Honda dealer my wife takes her Pilot to and the Dodge dealer in the city where I work, population around 86,000.

Local (Rural) Dodge dealer - Messed up an oil change (left the oil cap off), separate trip they confirmed they can do coolant flushes prior to taking vehicle in only to find all they did and could do was a drain and fill (Vehicle had someone put the wrong coolant in which caused the HOAT and OAT coolant to react and cause sludge and other issues). They had to do a flush the old-school way and then tried to charge me for the additional coolant. Not happening.

Local (rural) Ford dealer just today - Had an appointment for a tire rotation and road-force balance (closest shop with a road-force balance machine and within walking distance of my house), when I made the appt the advisor told me I was all scheduled for my rotation and oil change, I said rotation and road-force balance. Email confirmation of rotation and balance, no oil change. I drop it off this morning, told it would take 1-1.5 hours. After 2.5 hours I call to find out what the delay is, I'm told they're waiting on an oil filter since they didn't have one for my diesel engine. Again repeated that I never wanted an oil change. Ended up getting a free oil change, but now I'm paranoid that they didn't put the correct oil in even though he said they put in a 0w-40 diesel oil.

Closest GMC dealer wasn't horrible other than blaming the shop that put my shell on for cutting an airbag wire before realizing it was a factory defect and then having to apologize to the shell dealer.

Dodge dealer in SoCal was awful as well. Honda dealer next door was fine.

When it comes to dealers and their service departments I have very little faith in general and that is just plain sad.

[pcbikenski]

Was the coolant level low?

[Crusadernoob]

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

I have more trust in my local Ford dealer that that !!!
If I did not I would not even buy from them !!!
I go to a Small Ford dealer in a rural area !!!
As far away from Big City Dealers as I can get !!!

You think you see stuff at Walmart? I can PROMISE you from a technician that takes a great deal of pride and satisfaction in fixing the problems that 90% of so called "technicians" will just push out the door, and y'all know what I'm talking about, not every technician was created equal! Soooo many people would just push the OP right out the door with "No problem found" or "Vehicle is operating as designed" yes, they are TRAINED to say that! I got one other technician in our shop that I would trust, pretty sad knowing what the labor rates are now a days, so my advice to EVERYONE is to ask questions, look your stuff over, and if you find a technician you like, by all means you better ASK for him/her to work on your stuff. Personally, I would be all over a coolant in the oil complaint, love to find out what went wrong, but I'm weird like that. Ok, I'm done!

[herdsman]

Way too much speculation posted here based on way too little information.

The advice to get the oil analyzed is probably the best advice, seeing as it appears you are unsure if the liquid was just water or coolant.

Some further points to consider: Loss of coolant would be good to monitor. I don't know if you're Ford dealer is knowledgeable, but a second opinion is a good thing in this case. As someone else mentioned some of the Ford V10's (the "modular" Ford V8's) use a oil cooler at the base of the oil filter through which coolant is routed.

But the most important thing to determine first is whether it's coolant. That'll determine the next proper step.

[powerhaulic]

OP said it was clear fluid.
Yes oil analysis is the only way to know for sure engine is ok.
Clear fluid is not unusual at all when changing oil, it is condensation. Might be there next time or not, depends completely on temp and conditions.
Yes I am a certified Master tech, and have seen it on my own engines from time to time.
Have a great day

[mtnbronco]

I finally got my RV back from the dealer. I rather go to my local mechanic but because this is a warranty issue I'm forced to go to a Ford dealer. Every time I have to go to a Ford service manager I feel like I'm dealing with a "sales guy". Anyway, I'm gonna do a pressure test tomorrow then get the oil test done. I have a couple of questions for you guys. First, how long should the coolant system hold the pressure and second, since I just changed the oil how many miles should I put on the motor before getting a oil sample to send to Blackstone. Thanks for everyone's help!!

[Crusadernoob]

I would run it a couple thousand miles if you use it often enough. Get through some good heat cycles with it, try to avoid the short trips, these are what will cause the condensation build up.

[DieselDrax]

Originally Posted by mtnbronco

I finally got my RV back from the dealer. I rather go to my local mechanic but because this is a warranty issue I'm forced to go to a Ford dealer. Every time I have to go to a Ford service manager I feel like I'm dealing with a "sales guy". Anyway, I'm gonna do a pressure test tomorrow then get the oil test done. I have a couple of questions for you guys. First, how long should the coolant system hold the pressure and second, since I just changed the oil how many miles should I put on the motor before getting a oil sample to send to Blackstone. Thanks for everyone's help!!

The cooling system should hold pressure indefinitely. As long as the coolant is “cold” there won’t be any volume change due to cooling off that would cause a pressure “drop” which would really just be the fluid contracting as it cools. The cooling system is a sealed system, the only way anything gets in or out if the system is in good shape is via the radiator cap.

[mtnbronco]

I did the coolant pressure test today and it held 16 psi for 30 minutes. So I guess it's condensation. I have been doing my own oil changes for the past 25+ years and this the first time I've had condensation problems. I guess there's a first for everything. I'll put some miles on the new oil change then get the oil test done to be sure. Thank you to everyone that contributed on this post!! Have a great summer!!