Les Goulden

My 1990 Maxima has 70,000 miles on it. Shortly after the AC compressor was replaced at the dealership, oil showed up in the radiator and water was in the oil sump--big time!

Radiator looked like mayonnaise. Any ideas what could have happened? Is it just coincidence that the AC work was done just before the problem showed up?

Any ideas on how I can get a diagnosis without spending a fortune to tear the engine apart?

Appreciate any help. The car just sits in my driveway.

Les Goulden

HoJo

How much do you trust this dealership? Some shady places have been known to pout a little oil in the coolant or vice versa. I'd change the oil and flush the coolant. Then check it again. If it still has been contaminated then you might have a leaking head gasket or something else.

brubenstein

Oil in coolant, and coolant in oil = blown head gasket. Keep running it like this and you won't have to worry; the motor will be trash.

PrinzII

iTrader: (2)

Let me put it this way. If you are getting oil in the coolant or vice versa, you have a blown head gasket or, at worst, a cracked head.

Either repair is going to cost some serious dough.

tom200K

Another possibility, if you have an automatic, there could be a leak in the transmission cooler. Much cheaper than other possible causes. A blown head gasket would show up on a compression test ( about $60 I think), cause performance problem and cause overheating. Eventually oil could clog a radiator.
Hope that helps,

Tom

jason_10

i recently found traces of oil in the radiator...checked the oil and there are no traces of water contamination. mine has a manual tranny. could it be from the oil cooler?

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

anything is possible.
do a coolant flush and an oil change then watch the fluids closely to see if they start to mix again.

jason_10

I drained the coolant a couple of times already. still i find traces of oil in the coolant. should i use a flushing liquid to rid of the oil? btw, the head gaskets were replaced recently. no overheating problems to date.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

if it's only traces, I wouldn't worry much.
if it's a decent amount then you still have an unaddressed problem.

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

You state water in oil? Is the oil milky looking off the dipstick or off the oil cap? If it is just on the oil cap, it could be moisture build up in the valve cover due to poor crank case ventilation.

I think that the problem you report is a coincidence to the a/c issue.

Maxkiller

I recently replaced the entire cooling system with brand new parts+timing belt, seals and injectors and now there is oil in my water also. The car isn't running that great but it has been sitting for 2.5 years. There is a small chug at the exhaust pipe but no smoke and no water in the oil.

I didn't have a head problem before and I really can't afford another fix like I just did, is there a vacuum gallery or gasket issue I have messed up or am I out of luck in the maxima department?

LvR

How much oil in the water? ............... new components may have had an oil film on them due to factory assembly methods and that may now have been washed off into the water - if you only a have a drop or so in the water I will drive it as is for a while and see if the situation gets worse. There is nothing you mentioned that you did/touched that would make oil appear in the water - especially if there was no oil in the water before the maintenance you performed.

If after 500km or so the situation didn't get worse, I would simply drain the cooling system and refill with proper fluid mixture.

shiloh51933

iTrader: (5)

I would drain the system and refill with proper coolant/distilled water just to make sure b4 doing anything, including driving. You could make things worse by driving/leaving it that way. A seal could have been installed wrong maybe, obviously look around but definately do drain/fill.

Maxkiller

Ok so I have drained the system and refilled it, no oil came through to the coolant but instead now I have water spittle from my exhaust and a very rough running engine. I haven't driven it, only idled it in the driveway.

Turns out the thermo fan isn't working also so I tried hard wiring the air con fan but that doesn't work either. Also when I shut the car off you can hear something dripping and steaming off in the engine, about 1 drip every 10 seconds. When the car runs the overflow reservoir bubbles about once every 5 seconds. I think I have a tiny fissure in my head gasket or head, almost 100% certain. I have a mate who is a mechanic coming to look at it tonight, hopefully he tells me otherwise but I don't think my optimism will pay off this time.

I love my maxima but I'm not spending another $2500 on it, I think my missus will slaughter me.

shiloh51933

iTrader: (5)

Sounds like it could be a HG but you might get lucky and just have coolant system issue. Water spitting out of the exhaust should just be condensation. If you do have a small seal problem, Bars stop leak really has worked for me in the past for really small (very small) seal leaks.

richard_85zxt

check your spark plugs, if coolant is getting into the chamber they would have a faint green tinge to them, this will tell you which head is an issue.

Maxkiller

Alright so I have pretty much done everything now, I drained and refilled coolant 3 times and the sludge has gone, I also put Bars stop leak through the system (before I even read the post, must be psychic) and the condensation has stopped at the back end, no more sludge in the coolant. I suspect the coolant sludge may have just been old coolant sitting in the block. The rough running I narrowed down to 2 things, 1 was a bolt not properly fastened on the throttle body chamber causing an air leak and the other is my A.A.C valve and air cut valve, I discovered coolant no longer flows there due to rusty clogged pipes within both the air cut valve and the throttle body chamber.

Once I have replaced the air cut valve, all logic says that it will start registering the coolant temp thus getting rid of the warm idle roughness (car idles smoothly now when cold).

Upon ripping all this apart however, I have another (hopefully final) question and that is on how to unblock the air relief plug at the top of the manifold which is full of rust. I have drilled out the bulk but a stoppage remains at the base of the pipe which I can only imagine is an L shape to the 2 pipes underneath it. Currently I am sitting CLR in the hole overnight to see if that unclogs it, but if that doesn't work:

A: is there a way to unclog it short of purchasing a new manifold

B: can i fill the system and get the air out another way? Bearing in mind the previous owner did not fill the system correctly leaving huge pockets of air inside that caused massive rust and cooling problems hence the reason I embarked on what has turned out to be my most expensive Maxima venture to date (This is my third one).

I appreciate its getting a little off the original topic but any help would be gladly appreciated, I am looking forward to the day I can drive my baby again.

shiloh51933

iTrader: (5)

You might be able to pick a another mani from a good JY for cheap, the pick/pull by my house is excellent and has plenty of 3rd/4thgen Max's. As long as the mani isn't damaged you can just clean it up, that's only if you have to of course. CRL is good so hopefully that works 4 you but like I said I would just replace with a good used mani, good wrenching.

Maxkiller

FINALLY back in the drivers seat of my AS BRAND NEW Nissan Maxima. Thanks to everyone for your help and if anybody is wondering, stale fuel contributed mostly to rough running, everything else was textbook tune-up once I had run that out and refilled with Shell V-Power (it really does love your engine!).

By textbook I mean workshop manual ...

shiloh51933

iTrader: (5)

So your fuel jellied up on you, good to hear she's running good again.

dadsmax

Baars. The super clogger. I use to use that on older cars. Not on newer ones. When I was a kid.

shiloh51933

iTrader: (5)

Yeah I wouldn't use it on anything worth money but I have used it on 300 dollar rides and had good results(meaning engine has been goo for years now). Really though I agree with you 100%, it can clog your system up and Ive heard of that happening to people who pour a whole big bottle of Bars in and never drain/fill it with new coolant mixture a week later.

89badmaxse

iTrader: (1)

holy 10 year old thread batman!!!! and its still helping people to this day. I <3 the Org.