Water in Oil - Head Gasket or Other?

[keg99]

I have an 03 Vibe GT (with the Code L or OH engine). Lost heat and added coolant. Then checked oil and found tan slime - you know, the ol' oil and water mix. While it did get over heated, it didn't reach the redline. So I don't think I blew the head gasket. I hear there may be ways for water to reach the oil through broken parts inside the manifold or other pathways - all of which are not due to a blown head gasket. I searched but could not find a topic on this, so I look to you all, oh wise owners, what say ye. Is there something else I should look for?

[keg99]

I should have also mentioned there is no water in the radiator and I have good compression on cylinder 1 (the only one tested so far). The plug was dry on that cylinder.

The problem first became evident when I had no heat. So most coolant was just being dumped into the crankcase. Seems like some sort of internal leak, but can't find any discussion about this type of problem.

Thanks.

[hvlp]

I hope it is not head gasket, if you could get cooling system pressure tester you might be able to pin point where leak is, but when you said it is in oil then it is usually like you already fear head gasket, our cars have no coolant running through manifold just through throttle body but then there is no way to get to crank case, only way i see that getting there is head gasket.I would try this: when car is hot ,park it and leave it running, open hood, look at overflow tank, if you see any bubbles coming in(usually blowing compression past head gasket and into coolant passages). Compression test is always good trouble shooting also.I hope for you it is not head gasket these engines are not really know for that. these are good cars. Let me know what you find out. keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[joatmon]

I was kinda thinking it might be best if it is a blown head gasket because otherwise it might be a cracked head or cracked block.

If you lost all your coolant into the crankcase, then all the internals are probably well slimed, a pain to clean

[keg99]

Thanks for the thoughts and well wishes. I was curious about the statment "our cars have no coolant running through manifold just through throttle body". I was figuring the coolant could have gotten into the crankcase through a crack in the manifold area. But is this not possible? Could a crack in the throttle body be a source?

I will be using a pressure tester on the cooling system as one of my next steps before going deep into a head removal. For now, trying to gather as much knowledge about the engine as possible so I know what to expect.

Thanks.

[biodieselrabbit]

I think he meant that the intake manifold (plastic piece in the front of the engine) does not have coolant running through it but the throttle body (metal thing on the driver's side of it) does. A leak at the throttle body would introduce coolant into the airway to your cylinders (no oil comes in contact with the throttle body) which would then need to somehow make it into the crankcase where your oil is. This is very unlikely. As you rightly stated the most direct, and probable, route is through a crack in the head, block or blown head gasket. Let us know what your compression testing uncovers.

[keg99]

I think I found the problem. Looks like the timing cover gasket "blew" open between the water pump and the oil side. Odd to see both leak, but there is one point where both gaskets are close to each other. I have pictures and will try to post them. It's an interesting problem and seems no one else has had this occur - or has talked about it. Anyway, waiting for parts (pulled the engine to replace the clutch while I'm at it).

[biodieselrabbit]

Please do post the pictures. It would be interesting to see the location you are referring to.

[keg99]

Sorry for not replying sooner. I finally did get the car fixed and running again. But learned a lesson. Never assume you found the true problem and put the whole car back together only to find out, it really was the head gasket. What happened was I thought we found the leak - the water pump gasket where it is 1/4" from the timing cover gasket. The picture shows the gunk between the two gaskets, which I assumed was the culprit. (Either way, it needed to be replaced)

WQell I fixed it, reinstalled the engine - and then found out I was still getting collant in the oil. Sheesh. I should have done a pressure check either on the cooling system or the cylinders. Either one would have shown me there was a problem. But . . .

On side note, in case you're wondering why I took the engine out just for the timing cover gasket, I actually needed to replace the clutch. So taking the engine out was a lot easier.
Second side note, I had put in a new clutch last summer. But I needed to replace it because it was JUNK. Rattled like heck. O'Reilly was supposed to have ordered in the better grade part, but instead screwed up and got the cheap one. I was time limited, so I had to use it. What a mistake. But now all is well, the new clutch is great. Got it from Carquest - and got the better grade part. Worth the extra $80. BTW, I put the clutch in last summer with the engine in the car. It was more work, but a lot easier to do it with the engine out of the car.

So (back to the story) I got it back in the garage and took the head off and found the problem - a broken head bolt. Then I found a huge problem. The bolt was broken off about one inch below the top of the head. Since this is a GT (2zz) model, there are not that many replacement engines out there. So faced with the likely scenario that the car was totalled, my friend came up with an idea. He found a "guide", a hollow tube that was almost the same O.D. and the head bolt diameter. And an I.D. big enough for a ~1/8" drill bit. We wrapped some tape around the tube to get a tight fit, put it into the bolt hole and was actually able to drill into the broken stud and back it out (without hitting the threads in the engine block)! Hurrah!! and a big Yippee!

I really like my Vibe and hated to lose it. And I didn't. I got it all back together and only had about 4-5 bolts left over. It is now running just fine and just as fast/peppy/and fun as ever. Thanks again to this great site for all the help everyone gives.

[biodieselrabbit]

Very cool. Thanks for posting the picture. I did not think about that location as a potential source of coolant and oil mixing. And good to hear the vibe is back up and running. Any idea why the head bolt broke in the first place?