does anyone know why all of my engine oil shows up in the radiator after a
few days of driving? There is no water in the oil pan just oil in the radiator. This started to happen recently.It has happened twice and the car is only used for normal driving. someone suggested that there may be a problem with the oil intercooler. Does anyone know how to fix this. I tracked a hose from the radiator that ends up close to the oil filter. Is this where the oil cooler is located? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. By the way, the car is an 89
Trans Am Gta with a 350 engine.

 

#1 are you sure its oil? no one added any kinda stop leak to it (some of them look like oil mixed in with water)

it could be a number of things actually, a cracked block/head, head gasket, etc.. as far as a oil intercooler, i didnt know they used anyin rad oil coolers on our cars.. now they do have a tranny cooler in there, but that wouldnt run up by the oil filter..

 

I have had the car for about 1 year and It just started happening. It does not have any stop leak additives. I'm sure that it is engine oil because the dipstick shows that it is empty whenever it happens. The head gaskets are about 6 months old and the heads were reconditioned also about 6 months ago. There is a rubber hose that comes out of the radiator and turns into a metal hose that goes underneath the car to the top of the oil filter. Then another hose comes back to the radiator. This is a sepparate hose from the transmission cooler which is a smaller diameter hose and it is all metal. Any ideas?

 

That's your oil cooler. Not sure if that would cause your problem tho. Antifreeze goes thru those lines to cool your oil. See any holes or anything dripping? From the lines.

 

Oil runs through those cooler lines (not coolant) from the oil filter adapter to the radiator to be cooled and back to the oil adapter.

The oil cooler lines are usually on the drivers side.

These DO break in the radiator causing oil in the coolant but not the other way around. The oil pressure is greater than the coolant pressure so it doesn't get water in the oil.

I would check out your radiator.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

[This message has been edited by Engineboy (edited October 16, 2000).]

 

I have replaced the radiator with one from a parts car and it did it again. The hose that I mentioned does come out of the oil filter adapter straight into the radiator but when you look into the radiator there is nothing that sepparates that opening with the rest of the radiator. The return hose looks like its part of the heater because it goes behind the firewall. Are there any other ideas.

 

The inlet comes from the oil adapter and the outlet goes behind the firewall??

If it oil cooler lines both lines should be on the drivers side tank. They usually both run down to a bracket on the motor mount and then into the oil cooler adapter.

The passenger side tank might have a HEATER hose running to the firewall and 2 trans cooler lines on it.

If you look into the opening for the oil cooler lines it is just a metal tube that runs through the side tank.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

 

I think that the hose runs coolant through it. What I did to temporarily fix it is that I looped the two hoses from the oil filter adaptor and conected the outlet from the radiator to the one that goes to the firewall. I think that coolant runs from the radiator to the oil filter adapter to cool it then goes behind the firewall for the heater. As a result I think that I just bypassed the oil cooler. I hope that this does not damage the car.

 

I believe the oil cooler you're speaking of is the bundle cooler between the block & the oil filter. Therefore, disconnecting & plugging the coolant supply & return hoses should stop oil flow to coolant. You should probably change coolant in the radiator to make sure you did indeed circumvent the problem of oil in the coolant. Running without the engine oil cooler should present no problem as an interim solution, as long as you are not planning any high speed, high load driving under hot ambient air conditions. Personally, if your test proves the oil cooler is bad, I would replace it as a maintenence item, due to the high coolant temperatures 3rd gens run.
Regards, FJK

 

I want to thank everyone for their advice.I believe that the problem with the car has been located.It is the cooler mentioned in the previous post. This is the first time that I use this message board and it has been very helpful. I have one more question. Is the replacement of the "bundle cooler" a dificult task, and what is involved in doing so?

 

I learned something today....I've never had the pleasure of doing an oil cooler on a third gen and I learned its not like the other GMs I work on.


I've only seen/worked on the 350s and 4.3s that have a oil cooler that runs OIL to the radiator and back, not the other way around...I'm sorry if I confused anybody, just never seen one set up that way. *mental note, have buddy with GTA come by shop to check it out*

The "bundle" cooler should be bolted with a couple of allens that are located under the oil filter. Just remove the filter and you will see them. Be sure to use new O-rings and gaskets when replacing.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

[This message has been edited by Engineboy (edited October 17, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Engineboy (edited October 17, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Engineboy (edited October 17, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Engineboy (edited October 18, 2000).]