| oil in coolant - Click HERE for Original Thread |
| Tiller |
Ok I change the oil in my 97 Eclipse N/T and when i checked my coolant there was a layer of oil in the coolant overflow container I have to check the oil tonight for coolant but the car never overheats. I have been told by the dealership that 9 out of 10 times it is the head gasket and it would cost $280 for gaskets and $400(4.2h at $88 per hour) for labour. Are they telling me the truth (for prices or problems) or are they screwing me? and is there anything thing else that may have to be done that they are not tellingme?
Thx for the help in advance. |
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| driftr420 |
are you sure it's oil, you said it's sitting on top of the coolant in the overflow. have you recently had any coolant problems?
usually when oil and coolant mix from a head leaking it turns the into a creamy and brown color. i've seen stop leaks re-circulate and then act as you describe. if it is your head i'd be very vary of the cost. usually there are quite a few hidden costs when changing gaskets, i would also shop around for a very efficent tech. if not 4 hrs can quickly turn into 8hrs. |
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| JustinL |
| Check your oil. If it looks at all milky, then stop driving your car or you will trash the bearings. I don't know talons, but in 944s the oil and coolant can mix in the oil cooler housing, but as oil pressure is way higher than coolant pressure, the oil only flows into the coolant not vice versa. It may be worth researching this issue on DSM boards to find out if there are any other places oil and coolant can mix. |
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| n0c7 |
| The neon guys can help here (420a). |
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| No-Pistons |
| that price doesnt seem bad at all but i guess if i had the same problem it would cost me like $4000 for a new motor so i donno lol. |
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| Skratched |
| if they quote you 4 hours, you won't find it better anywhere else except for places with better shop rates, all dealers and automotive shops charge you in units a unit is equivilant to an hour, and that how the mechanic gets paid, if he takes more time its out of his pocket but they won't charge you more cuz he takes longer, they will however charge you more if there is more wrong with the vehicle, but thats between you and the tech |
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| Tiller |
I have checked the responses and my oil is not creamy and as for coolant problems i bought the car in the sping and have had no coolant problems so far. Yesterday when i left work my car had a small puddle of oil and coolant mixed but when i checked my oil I had lost maybe .1 of a liter in the last 2 weeks so the puddle was not an oil leak. I was thinking it could have been excess fluid from my coolant system from when i topped it up when i chaged my oil. Any ideas where the puddle came from??
thx |
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| driftr420 |
| look i've been a service advisor for dodge in the past. and the customer and the shop always split the extra time the tech takes. the shops never eat all there extra time, unless their actually honest. but that dosen't pay the bills. not only have i done this for a few dealers in the past, but i've also been on the paying end of this senairo before. |
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| Fish_e_o |
quote:
The neon guys can help here
well i don't know about that.. but i have some q's
1. what kind of gasket do you have?(metal or crappy should be easy to tell there should be a tab that sticks out somewhere)
2. how many km's on the car?
it probably is the head gasket, but not to likely if there is no carbon residue in the coolant or coolant in the oil generally when oil pressure drops coolant pressure is still there and coolant goes into the oil. you should change the oil and check for coolant, if you haven't already.
another point, just do it your self. someone who has a good idea of what they are doing and is reasonably mechanically inclined, can do it all in 2 hours and for under 100 bucks providing all you need is the gasket and a nylon flap disk etc.(at least for a neon) . pick up a haynes or something ,be real carefull, and get good parts you should be fine. |
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| 2003specv |
| If your car is automatic it could be tranny fluid. Alot of automatic cars run a tranny cooler in the rad. I've had one leak inside before. If that's the case, just replace the rad. |
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| Tiller |
| I have about 115 xxx miles on the car and the car is standard. I am taking it in to have the head gasket replaced on monday. I have stopped driving the car because i am lossing about a 1L of oil every week. Thx for all the help I will let you all know what happens when i get the car back. |
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| Tiller |
| Well I got my car back with a total cost of $1000. After the gaskets in the engine were replaced and a new exhaust manifold put on (old one was cracked) and the engine flush and the coolant flush and labour. Now the car is running great. Thanks for your help. |
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| driftr420 |
| i was wondering what happened with that. glad to see everything worked out for you. :beer: |
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| Honda_Finatic |
| wow, pricey. |
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