coolant res tank FULL of oil !

[Passat2003]

Hi I have a 2003 SE Passat, 1.9 td (red) I . 78000 miles.

Ive recently had to top up the oil I assumed I had a leak as its needed topping up slightly a couple of times over the last week or so.
Today I had a warning -STOP- check coolant level.

I stopped of course, opened the coolant reservior and found it full to the brim with thick black oil. Not the chocolate mousse type mess you find with a head gasket but a real thick custardy black used engine oil.
There is no contamination with water in the engine oil, but as I say the water has turned to oil lol. Power is deffo down but more noticable in lower gears. (stopped driving as soon as prob was noticed btw)

My first thought was Head gasket but now Im not so sure :confused:because of the sheer huge amount of oil in the coolant and the fact that it hasnt been whipped up into a froth and no water in oil.

Now Im thinking its a problem with the oil cooler or maybe the turbo. (prays not)

Has anyone else had the same prob ? any help/advice gratefully accepted!

Thanks

[a8 tech]

OIL COOLER,remove the oil cooler pipes and bridge the them with some tubing,remove thermostate and refit the housing so the engine can be run,remove the coolant header tank and clean out ,refit the header tank and leave the return pipe off and direct the pipe to a large bucket.With a hose pipe run the engine and keep a supply of water running into the header tank as the returning water will drain into your bucket.Run the engine and monitor the oil circulating if it decreases its the cooler.Run some coolant cleaner through ths syatem and fit a new oil cooler.Change oil and filter and reflush after 1000 miles,refit the thermostate.Long winded and dirty dirty job

[Crasher]

Don't laugh but I find a 50/50 mix of Flash and water is excellent at dissolving the oil as Flash doesn’t foam up.

[a8 tech]

every days a learning day.Crasher how did you find that out

[Crasher]

Many years ago (at least 15) I had a friend with a 6 cyl 3 series and I warned him that I could hear the cam belt slapping around, but he ignored me. I then fitted a recon head a few weeks later (the belt snapped and bent a load of valves) as he insisted on a recon exchange head from a company called Corry Injection Techniques, I wanted to rebuild the original. A few weeks later, this head cracked all along the cam bearing location (I noted that it had been welded all along here when it arrived but he ignored me) and the cooling system was completely bungeed solid with thick mayonnaise that defied any attempt to remove it. When we got it partly clear with a pressure wash, we fitted a new head and then tried every commercially available flush known to mankind to shift the rest but it would not come out. It had dropped a lot of this goo on the car park and my mother had cleaned it up using Flash so I thought, why not? It worked so well it is the only method I use now.

[Passat2003]

OIL COOLER,remove the oil cooler pipes and bridge the them with some tubing,remove thermostate and refit the housing so the engine can be run,remove the coolant header tank and clean out ,refit the header tank and leave the return pipe off and direct the pipe to a large bucket.With a hose pipe run the engine and keep a supply of water running into the header tank as the returning water will drain into your bucket.Run the engine and monitor the oil circulating if it decreases its the cooler.Run some coolant cleaner through ths syatem and fit a new oil cooler.Change oil and filter and reflush after 1000 miles,refit the thermostate.Long winded and dirty dirty job

Brilliant thanks very much for your (and everyone else's ) help. I had visions of a second mortgage looming for a head change :biglaugh:

If you don't mind me asking, Just to put my mind at rest , given the symptoms, what % chance would you think the problem is the oil cooler and not the head. ? bearing in mind the amount of oil and the fact that its black and not brown & frothy.

Thanks again all

[Crasher]

Oil in the coolant is the cooler. The oil runs at 2 bar and up, the coolant at about 0.1 bar so the oil will go into the cooler. Head gasket failure is a problem on these but you get coolant in the oil. Do the cooler first, I am 99% sure you will be OK.

[a8 tech]

99% oil cooler.Head gaskets very rare crack in the engine even rarer turbo would have other issues,one being excessive smoke and possible over reving

[Passat2003]

Great news. Thanks both you've just saved my weekend :biglaugh:

[a8 tech]

Many years ago (at least 15) I had a friend with a 6 cyl 3 series and I warned him that I could hear the cam belt slapping around, but he ignored me. I then fitted a recon head a few weeks later (the belt snapped and bent a load of valves) as he insisted on a recon exchange head from a company called Corry Injection Techniques, I wanted to rebuild the original. A few weeks later, this head cracked all along the cam bearing location (I noted that it had been welded all along here when it arrived but he ignored me) and the cooling system was completely bungeed solid with thick mayonnaise that defied any attempt to remove it. When we got it partly clear with a pressure wash, we fitted a new head and then tried every commercially available flush known to mankind to shift the rest but it would not come out. It had dropped a lot of this goo on the car park and my mother had cleaned it up using Flash so I thought, why not? It worked so well it is the only method I use now.i shall use this Crasher,big thanks to mums all over the world:beerchug:

[Passat2003]

Thought Id update you guys,

So far changed the oil cooler, Dealer wanted £138 (cant remember if that was plus VAT or not) Got one from europarts @ £78 + VAT

Oil change, (Castrol edge vw longlife equivalent) + Filter change.

After cleaning out the coolant reservoir everything seems fine until the engine overheats. Fell the radiator and its cold. Replace Thermostat for second time as assumed first replacement was duff. Try again and still no warmth in radiator but car goes into limp mode due to engine overheating.

Get car home and decided to flush radiator as had overlooked this obvious job. More black custard, Used a hose attachment that just fits in top hose and circlipped tight , plugged hosepipe in, turned tap on and after a few seconds a thick oil slick appeared. left running for 1/2 hour until water ran clean. Tried running car again.

Still overheating so removed small pipe from res bottle and no water coming out. Looks like its the water pump now. £150 supplied and fitted at the local specialist. (belt and pump were done about 500 miles ago at the dealer so belt reusable. ) Booked in for Monday ! fingers crossed.

something to note! Look after those screws and fasteners that keep the under engine plastic protector plate on, someone had used plastic ties on mine and when I asked dealer for 6 screws and speed fasteners and the 4 plastic clips that hold it to inner wing I was charged almost £30. Robbing barstewards I'll avoid the dealers like the plague in future.

[Crasher]

If the system is clear that has to be the water pump.

[thetowen]

OIL COOLER,remove the oil cooler pipes and bridge the them with some tubing,remove thermostate and refit the housing so the engine can be run,remove the coolant header tank and clean out ,refit the header tank and leave the return pipe off and direct the pipe to a large bucket.With a hose pipe run the engine and keep a supply of water running into the header tank as the returning water will drain into your bucket.Run the engine and monitor the oil circulating if it decreases its the cooler.Run some coolant cleaner through ths syatem and fit a new oil cooler.Change oil and filter and reflush after 1000 miles,refit the thermostate.Long winded and dirty dirty job


Hi I have 2001 1.9TDI passat. Recently I found that the coolant was full of oil. When I emptiedthe system a lot of it was pour black like oil. The coolant lid is a dark grey colour. The oil was drained and it was pure black too. I couldn't see any coolant in it. I cleaned the coolant system which took ages I did the above check and it is hard to say if there is any more oil in the coolant (water at the moment) than with the oil cooler fitted. Is there any other way the cooler can be tested?? Any ideas. I know it's possible it could be the head gasket.

[mariusb]

Hi guys,

I noticed I am almost 1 year late on this thread ... but hey I am a newcomer and I hope I have the same problem as Mr. Passat 2003.

Here is my story:
- I have a 1996 VW Transporter 2.4 Diesel (5 ccyl non-turbo) and on a recent journey in Europe, I was on my way back from Greece when ... disaster struck!
- I've checked the oil and water every 3 hours into my drive but the night came and I kept going.
- I heard nothing, no decrease in performance just a bit of a rise in temperature but the fans will kick in and bring the temperature down.
- we stopped for the night and in the morning I wanted to do my regular checks and what was under the bonnet - a big oily black mess!
a) big pull of oil under the van
b) the expansion coolant tank has leaked not water but oil and the fans had showered it all over

Like Mr. Passat2003 I opened the cap of the coolant tank and it's full of black oil - oil has got into water!

I was thrilled to find this thread and the advice given by Mr. a8_tech and I am planning to follow it step-by-step but my question is:
"During the clean up procedure, what happens with the engine that now has hardly any oil in it? Shall I top it up? but if I do it will it not continue to gush out through the potential broken oil cooler? Can I run the engine like taht to clean the cooling system?"

Am I making any sense, anyone?

Please try to help.

MariusB

[Crasher]

Fit a new oil cooler first and clean the cooling system out using a 50/50 mix of water and a domestic cleaner such as Flash, it works very well at breaking down the oil in the coolant but it may take three or four attempts to get it clean.
Temporarily removing the thermostat will help speed up the operation.

[Passat2003]

Hi guys,

I noticed I am almost 1 year late on this thread ... but hey I am a newcomer and I hope I have the same problem as Mr. Passat 2003.

Here is my story:
- I have a 1996 VW Transporter 2.4 Diesel (5 ccyl non-turbo) and on a recent journey in Europe, I was on my way back from Greece when ... disaster struck!
- I've checked the oil and water every 3 hours into my drive but the night came and I kept going.
- I heard nothing, no decrease in performance just a bit of a rise in temperature but the fans will kick in and bring the temperature down.
- we stopped for the night and in the morning I wanted to do my regular checks and what was under the bonnet - a big oily black mess!
a) big pull of oil under the van
b) the expansion coolant tank has leaked not water but oil and the fans had showered it all over

Like Mr. Passat2003 I opened the cap of the coolant tank and it's full of black oil - oil has got into water!

I was thrilled to find this thread and the advice given by Mr. a8_tech and I am planning to follow it step-by-step but my question is:
"During the clean up procedure, what happens with the engine that now has hardly any oil in it? Shall I top it up? but if I do it will it not continue to gush out through the potential broken oil cooler? Can I run the engine like taht to clean the cooling system?"

Am I making any sense, anyone?

Please try to help.

MariusB

Its an easy enough (but messy) job to preplace the cooler, you'll need a new filter and the correct oil too.
I found cleaning the system out was the hardest part, it takes time and patience especially cleaning the resevoir bottle - although a new one is relativly cheap which i didnt discover until Id spent hours cleaning the old one.
I used a commercial degreaser @&10 for 5 ltr from screwfix to flush the radiator & cooling system out. I was a little worried about using a degreaser inside the sys but all went well and after leaving a hose running through sys for ages I topeed up with the correct type/mix of antifreeze and have had no probs since.

good luck and dont fret -its an easy but messy job!

[Sydney Golfman]

Hello to all who replied to this original post many years ago.
Thank you so much for the information. Finally I have my MK V back on the road.
The information was a step by step fix it. Many many Thanks to all

Regads SGM

[Crasher]

What, after nearly six years?

[Jake Bradley]

What, after nearly six years?
That's persistence for you!

[Crasher]

Nahh, ten years and still waiting on a couple of projects, one sat dead since 1996!

[JMR1]

Old post or not, still relevant today, still lots of these engines around. And the Flash Cleaner bit......priceless. :D Thanks Crasher.

[Peakynut]

Hi there so I changed my header tank as it was filthy flushed system out with hose and water till the water run clean through system but it's still dirty better but still dirty was thinking ov mixing up a mix ov truck wash and water and running that in car for a while then flushing back through would this harm car and help with cleaning better thanks

[rowdy-999]

Any dishwasher detergent ( tablets can be dissolved in a water solution first ) will be good at cleaning a cooling system out.
A dishwasher is made of a combination of different metals, rubbers and plastics, just like a modern car engine.

[Peakynut]

Thanks for info how long should I run engine with detergent in system would you say before flushing it back out cheers

[zollaf]

remove stat, fill with water detergent, run for 10 m mins, drain, repeat but let the engine cool first before filling with cold water. you don't want to cold fracture the block now. do this until its clear, usually 3-4 attempts depending on how much oil was in there.

[Col]

What a lovely old thread.

Ford, in their workshop / technical manuals recommend the use of clothes washing powder (also non-foaming).

[Crasher]

Citric acid.

[mrnice]

What a great thread. Flash detergent now on my shopping list :)

[Crasher]

We did a Passat 3C 2 litre last week and the Flash worked very well but we also found a Pella pump to be very useful in skimming off the oil. Don't make the mistake my mechanic did though and put the new reservoir on before the system was flushed clean, good job they are only a tenner!