Wheelman

I was driving to a friends house and on the way there I noticed the coolant started to climb pretty fast past where it should be.....Good think my Low Coolant light on my car has been jacked up lately so I have been paying close attention to the coolant temp. I saw it get up to around 255 so hauled *** off the freeway as fast as I could and pulled into the nearest gas station to let it cool down. The reservoir was totally full and overflowed whenever I released pressure in the cap. After it cooled down I opened the reservoir and noticed the coolant was all foamy and white...then again it was at almost 260 degrees....anyway i let it cool off for a bit filled it up with water and made it to my friends house the coolant was pushing 280 Oil temp only got to 245 so i think i am safe....any longer and I woulda had to stop. Anyway what gives??? Any reason the coolant would be all milky like that or is that just what happens when it fries?? Would a stuck thermostat cause this? Blown head gasket? Or something else I don't have money to fix I really need to get the car home to work on it but im not sure I'll make it What are some things I can check when I get there and what can I do to make sure I make a safe trip home

VetteNoob

If Im a gambling man.... Im afraid so.

Wheelman

Is it ok to drive it home on a blown head gasket?

bogus

no. the coolant is already thinned, so bearing damage, and cylinder wall damage, would be next.

tow it home, take it apart.

hope to god you didn't run it too long.

skateparkdave

I would drain the coolant into a jug and inspect for oil. It is heavier and sinks to the bottom. I would also change the oil and inspect it for coolant. Hopefully you will not find either in either. Check your tranny fluid, see if it looks low or discolored also. Could be trans cooler leaking into radiator that caused the milky look. I would do this at your friends if possible, if all checks out then do a system flush and refill with a fresh mix of distilled water and coolant, make sure your radiator is free of obstruction and that your fans are working properly and try to find the source of the overheat. Again, if possible do these things before driving. An overheat in an older radiator in need of attention can discolor coolant. Hopefully this is all you have and are just in need of a good flush. Even a new radiator is a better scenario than if your coolant and oil are mixing. Knock on wood. We'll pray for the best. Oh yeah, stick a new thermostat in while the coolant is drained while your at it.

65Z01

If you just have oil in the coolant you might be able to drive home, but first check the dip stick for more oil than it had before or coolant present. If so, do not drive it.

Also, I would not drive it with the over heating issue, depending on how long is the drive and how fast it heats up. Do not run it in the 250+ region any more.

On the plus side, if it is indeed a head gasket this is the opportunity to pocket port the heads and get a nice 5-angle valve job.

Wheelman

Well I attempted to take it home, filled up the radiator and got to the end of the block and the coolant went from 120 to 260....so I turned around and got a ride home. : dammit! I just put 2000 into the transmission! When is this going to end......How hard is a head gasket replacement?

bogus

more time consuming than difficult.

You will need the helms manual to finish the job correctly.

pablocruise

Oh no! Sorry to hear this.
For the oil to get milkshaky, alot of coolant had have gotten into it. I suspect an intake manifold gasket.
Does yours have the oil cooler option? (sandwiched between the block and oil filter)
-or-
the head gasket blew awhile back and it only showed til now.
Does the motor hydraulic or fight the starter back when you try to start?
Pop the sparkplugs and see if there is any coolant in the cylinders.

Wheelman

Yesterday I tried to start and it put up a fight...made a nasty metallic sound after turning like 1/2 a revolution. Tried it twice, gave up and went to work.....went to work on it that night and it started just fine.

Wheelman

I havent checked to see if the oil is milkshaky or not yet....It was the coolant in the reservior that I noticed was white and foamy.

tjwong

That oil could be ATF coming from the tranny cooler in the radiator. Also it could be overheating because its air locked which it sounds like it could be. Check the transmission fluid and see if its low or if theres water in it, if its milky looking then theres water in it as well. A blown headgasket doesn't normally cause the radiator to get milky and full of oil. It will cause overheating as combustion chamber pressure aerates the cooling system and many times coolant will get into the engine.

Stick you finger in the coolant resorvoir, feel that milky foamy stuff, is it actually oily to the touch? It will be very obvious if its oil.

skybolt31

Do you have an oil cooler?

You should definately have the car towed home, the price will be a small investment in preserving your engine. Call some tow places, since you are not in an emergency situaion, you may be able to bargain a decent price.

Wheelman

The car has the factory oil cooler It also has a small trans cooler running in parallel to the in radiator one.

bogus

I agree with the rest of the crew, get the car towed home... Being cheap on 80.00 for a tow is asking for thousands in block repair/replacment costs. It does not add up.

The factory oil cooler is not the cause here. They are separate items. The trans cooler, tho, is part of the radiator. If they mixed, that's bad, no question, but you need to check the trans fluid separately to find if coolant is in there.

Check the engine oil... smell the coolant. It should smell like oil and coolant mixed together, however, ATF does not smell the same.

If it was the intake, which is possible, but unlikely, you should see coolant resting on the intake.

You need to get this car home, and home in one piece. With it over heating, you have a problem, no question. That is not something to trifle with.

Wheelman

Update:....Checked the coolant, oil and trans fluid on the dipstick and all looked to be ok and not mixed...I changed the thermostat and let the car idle and warm up...it got to 220 before the oil temp even got past LO What is my next step??

slamin1

Make sure the fans come on and the car dont overheat it may have just beeen a thermostate problem as far as the coolant being milky is usually a sign of oil in it

Wheelman

When I filled up the radiator I noticed that alot of air bubbles were coming out of the opening. The coolant isnt really milky, it was more like foamy, and that was only when it was overheating. The coolant looks greenish clear as it should.

JAKE

You've got two threads going on this same problem.

Which one are you going to use, mainly?

Hard to keep up.

Borrow a coolant pressure tester from AutoZone and test that the system will hold pressure.

Don't assume it's a head gasket. Check the more obvious and common things first.

Jake

comp

read all the info Drain oil and coolant...... anti-freeze attacks bearings