water in oil

[Ellwood]

Wept, it never rains but what it pours! Water is dissapearing from the radiator quite quickly, The oil looks like milk, i opened up the heads today, but cant see any cracks or blown head gaskets. have tried wipingthe head across a flat surface of sandpaper, and head seems to be flat. tomorrow i will try spraying welding leak finder on heads at work. But is there any other places the water can leak into the oil ? I dont fancy paying 100 quid for a new head gasket set and find that the same problem is still there. Any tips ?

[yogi]

i dont know but it may help other people to advise you if you tell them what van you have and what engine you have in it

[baconsdozen]

You can check if a head is badly warped by using a sheet of plate glass,its probably a safer bet if there;s any doubt to have it skimmed.It would have made sense to have checked the compressions or used a leak test rather than pulling it to bits and stabbing in the dark.
It certainly sounds like a duff gasket,have a close look at the one(s) you've taken off.

[FredTransit]

I would be surprised if the head (heads?) are warped as it/they are cast iron!

WHAT ENGINE IS IT?!!

[DougT]

Have you got one of the water fed - oil cooler things between the block and the filter ?

Ford seem to fit them to everything and I have seen them disintegrate.

Doug

[richierich]

Have you got one of the water fed - oil cooler things between the block and the filter ?

Ford seem to fit them to everything and I have seen them disintegrate.

Doug

Ant that when the oil go's into the water and not water in the oil?

[Ellwood]

Hi, Its a 2 liter Essex V4, no oil cooler.

[baconsdozen]

I would be surprised if the head (heads?) are warped as it/they are cast iron!

WHAT ENGINE IS IT?!!

They can warp and with overheating etc often do,I've seen loads of them. That's why they are always torqued down in sequence and to a set figure.

[Muttley]

You say it was losing water, was the oil level going up? Was the engine overheating? Oil and water mixing as a result of head or head gasket failure will normaly increase the fluid level in the sump.

[MECHANIC]

Another cause of water mixing with the oil on the Essex, was a failed inlet manifold gasket, and this tended to empty the radiator quicker than head gasket failure

[FredTransit]

Another cause of water mixing with the oil on the Essex, was a failed inlet manifold gasket, and this tended to empty the radiator quicker than head gasket failure

WOW you waited almost 5 years to the day to make your first post??? Welcome anyway!!

[Ellwood]

Yes, the dipstick was showing almost up to the top with milky oil. Yes it started to overheat, but i noticed the temp gauge in good time. It is likely that the inlet manifold gasket failed,as it lost water rapidly. but hard to prove this was the. I shall take my heads and gaskets to get checked, and probably do a head skim.

[MECHANIC]

Another cause of water mixing with the oil on the Essex, was a failed inlet manifold gasket, and this tended to empty the radiator quicker than head gasket failure

WOW you waited almost 5 years to the day to make your first post??? Welcome anyway!!

Fred, thanks for the welcome, probably didn’t know the answer to any of the question before.

[baconsdozen]

I wonder if he ever got it sorted out?.

[Ellwood]

I wonder if he ever got it sorted out?.

Its been too cold to work outside almost, I found a tiny tiny crack in one head when i ground in the valves- almost too small to notice, so that head is now buggered (unless its possible to weld it somehow. Here in Sweden heads are hard to get hold of, and £100 is cheap money for hens teeth, so if its possible will weld and keep as spare.
Ive 4 spare ones anyway, been inspecting them tonight, and 3 seem ok, 1 has a lot of rust and pitting around two valves.
i got hold of a complete top end gasket set for £45.
Been busy re-threading where a thermostat bolt snapped off yesterday (knew it would happen, but best sort it whilst everything is in bits). Also have zoomed the same 5/16 " UNC tap down all that size holes around the head top, and exhaust holes
Also have thoroughly cleaned up the inlet manifold.
A couple more weeks may see her running again.