V1 Fast draining coolant, milky oil.

[ryanthecarguy]

I have a 2010 TC. After not driving it for 5 days I come back to the reservoir was almost completely empty. Filled it up and went for a drive. Stopped after 10 minutes of driving to see it almost empty again. Went right home, filled again, squeezed main coolant hoses, let it idle and no bubbles or drop in coolant. No leaks could be found at all. Refilled and went on a longer drive maybe 20 min. Level dropped significantly but not crazy like the last time. I wanted to drive around a parking lot to see if I was spilling coolant around turns but I first checked the oil dipstick and it was milky. No oil was in the coolant. Car ran completely fine and with no issues getting into boost or anything. I ordered a radiator pressure tester but since the car was running fine, however, I'm not sure if a head gasket or cracked sleeve can be the issue since it was running so well. Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[Gtstorey]

Head gaskets can leak between cooling and oil with out really affecting performance.

Can water and oil mix in the turbo?

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

The K04 has oil lubrication and water cooling feeds at the center section. The coolant should only be circulating in the housing with the oil in the center bearing. They shouldn't mix there.

BTW, don't run your engine with water in the oil now that you've identified this problem, as this will contaminate your engine bearings and could lead to failure.

Most likely a head gasket as @Gtstorey indicated. What level is the oil reading on the dipstick? Is it over full now? If the oil reaches the bottom of the crankshaft it can cause oil foaming, increased oil temperature, and lubrication issues. Need to get this fixed so your engine will not have lubrication issues.

 

[ryanthecarguy]

Thanks for the feedback. The level on the dipstick is higher for sure. It is close to the end of that third section in the dipstick. I guess I'll wait for the test kit tomorrow to see if pressure doesn't hold/maybe pressurize the crankcase. I've done a head gasket/cylinder head job on my daily before so I'm familiar with the basics. The car had 113000 miles on it. Does that seem a little early for this vehicle, or is it not that surprising?

 

[Gtstorey]

The original foam cast LNF blocks had some issues, although I don't know that it would cause water/oil mixing without also showing up as a performance issue.

Of course you probably don't know the history of your donor car and who knows how it was treated and what might have been done to it.

 

[ryanthecarguy]

Its unfortunate but I believe the guy I bought the car from abused it pretty bad. I trust what the builder ken did but I bet some damage was done in the months between him selling it and me buying it.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

You bought Ken Liker's Goblin? Are you converting it back to a street worthy car then?

 

[ryanthecarguy]

I bought Ken Ramey's (Kenny123) goblin #128

 

[ryanthecarguy]

I wanted to build one originally but it just made more sense all said and done to buy one that was 15 min away from me.

 

[ryanthecarguy]

To possibly save me a lot of headache, I think I will take a close look at the water pump. I read on a cobalt forum that someone was having similar issues with thier 06 2.2 LT and that ended up being the problem. A water pump replacement is a lot faster than a headgasket replacement.

 

[r3drckt]

To possibly save me a lot of headache, I think I will take a close look at the water pump. I read on a cobalt forum that someone was having similar issues with thier 06 2.2 LT and that ended up being the problem. A water pump replacement is a lot faster than a headgasket replacement.

That’s debatable. Still have to drop the timing chain either way. I’d do both the head gasket and the water pump at the same time.

 

[Scott #321]

There is a tool to hold the sprocket in place to change the water pump without removing the chain or timing cover. Your choice but I just replaced the timing components and water pump complete when I took the engine down for upgrades. 100k on all stock components for me.

 

[ryanthecarguy]

That’s debatable. Still have to drop the timing chain either way. I’d do both the head gasket and the water pump at the same time.

Thankfully, there is a little tool you can buy to hold the sprocket in place I believe. Not required to remove the timing cover. If the pump looks fine when I replace it then no big deal. One less thing to worry about. I move ahead on the head gasket then most likely.

 

[ryanthecarguy]

There is a tool to hold the sprocket in place to change the water pump without removing the chain or timing cover. Your choice but I just replaced the timing components and water pump complete when I took the engine down for upgrades. 100k on all stock components for me.

You do have a point. The engine is at that point so maybe a refresh on several stock components isn't a bad idea.

 

[ryanthecarguy]

As a side note. I've read a lot of ways of cleaning out the "forbidden milkshake" in my crankcase once the repairs are complete. What do you guys recommend?

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Change the oil and filter after the rework, using a detergent additive.

Robot or human?

Run this for awhile in your engine, probably 100 miles or so, keeping a close eye on the color, smell and level of the oil during this time. Then change the oil and filter again with the normal oil you are running.

 

[ryanthecarguy]

Change the oil and filter after the rework, using a detergent additive.

Robot or human?

Run this for awhile in your engine, probably 100 miles or so, keeping a close eye on the color, smell and level of the oil during this time. Then change the oil and filter again with the normal oil you are running.

Very good, thank you. I heard someone recommend ATF for it's detergent properties. This is most certainly better.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Don't use ATF in an engine, especially one with the kind of tight and critical oil film tolerances in an Ecotec.