So my car has been chugging along pretty well all these years. We've had it in our family since the beginning of time, and managed to put around 180,000 miles on it. The only work ever been done on it was replacing the EGR valve and had the radiator replaced. Both of those were pretty long ago. Regular oil changes for the entirety of the time, everything.

Its been leaking a little bit of oil for the past few oil changes, but now its up to a quart and the coolant is murky. Think the oil is leaking into the coolant somehow.

I want to know if anyone might have an idea of what might be going on. Or is this one of the problems that could have a large number of causes and will probably cost me an arm and a leg at the mechanic?

3/25/2008 12:21:09 AM

blown head gasket most likely. could be a crack in the block or head also. it's a fairly involved and exspensive fix either way. you might want to consider just buying another car and selling this one for a few hundred bucks or something if possible. unless this one is in excellent shape otherwise or has some sort of sentimental value, it probably not worth it financially to have it fixed.

if you just want to try and nurse the car along a little longer, you can try putting a block sealer in it. it might or might not stop the cross contamination of fluids. i've had decent results from k&w brand if you follow the directions properly.

if you're planning to try the block sealer or have it legitimately repaired, STOP driving it now. water/coolant in the oil will eat destroy bearings with a quickness.

[Edited on March 25, 2008 at 1:54 AM. Reason : .]

3/25/2008 1:47:40 AM

I've seen 1 or 2 of them actually break a fucking camshaft..

3/25/2008 2:18:25 AM

uh huh. since that has exactly what to do with this thread? if that was the case, you'd think the op would have listed another symptom. you know, like the car NOT RUNNING AT ALL.

you also must be a damn psychic, or know something we don't. since the motor type wasn't posted and that car came with three different v6's, dohc or pushrod, and two different cylinder angles.

looks like the short bus is back to making a stop at tww. i thought you "quit"?

[Edited on March 25, 2008 at 3:05 AM. Reason : .]

3/25/2008 3:04:00 AM

I agree head gasket is most likely.. anytime oil/coolant get mixed up that's usually one of the first things that's thought of.

3/25/2008 6:59:36 AM

someone say something about NGR valve?

3/25/2008 7:36:20 AM

^^^ pwnt

3/25/2008 7:45:29 AM

That's what my dad thought, but I didn't know there were such things as block sealers...

Well, my repair man is in Pittsboro, he's always done a good job with our vehicles. BigBlue (or anyone else), do you have any mechanics in mind that would at least give me a decent estimate? The last time a best friend tried a place in Raleigh, they charged a helluva lot and didn't even fix the problem at ALL.

I'm trying to eek out as much as I can from the car, as I'm pretty sure with this problem solved, I can get out another year from it, as I do believe its in pretty damn good shape otherwise.

^ Er, I may have said the wrong thing I apologize if I did...

3/25/2008 1:11:27 PM

$1,500-2,000

3/25/2008 1:13:18 PM