I assume this is a bad head gasket; right?

 

Any chance it could be dirty or old coolant?

Are you 'down on oil'?

Any other symptoms/issues?

 

....it is about a cup of foammy oil on top when the radiator cap is removed...

 

Do you have a factory power steering cooler? They leak all the time.

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Are you sure this is engine oil and not power steering fluid? The stock PS coolers break all the time, and leak PS fluid into the coolant. Of course, if this was the case, the leak would go both ways and you would find coolant in the PS fluid as well. Have you checked the PS fluid?

 

If you have PS fluid in there, you should have a horrible crust/slime on the coolant overflow dipstick. If not, you might do a coolant pressure test. That should confirm a head gasket issue.

 

engine oil in coolant check the intake gaskets

 

No coolant runs through the intake on LSx engines. The gaskets just seal the intake ports. There are no coolant ports. If the intake gaskets went bad then he would have an intake leak....

 

YES; THE POWER STEERING COOLER BUSTED AND BOTH SYSTEMS ARE CONTAMINATED. I'm going with an external cooler....

This means my head gaskets are OK - what a relief! I do not want to tear the engine apart again.....

Thanks!

 

Did your car ever overheat?

 

No; car has never overheated. I know this is a classic cause of head gasket failure ....but why do you ask?

Does the power steering cooler go bad when the car overheats?

 

Do this after you install the new upper radiator hose:


Best/easiest way to flush and get every drop of old coolant out.

****My power steering fluid leaked into my block, so it was bad, but this flush process works for normal maintenance flushes too. You might just want to skip the degreaser stages.****
-Cold engine.
-Remove radiator fill cap.
-Remove the t-stat from the housing. ((Buy a new t-stat housing gasket, they're like $3.00)) Leave the housing attached to the rubber radiator hose, just remove the 2 housing bolts and pull it away from the water pump to get to the t-stat. (2-3 minute job). ***The t-stat itself can be removed from the so-called one piece t-stats just like we can remove the t-stat from the newer two-piece t-stats. And the housings will bolt right back to the water pump.***
-Put t-stat housing back on. (1 minute) Just put one bolt in, no need to put them both in, there’s no pressure in the system during the flush.
-Take the entire radiator drain valve (petcock) "off" and let it drain, don't just open the valve itself. It'll drain faster with it off and that’s what you want. ((Buy a new petcock valve before starting this flush process, sometimes they break when you remove them all the way just because they're cheap plastic and they get briddle over time, they're like $2.00))
-Take a hose and stick it in the radiator fill cap, running medium to high.
-Start the engine when the radiator looks like its full again.
-Turn heat on full blast
-Let it run for about 15-20 minutes or until the water is running out the drain CLEAR.
-((If you want to, you can wait till it runs clear, "close" the drain valve, add some degreaser (I use ½ gallon of Formula 88 to clean mine) and let it run for 15 minutes, then let it sit for 15 minutes, then run it for 5 minutes, then drain it all again. Then open the drain and put the hose in for about 5 more minutes and run it all out till its CLEAR. The degreaser will help break up the crap thats stuck DEEP in the BLOCK that sits and swirls and doesn't like to come out.)) ***NO…degreaser will not hurt anything. Just make sure its ok for aluminum.***
-When it runs clear your entire system is clean.
-Remove the overflow reservoir from the car and clean it out real good. (I had to use gasoline to clean mine out because the sludge and grime was so thick inside. The gas broke it all down and then it flushed right out. I filled it about 1/3 up with gasoline and shook the hell out of it real vigorously, the black stuff kept coming out. I did that like 4 separate times with gasoline till no more chunks of black crap came out. Make sure the lines that go to the reservoir are also cleaned out. Or just buy a new piece of 3/8” heater hose and replace that line, 3 feet will do, then cut to fit. My sludge came from my power steering fluid leaking into my coolant system.)
-Put the t-stat back in.
-Put the overflow reservoir back in.
-Put the drain valve back in. Use the new one, what the hell.
-Put half a jug of Dexcool in the radiator. (Or if you live in very cold places, 1 to 1 ½ jugs of Dexcool)
-Fill the rest with water.
***You do not need to use distilled water, clean hose water is just fine, just make sure your city water is clean and not total crap quality.

**Bleeding the system of air:
Take the radiator cap off when its COLD, top it off, start it up and let it idle, and let it warm up till the t-stat opens. I rapidly squeeze the upper and lower radiator hose like 20 times each while its warming up to help move any air bubbles through the system and by the t-stat on the engine side. When the t-stat opens you’ll see the level drop as you squeeze the hoses, its sucking the coolant through the system. You will also see the coolant start to flow in the radiator fill neck, once it starts to flow the level should drop down a lot, IMMEDIATELY top it off with coolant/water. Then the flow will stop when the t-stat closes. Wait one more time for the t-stat to open again and start to flow, if it drops down again top it off again. Do it a 3rd time if you want to make sure. When the level does NOT drop down when the t-stat opens and coolant is flowing....you're system is free of air bubbles. I always squeeze the upper hose during the whole process to keep any air bubbles moving through. Always works like a charm. Just keep checking your temp gauge until the t-stat opens for the first time to make sure it’s not sitting there overheating from a trapped bubble. May take 10-15 minutes for the t-stat to open the first time.
If you do start to get hot while sitting there and the t-stat will not open…..you have an air bubble on the engine side of the t-stat. Shut the engine off and rapidly squeeze the upper and lower radiator hoses again. Then start the engine again and see if the t-stat will open. Sometimes you just have to work those hoses to move the air through. Even after it seems topped off after a couple cycles…check it the next time you have a cold engine…top off if needed.


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why why WHY......does every one with a stock PS cooler not get the memo to JUNK IT...........*facepalm*

 

I got the memo. I'm junking my factory cooler and going with an external cooling unit. It is a no-brainer.

 

I need to remove mine as well. It's not leaking yet, but I know it's only a matter of time.

I won't be installing an aftermarket one though. My '98 car has no cooler, it does just fine. I would only be concerned about the need for a cooler if I was racing the car.

 

You need to remove WHAT....if your 98' has no cooler.???

You can add an aftermarket cooler though.....and your PS pump will last MUCH longer. Mine is 14 years old and still silent.

Your PS fluid runs allot hotter than people that have coolers.

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From my '02. I have two of these cars.

My coolerless '98 is also 14 years old with a stock silent pump.

If you push the steering system hard, then this becomes a concern. I don't, and I am not concerned.

 

Thats true. I drive my car pretty much casual like a regular car.

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We need a PS Cooler thread in the stickies.

 

AMEN to that.

This site is not like it used to be, there used to be mods who always improved the site on their own. Now you have to submit them for approval. Pretty funny. But no forum lasts forever.

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