on my 98 camaro ls1 the waterpump started leaking so i took it off and put new gaskets on it and it was fixed. but i had to keep filling up the antifreeze so i took off the oil fill cap and noticed a bunch of **** all in the cap. i know the antifreeze is getting into the oil i just want to make sure that its the head gaskets. if it was the intake gasket it would just be burning it right? thanks for your input...

 

Dexcool, looks nasty as it gets older, even if you have no problems with the car, leaking or burning anything

 

if you have oil in your coolant, you should have the reverse in the oil. Check to make sure your oil is clean.

Odds are it's just crap in the bottle. Dexcool tends to crust up. Just flush it out and you'll be fine.

 

oh i meant under the oil cap is a crusty. i know the antifreeze is getting in the oil somehow. you can also smell it in the oil. i just didnt know if it would be the intake gasket or the head gaskets..

 

if you make a lot of short trips, and your car never gets to operating temp, then you can get sludgy/milky stuff under the cap from condensation

 

I would first change my oil in a cleen pan and see if thier is any water in the oil if you cant see it their are places to take it to get an oil analysis to be shure.
Its not going to be the intake at least I dont think it should be. Its most likely a head gasket, If you have anykind of mechanical skills this is a job most guys can do buy themself in a day or 2 or have a shop do it for 2 grand or more.

 

Yeah my cap gets gunked up pretty bad but I make a lot of short trips (~2 miles). My oil comes out perfect looking and I'm not losing any coolant. The first time I took the cap off I was worried. I ran the car hard for ~30 minutes and took the oil cap off. It was steaming like hell. I wouldn't worry about it unless your oil is coming out with coolant in it.

 

I would be concerned if you can smell the coolant yeah condensation is one thing but the smell of antifreeze is another.

 

I always let my car get up to operating temp before I shut it off, even if I have to wait on it.

But it does sound like a head gasket on minizcustoms car?

 

Coolant does not flow through the intake, it cannot be intake gaskets.

 

+1...

 

And why is this a problem with Dexcool? Sounds like a mechanical issue.

 

What I was thinkin too. This isn't a coolant brand problem. Sounds like a blown/leaking head gasket or at worst case cracked water jacket in the block.

On these LS1's the intake gasket isn't gonna effect coolant. Just vacuum. It won't idle or run properly with a vacuum leak anywhere behind the TB.

Do you get any coolant under the tailpipes if you let it sit & run?? Any steam?? coolant odor from behind the car??

 

Coolant is hell on bearings. You need to address this or you will have bigger probs soon.

 

+1

 

Just because it hits operating temp doesn't mean its been long enough to evaporate the condensation. Mine hits 210* right about the time I park every morning, and it still does it. I think GM considers <10 miles as a short trip, which throws your car into the extreme duty cycle for oil changes. I bet a lot of that has to do with condensation.

There really isn't much you can do if you making short trips a lot other than putting a breather on the valve cover.

Definitely change the oil and see what it looks like asap though. That will let you know if your actually getting coolant in you oil system.

 

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