kathrync9311

I just bought a 94 mustang gt and there was water in the oil after it had gotten hot. The antifreeze isn't staying in the radiator and it's not leaking any where underneath. It was running fine and then it just wouldn't start. Checked the oil this morning and there wasn't any water in there anymore. What is going on?

Joeywhat

The head gasket is a likely culprit.

When you say "it had gotten hot", do you just mean up to operating temperatures, or did it overheat?

Joeywhat

Also, to elaborate a bit on what I mentioned, if the engine did indeed overheat then there's a chance the head warped, which is allowing coolant into the oil. If it's just a bad head gasket that can also cause the issues (and is much easier to fix), but if the engine overheated look for warped parts.

Also, don't run the engine if coolant is getting mixed in (especially if it's a lot of coolant). You could ruin the motor that way. Get it fixed, then do a couple oil changes pretty close together to help get all that coolant out.

kathrync9311

It over heated. The gauge jumped up to the red and my car decelerated and I pulled over and loss power.

Joeywhat

You'll definitely want a professional to look over the engine then. There's a lot that can go wrong when the engine overheats, and getting it diagnosed correctly will be the easiest path to a working vehicle. No sense in swapping gaskets and such if the head is warped, and if the engine was run too long more damage can occur elsewhere as well.

Can the engine turn over at all? Don't try starting it, but does it at least turn?

kathrync9311

It turns over.

kathrync9311

If it jumped time would that explain it?

cdynaco

That would not explain water in the oil. Or the radiator leaking into the engine oil. And over heating does not cause cam timing to jump.

Usually when an engine's timing is off, you'll hear popping through the intake or exhaust as you try to start it - because a valve is open during the cycle when the plug fires.

If your radiator drained like you said - not on the ground, you should also see an elevated amount of fluid when you check the oil dip stick. The dip stick may have a whitish grease (water and oil mix) on it or even anti-freeze color. However, since the engine has been sitting a while, remember that oil floats on water. So you make have to drain the oil to find the anti-freeze in the pan. Yet a full radiator into the oil seems impossible. Particularly since the engine has to run for the water pump to move coolant through the engine.

The next thing I would do is pull the spark plugs. If a head gasket blew, they often allow water into the cylinder. So you might see some whitish grease on the end of the spark plug (since the engine hasn't started yet).

It is very dangerous to run or try to start an engine that has water in the cylinders (hydrolock*) because water doesn't compress and you can bend/break connecting rods.

Then while you have the plugs out you can do a compression test. If compression in all 8 is good, that doesn't rule out a head gasket leak (water jacket to oil circuit), but it does confirm the combustion chambers are sealed and the engine should run after dry plugs are reinstalled, and that its safe to turn the engine over.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolock

hayman3347

HURRY-QUICK! Get it to a pro!!!!!!!!
I had that issue with my pick up truck and while running at 60 mph....the engine blew! Had to get a new Jasper re-man installed @ 5 thousand bucks! Please get a pro on it real soon to avoid my experience.

LivinTheStangLife

Pull the heads. Take them to a machine shop to get them checked if they are all good get new head gaskets and reinstall the heads. Change the oil, flush the cooling system, replace the thermostat and refill with new 50/50 mixed coolant and you'll be good to go

dilabop

My buddy's engine blew after neglecting this issue