Tye

I have an 89 S2, 132k miles, well maintained and not my daily driver. Several months ago, I noticed oil in the coolant. I had the oil cooler seals replaced by a local shop, but they have taken no ownership of my problem (don't get me started!). Any other ideas as to what the problem might be? Next step may be to pull the head and have a look ...

Tye

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You may continue to see residue for quite a while
in the expansion tank.

Tye

Forgot to mention that the system was flushed twice right after the seals were replaced. Then flushed again after 2 weeks of driving. Then flushed again after another month of driving and this time the coolant tank was removed and cleaned.

Still have oil in the coolant tank, and not just a tiny amount of residue.

Tye
89 S2

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Do you have any coolant in your oil?

Tye

No coolant in the oil as far as I can tell.

Tye

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Take it back.

Tom R.

Take off all the hoses and clean the hoses. my mechanic did the equivalent of an angioplasty with a rag and a rod through the smaller hoses. the coolant tank was cleaned with dawn and rinsed a number of times. i dont think just flushing it is gonna get it all. check out the level in the tank, make sure it isnt residue floating around.

also, there is an alignment tool that i got two days after the job was done.

Matt

Tye, the oil does thoroughly coat the cooling system, and water/coolant won't flush it effectively. Put a cup of Shout or a citrus-based degreaser in with the coolant and run the engine up to temperature for a while, then flush twice with plain water. That's the traditional way to clean up after getting oil in the cooling system, and it worked for me after the futility of trying to flush it with water and cleaning out the coolant tank many times.

Matt

IceShark

Are you sure you want to use a citrus based product? That will attack aluminum alloys like crazy as some have found after cleaning their wheels with it. I think I would stick with Dawn.

Matt

I used a citrus degreaser several years ago and haven't had any problems after many hard track days. Others have used it too. Maybe the key is to flush the system thoroughly with clean water afterwards. In any event, a number of people have used and recommended Shout, which I think is a laundry stain remover.

Dave in Chicago

My Porsche-trained mechanic says use Shout/water, then flush 2-3 times with water too. Still had the occasional goopy glob show up in the tank, but it's all gone now. I came back a year later and drained/flushed/refilled one more time.

If the oil is in there for long (weeks or more) it may cause the hoses to swell over time. Keep an eye on them and replace if suspect.

Keep the shiny side up,

Tye

Thanks for all the feedback. A shop has used shout, or so they tell me. I will try taking some of the hoses off and doing the roto rooter cleaning thing though. Maybe the problem is just residue, but it just seems like more than just residue and I'd swear that my oil consumption is slightly higher. May be my imagination though!

I've also had someone suggest that I add some type of dye (that won't harm the engine) to the oil and then see if it turns up in the coolant. I'm going to see if I can find such a dye later this week.

Tye