Anti-freeze in the oil pan

[macbeth]

To bring you all up to date. 1) I have drained the oil. The amount I recovered is almost exactly what it is supposed to hold, i.e. 3.8 litres. 2) The marmalade fluid did NOT separate. 3) Mind you neither did a control amount I put into another jar and added tap water ! 4) There was some antifreeze in the top of the rad, it checked to -27 degrees centigrade. I don't yet know what the lowest temperature was in my region of Ontario. Hopefully Environment Canada will let me know in 1 day/week/month/year. 5) I have drained the remaining antifreeze in the system.

A smart girl at a garage said the anti-freeze would float to the surface in the oil pan, so the amount I sucked off and put in the marmalade pot would be oil. However, when I put all the recovered oil in a bottle, it didn't separate either ! Since my control amount didn't separate at all, I have no faith in what floats on what or whether it is supposed to separate or not !

As I may have mentioned before there was drops of anti-freeze all over the soak-up pad underneath the engine.

All of the above makes me think the anti-freeze did NOT go through a cracked block/cylinder/whatever, but escaped some other way.

My plan is tomorrow to put oil in the engine and some coloured water in the radiator, with white sheets of paper underneath the engine, run the engine slowly, and look for leaks on and around the engine, (from all angles), continually check the level of the coloured water in the recovery coolant tank, and also look for white smoke from the exhaust.

Any comments ?

[SkiprJohn]

I hope this sorts out with the best of results. Good luck.

Just remember that the coolant went somewhere. Look for leaks in any hoses and it could be going out the exhaust if there is a corroded spot in the system somewhere. Heat exchanger may have a problem.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by macbeth

All of the above makes me think the anti-freeze did NOT go through a cracked block/cylinder/whatever, but escaped some other way.

Any comments ?

Didja see my previous post?


PS - don't listen to the "smart girl". Oil floats on water; ethylene glycol has a higher SG than water, so oil floats on that too.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by macbeth

As I may have mentioned before there was drops of anti-freeze all over the soak-up pad underneath the engine.

All of the above makes me think the anti-freeze did NOT go through a cracked block/cylinder/whatever, but escaped some other way.

Earlier, I asked a few questions that you didn't answer. They may be pertinent here.

1. Do you actually know there was antifreeze in the plastic reservoir before you ran the engine and had your "problem"?

2. Was the antifreeze in the engine itself low? If so, do you know it was higher before running the engine?

3. Was the "antifreeze" on the absorbent pad engine antifreeze or winterizing antifreeze? You said it was pink, which is a common winterizing color - engine antifreeze is usually fluorescent green or orange.

As I said earlier, I don't think you have any problem at all, but the answers to the above would be helpful.

Mark