[Vwdiesel] Oil in the coolant

[Chuck Carnohan]

Neil~
Most likely is that the head gasket blew.  Yes you could have the other
maladies but the gasket is the weakest spot.  You can pull the head,
have it checked or straight edge it yourself.  Examine for cracks in the
block while you are there.  Be sure to get the right head gasket to
replace the old one (instructions are in Bentley).  And yes, you can
blow the gasket or warp the head without boiling dry- especially if the
thermo stuck.  Coolant stays in the block, boils out of the radiator
eventually.  Make sure you clean the threads on the head very well.  You
should check the archives for reference to all of this.

-----Original Message-----
From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com]
On Behalf Of Neil
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2004 5:36 PM
To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
Subject: [Vwdiesel] Oil in the coolant

I'm a little new to this DIY stuff (D iesel I njection Y ipee.. right?)
stuff, so I thought I'd ask here...

My '81 rabbit 1.6 na diesel is a rough, rusty old beater and I just love
it...  but now oil is starting to show up in the coolant tank.  Not
whole lot, maybe an eighth inch in the spout.  No water in oil, as far
as I can tell...  Performance is down a little (and it doesn't take much
of a drop in a na d!)  starts ok when warm, a little balky when 'cold'
(75 dF, desert in summer).  I suspect I've overheated it...  darned
alternator took half the electrics with it when it went, including temp
guage.  There was always plenty of coolant in the tank; could it have
gotten hot enough to blow a gasket or warp head without boiling dry
first?

The local ex-spurts are of 3 opinions...  maybe a headgasket, maybe a
warped or cracked head.....  maybe a cracked block...

So...  are there any other probable causes?  and, short of tearing it
down, anyway to tell which problem it is?  Can this be diagnosed with a
compression test?

Thanks for the help!

Neil
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