Possible coolant in engine oil

[2firebirds]

I have a buddy with a 96 TA 60K miles he was changing his oil and notice that the oil was not dk. brown or black but a creamy carmel color.
We check the raditor and there was not oil in it and the level seamed ok.
Possibly a crack block or head leting coolant in the oil.

any one seen this before? Any suggest??

Thanks
Brian

[wolfdogs]

could be a head gasket blown too...

[Rob B (shoebox)]

could be a head gasket blown too...

More common than the other things mentioned.

A compression and/or leakdown test will help determine the trouble.

[fastTa]

Could also be an intake manifold leak. The rear is ususally the first to lose the factory block to manifold sealant.

[TraceZ]

Could also be an intake manifold leak. The rear is ususally the first to lose the factory block to manifold sealant.

on an LT1? There is no coolant in an LT1 intake manifold to cause a leak.

[95TransAm]

My buddy had the same problem on his firebird....had a brownish sludge for oil. Take a pressure tester and pop it on the where radiator cap goes....listen for hissing or if you see coolant anywhere. It wound up being a blown intake manifold gasket for him (he has a carbed sbc).

Good luck

[TraceZ]

My buddy had the same problem on his firebird....had a brownish sludge for oil. Take a pressure tester and pop it on the where radiator cap goes....listen for hissing or if you see coolant anywhere. It wound up being a blown intake manifold gasket for him (he has a carbed sbc).

Good luck

I really dont see how it could possibly be the intake manifold. The car is a LT1. You can remove the intake on an LT1 completely and not encounter a drop of coolant. The coolant does not make any contact to the intake manifold. Suggesting he check the intake gaskets for a coolant leak is like having him change the tires to fix it.

If he has bad gaskets on his intake manifold he will have an oil leak, that is all.

[wolfdogs]

I really dont see how it could possibly be the intake manifold. The car is a LT1. You can remove the intake on an LT1 completely and not encounter a drop of coolant. The coolant does not make any contact to the intake manifold. Suggesting he check the intake gaskets for a coolant leak is like having him change the tires to fix it.

If he has bad gaskets on his intake manifold he will have an oil leak, that is all.

i have to agree with ya. the only coolant comming near it is in the TB....

[95TransAm]

I really dont see how it could possibly be the intake manifold. The car is a LT1. You can remove the intake on an LT1 completely and not encounter a drop of coolant. The coolant does not make any contact to the intake manifold. Suggesting he check the intake gaskets for a coolant leak is like having him change the tires to fix it.

If he has bad gaskets on his intake manifold he will have an oil leak, that is all.

I know, thus the reason why I said it wound up being a bad intake gasket for him and then in parenthesis put that he has a carbed sbc

[TraceZ]

I know, thus the reason why I said it wound up being a bad intake gasket for him and then in parenthesis put that he has a carbed sbc

10-4 Having a SBC instead of an LT1 would make the difference. I didn't catch that part, I was too busy jumping to concluions and flying off the handle. At least I got my exercise for the day.

[95TransAm]

10-4 Having a SBC instead of an LT1 would make the difference. I didn't catch that part, I was too busy jumping to concluions and flying off the handle. At least I got my exercise for the day.

LOL....all good. To tell you the truth though, it actually helped me out. You see, the only wrenching experience I have had was with carbed motors. For a while now (and I don't know why I haven't posted this, just hasn't been a concern for me yet), I had wondered if my intake had coolant running through it. When I would look at it, I didn't think so, but to me that made no sense being that all motors I have worked on had coolant that traveled through the intake manifold. Well...looks like now I know what's up

[Z Ya Later]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the intake manifolds on the later LT1s "wet" (coolant passages), not dry like the early ones? If the later LT1s are a wet-manifold setup, then it could also be the intake manifold gaskets.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

If the car was used for a lot of short trips and never gets to run at operating temp for a while, the moisture can build up in the engine and cause the sludge. Used to be more common than it is now, but sludge does not necessarily indicate a repair is needed. This is one of the reasons they say it's bad to use a car for only short trips.

[4THGEN Z]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the intake manifolds on the later LT1s "wet" (coolant passages), not dry like the early ones? If the later LT1s are a wet-manifold setup, then it could also be the intake manifold gaskets.

No, there hasnt been a V8 intake with coolant runnin through it in an f-bod since the L98 era.

[fastTa]

No, there hasnt been a V8 intake with coolant runnin through it in an f-bod since the L98 era.

Vortec come to mind.

What I meant by the manifold leak was that it would simply exacerbate a leak that already existed by means of a bad gasket or a crack near a coolant passage in the block. I there is no coolant passages from the head to the intake manifold silly heathens!