Hi guys,

today I took my 08 Freelander TD4 to local LR dealer for regular maintenance. When I picked the car up, they told me that they coolant reservoir contaminated with engine oil. Further diagnosis is required, possible oil cooler leak. Apparently it is not a gasket.

I found some info on this forum on a similar problem, however, I wanted to ask whether you have any suggestions what I can look for, what can I check at home? I haven't noticed any increase in temperature. I was planning to go for a trip (about 800kms) this weekend. Does that mean that I shouldn't go, even if they found only a small amount of oil in the coolant, and take it to the dealer asap?

Do you know what could be a possible cause? How much will it cost (if oil cooler tank replacement?) to fix at the dealer?

Thanks for your help

Hi,

I had the same problem, oil in coolant, I found that since oil accumulates at the highest point in the system the majority of the coolant in circulation is oil free. The leak in mine was probably minor but still enough to coat the expansion tank sides such that it was difficult to see the level. I went through a few steps on the way to condemning the oil cooler see here :

http://www.freel2.com/forum/post263125.html

With hindsight, if it happens again, I would replace the oil cooler as the first step since it's much cheaper to replace the oil cooler than the other possibilities i.e. EGR cooler etc.

I drove several thousand miles with the leak and had no problems, together with the oil in the coolant the system also lost coolant so keep a container of 50:50 mix in the car for top-ups. I can only guess that the coolant was boiling at the oil/coolant interface i.e. at the leak within the oil cooler. The oil itself was fine, no mayonnaise in the oil filler cap.

Good luck
Tony

Hi Tony, thanks for your reply. How long ago did this happen to you? And is the coolant oil free since you cleaned it? I think that mine has exactly the same as yours had, walls of expansion tank are covered too (not completely though). Last weekend I was driving quite a lot, usually in blocks of 2-3 hrs on a highway without stopping, and the temperature indicator didn't exceed the half-position mark, which is good I think.

I can try to look into those steps to condemn the oil cooler, as you suggested, however, I haven't done anything like that before, so not sure if I will be able to do that.

Also, if I understand that correctly, when there is oil in the coolant circuit, the only thing it could cause is to overheat the engine, so if I will keep an eye on the temperature, everything should be fine, is that correct? (of course, until I will manage to clean it). Or are there any other possibilities that could go wrong?

Thanks heaps

The oil in the coolant system will attack the rubber hoses and seals if left too long, and may cause issues in the future with burst pipes/leaks etc

I'd see the repair as a priority, personally

Hi,

Oil in coolant was a year ago. Car has been fine since cooler replaced.

For me the leak never progressed to the oily sludge blocking the cooling system stage but all the time you're driving with a leaking oil cooler (assuming it's the cooler at fault) increases the risk of a more serious failure. As I said mine was ok for a few thousand miles but I could have been lucky. The other danger of course is overheating due to low coolant but at least the low coolant light will light if the level is low giving you a chance to top up, so providing you see the warning light the engine shouldn't overheat.

If you're unsure of carrying out the steps I took yourself then I would recommend geting the oil cooler changed sooner rather than later and take the risk that the problem lies elsewhere. At least changing the oil cooler is relatively cheap (I paid about £120 for the cooler and about £90 labour).

I flushed the cooling system twice after changing the cooler, several weeks apart, and the only oil I found was in the expansion tank. The coolant in the block and radiator was clean and oil free.

Regards
Tony