js81
02-26-2014, 07:59 AM
Hey all: [VERY long, detailed post - SORRY!]
Been lurking for a while since I bought my C220, decided to join today so I could pick your brains...
First some background on my car: I bought it in Sept '13 with 131k miles. 2-owner, purchased from the 2nd owner; always garaged, up-to-date maintenance from dealership, etc. Got for a great price - has a few exterior blemishes (scuffs and dings), but nothing major, interior is near-perfect for an 18 year old car. Currently have 139k miles and I've run into my first problem with it...
Since my first oil change (done right after I bought the car), my shop told me I had a small oil leak around the oil pan (was living in an apartment with no place to do my own then; we've since moved and I've been and will be doing my own from now on). No concern, as I was only 1/4 a quart low on arrival; just keep an eye on it and get it changed on time (I do every 3k). Last week I was driving her home from work (a 100-mile round trip every day) and my low oil light came on. Since I was due for an oil change anyway, I just assumed that it was due to the leak - we'd had Christmas break during this last oil change and the car had sat for almost two weeks, so I thought I'd just lost a little more oil than normal. Got her home, added about 3/4 of quart and oil was full.
Drove two more days and on my trip home Wednesday, the oil light came on AGAIN. Got home, raised the hood and IMMEDIATELY saw the problem - I had chocolate milk-looking gunk all over the passenger side of the engine compartment. Quickly saw it was from the coolant and a feeling of dread came over me as I realized what was happening - I had oil in my coolant. So I parked the car until I could check it out over the weekend... Good news was, though, that there was NO COOLANT in my oil. Engine should be fine if I can get it fixed.
When I got started Saturday morning, the first thing I did was flush the cooling system and fill the engine oil. FIVE TIMES (well, oil only once lol). I wanted to make sure that every drop of the oil was out of the cooling system. It was running clear (though I knew there would probably be some sludge in the system's cracks and crevices). I then filled the system up with clean distilled water and drove for exactly 2.6 miles. The car didn't overheat and run fine, but when I raised the hood I could see that oil was STILL getting in - the clean water was extremely fouled up and I was almost a 1/2 quart low on engine oil already.
So I flushed it again, two more times. It was running clear, though I will admit to not being as thorough as I was the first time. This time I filled the system with 50/50 antifreeze (not the best stuff, as I knew I'd most likely be draining it again in a week or so - don't judge me lol). I also decided "what the heck" and added a bottle of Bars Leaks Head Gasket Repair to the coolant. After following the directions for the Bars Leaks stuff, I then proceeded to drive her around town, about 20 miles total. And guess what? My oil was still completely full; the coolant looks terribly oily still, but I guess that was residual in the system, as none is getting out of the engine.
It has been 5 days now and I have driven her almost 500 miles - I haven't lost a single drop of oil and the car runs just as cool as always (about 82-85C on my temp gauge). I know that I will need to flush out the cooling system again to get the oil out and I am fully prepared for the fact that I may end up needing a radiator (or water pump... or thermostat... or...) since the cooling system has been so gummed up, but the Bars Leaks Repair stuff seems to have fixed my head gasket problem. Am I just extremely lucky? Probably - most likely, I just lucky enough to have caught it VERY early (within the first 100-200 miles or so).
My question after my EXTREMELY long post (SORRY!) is this: what would you guys and gals recommend I do next? Obviously I need to flush the crappy coolant out, get the system clean, then fill with the correct antifreeze (I figure I'll flush and re-fill with the crappy stuff, run it for a few hundred miles, then flush again and fill with the good stuff). Anything else I should do or look out for? Of course, I'll be keeping a very close watch on my oil and coolant for the next little bit... I've been checking it every day lately. :D
Been lurking for a while since I bought my C220, decided to join today so I could pick your brains...
First some background on my car: I bought it in Sept '13 with 131k miles. 2-owner, purchased from the 2nd owner; always garaged, up-to-date maintenance from dealership, etc. Got for a great price - has a few exterior blemishes (scuffs and dings), but nothing major, interior is near-perfect for an 18 year old car. Currently have 139k miles and I've run into my first problem with it...
Since my first oil change (done right after I bought the car), my shop told me I had a small oil leak around the oil pan (was living in an apartment with no place to do my own then; we've since moved and I've been and will be doing my own from now on). No concern, as I was only 1/4 a quart low on arrival; just keep an eye on it and get it changed on time (I do every 3k). Last week I was driving her home from work (a 100-mile round trip every day) and my low oil light came on. Since I was due for an oil change anyway, I just assumed that it was due to the leak - we'd had Christmas break during this last oil change and the car had sat for almost two weeks, so I thought I'd just lost a little more oil than normal. Got her home, added about 3/4 of quart and oil was full.
Drove two more days and on my trip home Wednesday, the oil light came on AGAIN. Got home, raised the hood and IMMEDIATELY saw the problem - I had chocolate milk-looking gunk all over the passenger side of the engine compartment. Quickly saw it was from the coolant and a feeling of dread came over me as I realized what was happening - I had oil in my coolant. So I parked the car until I could check it out over the weekend... Good news was, though, that there was NO COOLANT in my oil. Engine should be fine if I can get it fixed.
When I got started Saturday morning, the first thing I did was flush the cooling system and fill the engine oil. FIVE TIMES (well, oil only once lol). I wanted to make sure that every drop of the oil was out of the cooling system. It was running clear (though I knew there would probably be some sludge in the system's cracks and crevices). I then filled the system up with clean distilled water and drove for exactly 2.6 miles. The car didn't overheat and run fine, but when I raised the hood I could see that oil was STILL getting in - the clean water was extremely fouled up and I was almost a 1/2 quart low on engine oil already.
So I flushed it again, two more times. It was running clear, though I will admit to not being as thorough as I was the first time. This time I filled the system with 50/50 antifreeze (not the best stuff, as I knew I'd most likely be draining it again in a week or so - don't judge me lol). I also decided "what the heck" and added a bottle of Bars Leaks Head Gasket Repair to the coolant. After following the directions for the Bars Leaks stuff, I then proceeded to drive her around town, about 20 miles total. And guess what? My oil was still completely full; the coolant looks terribly oily still, but I guess that was residual in the system, as none is getting out of the engine.
It has been 5 days now and I have driven her almost 500 miles - I haven't lost a single drop of oil and the car runs just as cool as always (about 82-85C on my temp gauge). I know that I will need to flush out the cooling system again to get the oil out and I am fully prepared for the fact that I may end up needing a radiator (or water pump... or thermostat... or...) since the cooling system has been so gummed up, but the Bars Leaks Repair stuff seems to have fixed my head gasket problem. Am I just extremely lucky? Probably - most likely, I just lucky enough to have caught it VERY early (within the first 100-200 miles or so).
My question after my EXTREMELY long post (SORRY!) is this: what would you guys and gals recommend I do next? Obviously I need to flush the crappy coolant out, get the system clean, then fill with the correct antifreeze (I figure I'll flush and re-fill with the crappy stuff, run it for a few hundred miles, then flush again and fill with the good stuff). Anything else I should do or look out for? Of course, I'll be keeping a very close watch on my oil and coolant for the next little bit... I've been checking it every day lately. :D