Newb to the LS world, with a possible big problem. Maybe?

[Fredbgt02]

I just picked up a 04 v8 LS of a buddy that was the original owner. He was going to scrap the car because everyone told hom it needs a motor, but I dont think it does. Hopfully you guys can help me save this thing.

The issue is there is a ton of oil getting pushed into the cooliong system, at the bottle cap near the firewall it's mixed pretty good but at the cap under the engine cover towards the front after the cars been running its almost straight oil. This lead me to believbe that the motor is fine and it's just the oil cooler. Is this possible on these cars? or common? Also I can't find any info on where it is located and if there is a way to just bypass it for diagnostic purposes just for now to test that theory. Any help or info would be much appreciated, always wanted one of these and would love to get it back on the road. Sorry for the long read.

 

[RigsLS]

... at the cap under the engine cover towards the front after the cars been running its almost straight oil. This lead me to believe that the motor is fine

Ahh NO !!!

That cap you are talking about "under the engine cover" on that V8 is your Thermostat Coupler Housing and it's not supposed to have any oil in it.

Good Luck with repairs, needs gaskets and much more!

 

[joegr]

Possible: Yes.
Common: Not at all.
The oil-to-water cooler is located between the oil filter and the oil filter adapter, all at the lower front of the engine.
Yes, it can be bypassed. Disconnect the two coolant hoses from the cooler and somehow connect them together. (Or, you could use the lower radiator hose assembly from a gen I, non-sport V8.)
I think that you can also remove the cooler from the oil filter adapter and just screw the filter on directly to the adapter.

Good luck. Let us know how it works out.

http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x31025.htm~gen~ref.htm

 

[jjcool00]

Maybe the head gasket. Under the oil fill cap is there coolant residue? Is coolant coming out of the exhaust (white smoke, smells funny)? The problem with head gasket issues are the head will have to be pressure tested to make sure the head isn't cracked, which costs $$, then if it is cracked you will have to replace the head, if not just the gasket, but that alone is a very time consuming job and possibly expensive if you don't do it yourself.

 

[joegr]

Might be a head gasket, but by the amount of oil that he is claiming, he may be right and it may just be the oil-to-water cooler. I've heard of them failing on other cars.

 

[RigsLS]

"at the cap under the engine cover towards the front"

What is he referring to here ?

 

[jjcool00]

I was unaware that was an option , thanks Joe.

 

[jjcool00]

"at the cap under the engine cover towards the front"

What is he referring to here ?

The only cap I know in that location would be the thermostat housing cap.

 

[joegr]

The only cap I know in that location would be the thermostat housing cap.

It's officially known as the "engine fill cap."

 

[RigsLS]

True that ... is it not where he's explaining it's full of oil ?

 

[joegr]

True that ... is it not where he's explaining it's full of oil ?

Yes. Typically, a head gasket breach wouldn't put that much oil in the coolant. However, an internal rupture (very rare) of the oil cooler very well could. In the cooler, oil is at a much higher pressure than the coolant is.

If this is all true, it will be a lot of fun getting all that oil cleaned out of the cooling system.

 

[jjcool00]

What would even cause the oil cooler to rupture like that?

 

[RigsLS]

... If this is all true, it will be a lot of fun getting all that oil cleaned out of the cooling system.

Flush after Flush after Flush ... from rad to heater core to degas bottle ... all around internally.

 

[joegr]

What would even cause the oil cooler to rupture like that?

Corrosion from running straight water?

Manufacturing defect?

 

[Fredbgt02]

Thanks for the responses, to answer some questions, no coolant anywhere in the oil, no smoke and no odd smells or noises. The cap I'm talking about is what I think you guys are calling the fill cap. It's under the cover towards the front and what looks like on top of the t-stat housing. Under that cap after the car has been running if started just for a minute is full of almost straight oil. That's why I feel like it's possible the oil cooler is bad because what else can dump that much oil into the coolant and the motor have no other issues?

 

[joegr]

Just to update this thread.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?90763-Just-plain-nasty
It was the oil cooler.