[aj103107]

Hi everyone, so about 3 weeks ago I had waterpump/timingbelt done and as soon as I got home I could see a good amount of coolant dropping onto my driveway. So I called the mechanic and he said he must not have tighten all the bolts down tight enough on the water pump. He said figure out when your next available day is and bring it in and to keep the coolant filled if I'm gonna be driving it. So I've been working everyday driving back and fourth to work making sure i have enough coolant in there. Well i checked my oil today and its all bubbly and milkshaky, so obviously there is coolant in ther. The car hasn't overheated 1 time since ive bought it. When i purchased my car it had 70,000 now im at 132,000 regular oil changes and well maintained. So im going to take it in on Monday. No bubbles coming up in radiator. What's the problem, hopefully not the headgasket. What do you guys think. It runs really good doesn't over heat, plenty of power. I have probably put 250 to 400 miles on it since the work was done. How much damage could have been done already from driving around with coolant in my oil? Headgasket or not?

 

[GottaCruise]

Greetings,

Without knowing (why) the water pump is leaking so badly, it is possible that coolant is being introduced into the motor from the leak -

but the only way to be sure is to bring the vehicle back, have the water pump redone and a complete timing belt / pulley service done (I would, with that much coolant leaking in there) and an oil/filter change..

re: damage due to coolant in oil - sludge formation is the biggest concern, so if the repair is good, and the new oil doesn't show signs of coolant contamination or loss, I would do a short-interval oil/filter change after the repair (1,000 mles or so) to remove any remaining coolant out of crankcase/ motor.

Best of luck w/ the repair,
GottaCruise

 

[50CAPRI]

I agree w/ GottaCruise..

Definately coolant in the oil, but why? After your mechanic fixes the coolant leak and does an oil change, keep an eye on it and change the oil again in about 1,000 miles as long as you dont see any more coolant in your oil.

 

[/Womby\]

Shady work

Please find a new mechanic, sounds like the loose leaking pump resulted in poor circulation and water was prob introduced via headgasket. I could be wrong but either way he should of never told you it was ok to keep driving.​

Its easy to understand if you think of the waterpump as your heart pumping blood, while trying to add blood with a bad heart and extreme heat its a no brainer.​