Engine rebuild, oil/coolant mix results...

[bleet]

So after a good 2 months of working on this KA24E rebuild for my 89 I can't say it was particularly successful.

I started it for the initial break in, but it ran pretty rough and wouldn't idle. After about five minutes the perfomance didn't not improve so I shut it down.

Afterwards I pulled the valve cover, and I have vanilla pudding in the top end. I assume this is water mixed with oil. Note: I forgot to tighten the valve cover bolts, which explains why I saw "oil" leaking from around the seal. That is what prompted me to open the cover first. Could also explain the inability to run below 1500 at all, which for initial breakin I certainly didn't want to do much of anyway.

I drained the oil from the pan and coolant from the radiator last night. The oil was syrup like and the same color as in the lifters/cam area. However the coolant seemed fine, at least from the radiator. I haven't drained it from the block yet.

I took off the exaust manifold. Cylinder one didn't seem like it fired at all, the port was still as clean as new. Cyl 2,3,4 had carbon deposits. All spark plugs were somewhat loose, which was probably another retarded thing I did, however I'm SURE I tighten them but I didn't use a torque wrench - so maybe not enough. Could explain why 1 wasn't firing, not a good ground. The 3 and 4 plugs where white, and the 02 senser was white on half of it, probably the side facing the exaust flow.

So I figured I'd admit the mistakes I made. Believe me I made a few others during assembly but I found them because I double and triple check everything. I think my confidence was too high near the end of all of this.

For the TL;DR crew

I have coolant in my oil, but the coolant looks clean. I used all new gaskets everywhere including a new head gasket. Do these symptoms point to me ****ing up the head gasket install, or something maybe more serious or different? Also considering the mistakes I made with the spark plugs and valve cover gaskets, what contribution could that have to these problems - if at all.

Thanks for anyone's help. I am an engine rebuild noob, all I have is the manual and some friends for random advice and help

[GTR-33]

Sounds like....A)Head gasket was installed incorrectly.B)The block is cracked.C)The head is warped or seated incorrectly.

Did you torque the head down with the proper procedure? Did you check it for warping?How did you do the job? Do you have a service manual??

[bleet]

Sounds like....A)Head gasket was installed incorrectly.

Possible

Quote »B)The block is cracked.[/quote]

Check by machine shop, bored and honed as well.

Quote »C)The head is warped or seated incorrectly.[/quote]Full valve job and machined, not being seated correctly is possible.

Quote »Did you torque the head down with the proper procedure? Did you check it for warping?How did you do the job? Do you have a service manual??[/quote]I have a factory service manual. I followed the procedures and torque specs as stated there.

Right now I'm assuming the machine shop did what I payed them to do. So I'm ruling out the head or block being bad...for now..... Should I have used new head bolts? I used the old ones but I figured the manual would have told me to use new ones. I'm thinking I will anyway the next run around.

[GTR-33]

I always use new head bolts, most are not reuseable. You won't get the right torque with used bolts in most cases.

[Nathan]

They are torque to yeild bolts which means you SHOULD replace them whenever you take the head off (I dont know why it doesn't say it in the shop manual, but it doesnt ) I don't think that was the source of your problem though. I would double and triple check everything on the outside of the motor. It sounds like you did a decent job on the motor itself...

[GTR-33]

Why check the outside when he clearly has an internal problem?

[Nathan]

Because I can't possibly think of an internal problem he could have...at least from his description of things and if they are as he says they are, there shouldn't be any internals leaks...so maybe he somehow hooked a coolant line to a valve cover breather or something. I dunno, I'm really confused about how it could possibly be getting mixed. Oh, one thing...how well do you think you sealed up the front cover? I'll take a look at how it goes together when I get home but I think if you didn't seal it well then the water pump could be pushing coolant into the area behind the front cover, hence...into the oil. I'll take a look later this evening and see if that's a viable reason.

[Nathan]

Yeah, take a look at the front cover, behind the water pump is a part of it that goes to the coolant passages on the block. If you didn't RTV this really well then it's possible your water pump is pushing a bit of coolant into your front cover and it's milking up your oil. That would also explain why your coolant looks fine.

[bleet]

Thanks for everyone's help. I'll definitely check the front cover. I thought about that the other day, really besides a cracked block I can't imagine anywhere else besides the front cover or head gasket that could cause this.

I sure have mess though....

[Nathan]

Sounds like a mess...I REALLY hope that's it, I just noticed it's an E too so it could be something I dont really know about since I haven't ever even seen one.

[a&a auto]

yea those head bolts are stretch bolts you cant use them twice I know it sucks but thats prolly your problem . hope that helps

[Nathan]

You mentioned you didn't use a torque wrench on the spark plugs, did you use it on everything else? (headbolts especially?)

[bleet]

You mentioned you didn't use a torque wrench on the spark plugs, did you use it on everything else? (headbolts especially?)

Yeah actually I did. Pretty much near the end of my assembly of all the electronics, harnesses etc I got to moving a little fast I think. I actually did the head while it was still on the stand and used a torque wrench.

[Pakaskas]

If your timing chain guide was gone or you had slop in the timing chain at all, it can wear a groove in your front cover and eat through the coolant passages and allow water into the timing chain area, thus water in the oil.I just went through all this on my '89 240sx. However, I re-used the head bolts. The car seems to run fine. I wonder if I should replace the head bolts?

[nbuss1411]

I have the same problem abd gues my FrontCover is not perfectly sealed. Was this also your problem?

[younghardyS13]

Its obvious when Oil and Antifreeze have mixed together is from a blown headgasket. Car overheats and dies out. In this case the motor was rebuilt. The gasket that could cause such a leak would be the headgasket. I believe ARP Headbolts are the only headbolts that are to be used again for a engine rebuild. Time rip her apart again. Good luck man sounds good.

[S0lid_Snake]

you guys realize this thread is almost 3 years old?

[nbuss1411]

Thanks guys for fast reponse. I replaced the headgasket but still coolant in oil... after that I was lucky, car started fine and no timing problems etc..

But still coolant in the oilSo now i'm thinking it's perhaps the frontcover seal... Question: when the front cover seal is bad can the coolant leak in the oil...

[180fan]

How did you pry off the front cover? If it is warped, yes it can mix the coolant with oil. Wait, what engine are we talking about here?

You can reuse head bolts...IF you measure them and they are still within spec. They stretch and may not seat properly. Be sure to use something like arp assembly lube when assembling the head to ensure proper torque.

If you've just done a timing chain job...did you get this done because the chain ate through the guides? If it did, it's possible that the chain also ate through to the channel behind the water pump.

[nbuss1411]

Bought the car couple month ago...Its a KA24DE Here the story. BTW I learned a lot from this forum and was a great help.

First I did a timing chain job (chain was ratelling like hell) and assembled everything together and took it to a test drive. During the test drive (5miles) the engine overheated and stopped. I thought it was a broken thermostat and replaced it and I realized also that coolant is in the oil.. Typically this is from a blown head gasket. So put everything apart and replaced the head gasket.. Started the car and engine runs awseome smoothly now. BEcause of this I guess my cylinder head is now ok.But still coolant in the Oil...