Did you know why your car coolant mixes with engine oil the last time it happened? Water and engine oil are two essential liquid to run your car, but each of them must maintain its compartment for optimal performance. Although water and oil are necessary for a vehicle’s proper functioning, engine oil seems to play a predominant role.
Roles of Coolant and Engine Oil Explained
The primary role of engine oil is to lubricate your engine for smooth running and protects it from mechanical problems. Whether petrol or diesel engines, the lubricant is a major decider for performance and its overall lifespan.
Water or coolant, on the other hand, is responsible for cooling and protecting an engine from overheating. Its purpose is to prevail on the heat generated by it when running.
However, as useful as these two necessities are, they pose dangers to your engine whenever they come in contact with each other. No wonder, vehicle engines are designed in such a way that each of them is carefully compartmentalized and covered.
A damaged gasket may result in leakage of water into the engine and invariably contaminate your lubricant.
The cylinder serving as part of the cooling system sits on the engine block and serves as a ceiling to the combustion chambers. Generally, the head gasket, placed between the cylinder and the combustion chamber, serves as a protector against the mixing of coolant and oil.
Top Reasons Coolant Mixes With Engine Oil
The reasons coolant mixes with engine oil include damaged head gasket, faulty oil cooler, cracks in the cylinder head. Additional causes include cracks in the engine block, extreme engine overheating, and soaking in water.
- Damaged head gasket
- Faulty oil cooler /gasket
- Cracks in the cylinder head
- Extreme engine overheating
- Cracks in the engine block
- Soaking in water
Reasons explained
Damaged Head Gasket: The primary function of the head gasket is to provide an airtight seal for the internal combustion process. Also, it prevents coolant from mixing with oil while the duo travels through their channels within the engine block and the cylinder head.
However, if your head gasket becomes faulty, it gives way for lubricating oil to finds its way into the coolant channel and vice versa. Also damaged gasket could cause leakage of oil into the exhaust pipe.
Faulty oil cooler: The oil cooler, as the name implies, prevents your engine oil from heating up. However, if the oil cooler is defective, the oil pressure becomes higher than the cooling system pressure. When this happens, the lubricating oil forces itself into a cooling system leading to loss of lubrication for your engine.
Cracks in the cylinder head: Cracks in the cylinder head may be a result of overheating or an accident. When cracks occur in the cylinder head, the cracked head will misdirect the coolant, forcing it to mix with lubricating oil.
Extreme engine overheating: Overheating occurs in every engine, but it is more common with diesel engines. When this happens, the engine tends to burn and, in turn, destroys the gasket and curses coolant and oil mix up.
Cracks In The Engine Block: Engine block cracks is one of those problems you don’t want to experience as a vehicle owner. Fractures prevent proper oiling, and will subsequently result in overheating of your engine if not checked.
Also, cracks give room for oil to penetrate your coolant reservoir and vice versa. The engine block is a compartment containing virtually all moving parts that use oil; hence its crack usually results in contamination of the cooling system.
Extreme engine overheating: There are few causes of engine overheating, which include a shortage of water as well as when coolant mixes with engine oil.
When your engine overheats, it burns up the gasket and will eventually give way for coolant to mix with lubricating oil.
Signs of Coolant-Oil Contamination
Overheating: Whenever you notice that your car is overheating, check your radiator for possible coolant-oil contamination. Coolant-oil contamination brings about improper engine lubrication and may result in an abnormal increase in your engine’s temperature. Be sure to monitor your engine’s heat, and don’t forget to stop it if it’s hotter than usual.
Excess Exhaust Smoke: When coolant mixes with engine oil, it may likely cause an excess in exhaust smoke. The reason is that the contaminant will force itself into the combustion chamber and begin to produce an abnormal burn.
Disadvantages of Coolant-Oil Contamination
Overheating of Engine: as mentioned several times in this article, when coolant mixes with oil, it usually results in overheating of engines.
Environmental Pollution: Coolant-oil contamination may lead to environmental pollution if not properly handled. Oil contamination requires professional handling to drain contaminated oil from the engine to prevent environmental pollution.
Financial Cost: Don’t allow coolant-oil contamination if you can because it will attract an unexpected cost. It could be minimal if you detect it on time but could be costly if it results in engine knock.
Time Wasting: You will be saving yourself a whole lot of time if you can prevent incidents that cause the oil to mix with coolant. If your car breaks down, it will cost you some time to tow it to a mechanic. Also, you may likely miss out on some appointments.
Safety Risks: Coolant-oil contamination may lead to a break down of vehicles in isolated places, thereby posing a safety risk. For instance, if your car breaks down in a place where there are wild animals, you risk being attacked by one.
Although both oil and water are necessary for the effective running of your engine, they pose serious problems whenever they come in contact with each other. They are different liquids serving different purposes in the engine.
The fact that an engine relies wholly on oil to function doesn’t mean it can work without the coolant. The two complement each other for the smooth running of your car engine to give you needed comfort.