Bad Engine? Thoughts?

[Big Mort]

Hey all
It's been a while since I've been on here. College as been a little crazy and keeping me away from my vette. BUT I'm coming to the end of it and it'll soon be time to resume the construction. It's a 1980 coupe and when I last left it sitting at home under a cover, it was after the realization that the engine is probably bad.
I've always had a bunch of problems with it (previous owner problems), one of the biggest being overheating. I checked all the gaskets, hoses, fluids and whatnot. The coolant was real dirty, like a mukky brownish color, so I thought it may be just rust somewhere in the system (who knows what the previous owner did with it). So after I got the coolant looking clean I ran it a bunch and eventually the color came back. THEN, when I checked the oil, it looked like it had 5 extra quarts of a different kind of fluid in it, which I then assumed to be coolant mixed in.
SO, my question is, does this sound like a bad head gasket? When I can start working on it again, what should be my next step? The current engine is not the original, its a goodwrench 350 that someone threw in there so I'm not too set on keeping it if worse comes to worse.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

If you found 'five extra quarts' in the oil, you must have lost 5 quarts from the cooling system. Change the oil and filter and monitor the levels in both systems to see what happens.

 

[XLR8]

. . . Hey all
It's been a while since I've been on here. College as been a little crazy and keeping me away from my vette. BUT I'm coming to the end of it and it'll soon be time to resume the construction. It's a 1980 coupe. . .

Big Mort - can't help with your technical questions but I see VHM has things under control; I just wanted to say. . .

WELCOME BACK!! DON'T STAY AWAY SO LONG!!

C'mon and hang out with us.

These guys are tops when it comes to helping solve Corvette problems and they'll steer you well.

Jane Ann

 

[Big Mort]

If you found 'five extra quarts' in the oil, you must have lost 5 quarts from the cooling system. Change the oil and filter and monitor the levels in both systems to see what happens.

Ok, I'm sorry I was a bit vague with this. I flushed the coolant system and refilled it with the right amount of clean coolant. The oil and filter were also changed. I then drove it for a while and later saw that the coolant again became a mukky brown color and the oil level was well over what it was filled up to be. The color of the oil also did not seem to be what it should be, as if coolant had leaked into it. These observations lead me to believe that these fluids are mixing and saw that this is an indication of a bad head gasket.

So I am just looking for some suggestions of what to do next. If this is the case, and it is a bad head gasket, what would someone in this situation do? Would someone who witnessed this be sure that it IS a head gasket problem? Would it be "worth" trying to fix the problem on this engine? This is a Goodwrench 350 engine, so would it be better to fix, or trash and invest in another (which would probably be done eventually regardless)? I'm just looking for suggestions. And these are questions based on the idea that it's a bad head gasket. I don't know if this problem would be caused by another problem that may be an easier fix.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Did the coolant level drop? Coolant mixed with oil looks sort of like a chocolate milkshake, is this the case? Does the oil smell of gasoline?

I would still change both fluids one more time and monitor the levels. Car part stores sell analysis kits to detect fluid contamination.

 

[6880 Mike]

You suspect you have coolant in the oil. Do you have oil in the coolant?

 

[catbert]

You can do a combustion leak test easy enough, and some garages will do it for you at no cost. It's probably a matter of whether you have a bad gasket or a crack somewhere. It's most likely a gasket, but you never know until it's checked out. Good luck!

 

[Big Mort]

Did the coolant level drop? Coolant mixed with oil looks sort of like a chocolate milkshake, is this the case? Does the oil smell of gasoline?

I would still change both fluids one more time and monitor the levels. Car part stores sell analysis kits to detect fluid contamination.

The coolant did certainly look like a chocolate milkshake, a pretty gross chocolate milkshake. But I did not notice much of a drop in the coolant level. And as I mentioned earlier, the car runs dangerously hot so I didn't really notice an oil smell. I guess I should just do the fluids over again and pay more attention to the smells and stuff.

I only asked because I mentioned it to a friend, who is pretty knowledgeable on the Corvette subject, and he seemed pretty sure this was the cause of the issue. I suppose I'll just do some more diagnostics when I get back home.

 

[TimAT]

If the oil looks like a milkshake, regardless of what the coolant looks like, the oil has water/coolant in it. Causes can be anything from a gasket to a crack.
If I was just starting to dig for the problem, I'd drain the oil, leave the plug out, fill the radiator and pressurize the cooling system. See if water runs out the oil drain. And how fast it runs out. If it's just dribbling, I'd start looking at gaskets, pouring, I'd start looking for a crack. You can also pull the spark plugs and check compression and do a leak down test. If air in the cylinders blows bubbles in the radiator it's a bad day.

At the point you are now, I'm not 100% sure I wouldn't make sure it was full of oil, fill the radiator, leave the cap off and start it. If it's blowing bubbles in the radiator, it's a good bet either a head gasket is blown or a head is cracked.
:ugh

 

[Big Mort]

If the oil looks like a milkshake, regardless of what the coolant looks like, the oil has water/coolant in it. Causes can be anything from a gasket to a crack.
If I was just starting to dig for the problem, I'd drain the oil, leave the plug out, fill the radiator and pressurize the cooling system. See if water runs out the oil drain. And how fast it runs out. If it's just dribbling, I'd start looking at gaskets, pouring, I'd start looking for a crack. You can also pull the spark plugs and check compression and do a leak down test. If air in the cylinders blows bubbles in the radiator it's a bad day.

At the point you are now, I'm not 100% sure I wouldn't make sure it was full of oil, fill the radiator, leave the cap off and start it. If it's blowing bubbles in the radiator, it's a good bet either a head gasket is blown or a head is cracked.
:ugh

I'll definitely do that! Thanks alot

 

[Hib Halverson]

No doubt you've got coolant in the oil and, from reading the OP, it sounds like the problem has existed for a while...at least long enough for you to do an oil change and have the same symptoms come back.

I think all the stuff about testing the cooling system or compression is, at this point, a waste of time.

The engine already is 32 years old and probably has a lot of miles on it. Plus, it sounds like it's been run a fair amount with coolant in the oil so, it's likely there is damage to rings and bearings.

You may as well, pull the engine and overhaul it.