Damaged engine blockĪnother probable but less likely issue you might be having that causes oil and coolant to mix is a damaged engine block, which you’ll notice if your car is overheating, releasing blue or gray smoke, or the car isn’t running properly.Įngine blocks are usually damaged when the coolant in the engine freezes up and pushes against the engine’s metal parts. This can also happen when the engine is overused and the car is driven too hard, and of course, when you get into an accident that causes a significant impact to the engine.Ī damaged cylinder head can cause a lot of problems, such as leaking oil into the coolant, but if it doesn’t get addressed immediately, at some point, the mixing of oil and coolant may be the least of your concerns. Whenever the car engine overheats due to whatever reason, there is always a high chance that the cylinder head may become damaged or cracked. When this happens, the gasket needs to be replaced to prevent oil and coolant from mixing.Īside from an issue with the head gasket, here are other common reasons why you’re experiencing having oil in coolant: Damaged cylinder head This head gasket can become damaged due to various reasons such as excess heat, over-exhausting the engine, or having not enough oil or coolant. There are actually many other reasons why oil and coolant get mixed up in the engine, the most common being that the head gasket is broken, in which case the coolant may have brownish spots or the oil showcases a milky appearance. When checking your car’s engine oil, radiator fluid, and coolant, make sure that the engine has cooled down sufficiently, which takes around 30 minutes after the engine has been turned off. This seal is maintained by the head gasket which prevents oil from getting into the coolant and vice versa. What’s important to remember here is that your car engine is designed to be sealed so as to protect it from wear and damage. There, you can also open the radiator cap to inspect the engine oil. You should see a plastic reservoir tank that contains orange or green fluid, which is the coolant. You can easily check the color and amount of coolant your engine has by looking under the hood of your car.

To put it simply, oil lubricates the movable parts of your car engine so it doesn’t create too much friction when running, while coolant keeps the engine temperature under control to prevent overheating, which is done by regulating the cylinders and combustion chambers in the engine. What are the functions of oil and coolant?įirst, let’s talk about the purpose of oil and coolant in your car. What should you do if there is oil in your coolant?.What happens when there is oil in the coolant?.What are the functions of oil and coolant?.

Oil in coolant