Noticed that there was a bit of oil in the coolant resevoir today. Has me kinda worried, especially since the car overheated on me friday. Had that problem with the garbage ingestor fan getting stuck and blowing the fuse. MIN NW is going to work on it come monday but until then the car sits idle. I did check the oil and there is no signs of water in the oil so I may have gotten lucky. Aside from a head gasket failure, is there any other way this could have happened?

 

not really, and oil cooler failer possible, but since you overheated head gasket way more likely...unfortunatly, but really its not that bad of an repair, i probably could fix it(if i had the parts handy) in about 2.5 hours or so, i have done several heads now and got the system down....

 

I have a similiar problem. In researching, I stumbled across this thread. I was about 2 quarts low on oil over the weekend, but now noticed that I am low on coolant too. After sticking my finger in the coolant resevoir, I noticed that there was a thick oily sludge at the bottom.

Friends tell me it's a head gasket. Any thoughts anyone? What kind of damage can I expect otherwise?

2003 MCS, 56K miles, 16% pulley

Chris

 

As you have said all ready, it is most likely a head gasket. There are other threads about similar situations (low coolant level), so it would seem that the odds favor a blown head gasket.

 

With a MCS, another point of failure is the oil cooler. Having this part fail generally pollutes the coolant with oil, whereas most instances of head gasket failure the oil in the pan will become contaminated with coolant. If there is oil in the coolant and the oil in the engine seems fine (there is no milky scum in the dipstick tube, under the oil fill cap or in the PCV valve port), the chance is good that the oil-to-water intercooler has begun leaking. Replacing this part is cheaper and less intensive than a head job.

 

I spoke with one of my local independant MINI mechanics about the problem, and he said it was not uncommon to find some oil in the coolant resevoir on earlier build cars. I have no reason to doubt him, but has anyone else heard this?

There is no milky white substance on the dip stick or under the filler cap. Temp guage also stays right where it should.

 

It might do you well to simply have the cooling system flushed and refilled. It's good maintenance, and you should be able tokeep tabs on any oil re-entering the coolant, indicating a problem.

Double-check that your engine cooling fan is functioning (in many cars, especially earlier builds, the power steering cooling fan locks up, taking the control circuit for the radiator fan with it). Check fuse F05 in the underhood fuse box, if it is blown, have your PS cooling fan replaced. Having the radiator fan not working causes the car to heat up when stopped in traffic, but depending on your driving conditions, you might not notice this happening (and the gauge will tell you nothing until it's too late). This mild, recurring overheating causes the engine coolant to vent periodically due to increased pressure when hot, this lowers coolant levels and increases oil consumption. All end up being indicators of a bad head gasket, when it's not always the case.