hey guys i got a 1997 olds bravada with the 4.3 vortec so pretty much a blazer but with all
whell drive. Here's my question radiator fluid has been leaking into my oil, most people would say blown head gasket but the wierd thing is i sprayed starter fluid around the head gasket to see if it reved up. But it didn't and the oil doesn't look like a milkshake. I did an oil change and it just looks like a lite brown color. which got me thinking about hte heater core, because when i drive sometimes you can here like somethings loose behind the engine right in front of the firewall on the passanger side. So if anybody has any tips or has had this problem or can point me in the right direction that would be nice.

thanks thomas

 

Could still be a head gasket. I had a Mustang that blew a head gasket, and it was directly between two cylinders, so no amount of spraying would make it rev anyway. I'm actually not so sure that it's a good way to check for a blown head gasket anyway, it would have to be really blown, I've never seen one were that would have worked.

Best thing would probably to check the compression on the cylinders. You'd probably notice a spark plug with coolant on it when you got to the right cylinder anyway.

It's not safe to drive one with coolant getting into the oil either, it has a tendency to mess things up in the lower end of the motor.

 

ya the more i look into it the more i think it's the head gasket. i was just hoping that it could be something else. By the way i don't drive that truck anymore since i seen the radiator fluid in the oil. If anybody else has there 2 cents all opions are wanted good or bad.
thanks thomas

 

If you got a blown head gasket is it running rough?? Because if you lost compression in two adjoining cylinders i would think that it would cause rough idle.

I have also read somewhere that some have had the oil cooler in the radiator allow coolant into the oil...

 

Remove the radiator and get it pressure tested. I knew a guy who had a tranny failure do to a leaking cooler. The rad fluid got into the tranny and ruined it. Ended up being the radiator was the culprit.

Hopefully it will be the radiator and not a head gasket job. Kind a of pain.

I would do both heads, new head bolts, and of couse new lower intake gaskets. Use black high temp RVT too. Good luck.

 

see that's the weird thing my truck runs great, just gets hot after awhile because of the lack of raditor fluid. I have had this truck for over 3 years with no problems then i go to get my oil changed and they said i needed my radiator flushed so i did it. Ever since then it ran hot. That's when i first noticed the mixing of the fluid in the oil, so i flused the radiator, did a oil change and flushed the block. Drove fine checked oil looked good, a few days later i checked and it was like it was before. That 's the main reason i don't know about the head gasket because it runs great just gets hot, but i 'am going to pressure test the radiator this week. hope that's the problem.

thanks thomas

 

I'd think more about intake gaskets. My truck would slowly lose antifreeze (quart/4 months) and I could see a small amount of liquid lying on the edge of the intake against the head on the drivers side. Intake gasket was a "one of these days" project in my mind until one day it started dumping out the rear corner of the motor. While replacing the intake gaskets that weekend I was surprised to see the reddish tinge of Dexcool where it had been running down the lifter valley into the motor. I never noticed my oil going up because it was a slow leak and my oil gets changed about every 2 months it seems (every 3K miles)