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Troubleshooting & Technical Questions & ModificationsHave technical or modification questions about the Crossfire?
Find out the answer, or give advice in here!
How much do you drive the car?
How often do you change oil (both in months and miles/kilometers)?
When I was young, we had a tractor that sat most of the time, it would get that buildup and the shop told my dad he was letting the engine oil absorb moisture from sitting.
How does the coolant look? If the coolant looks fine, clean off all you can and drive it. Also if the coolant looks ok, go ahead and change it out and keep an eye on it. Too early to jump to conclusions. James
1. Mileage shown as 163K km but taking into account that I am not first users I am sure that it could be 400K km:
Engine temperature also good (even in summer when it were +40DEGC outside)
2. Engine is SLK 320 M112.940:
3. I have changed transmission oil on 150K (16K before) and I think I was first do this on this car because old transmission oil odor was terrible. I am using "Petro-Canada ATF D3M" transmission oil now (covering MB 236.10 requirement):
5. Currently I filled my car with distilled water for tests (on 155K when I discover the issue). I thought problem was in coolant quality - before it was very oily unknown substance. Today I have picked small amount of "distilled water" from expansion tank and here how it is looks (also oil):
Also there is oil spots in coolant:
I think coolant is not ok even if keep car temperature stable.
6. I am driving car almost daily for 20-30 km for last 8 month (since I have purchased it)
7. Shop told me that this look like transmission oil. I check it in transmission shop and they tell me that transmission oil level is ok and there is no water containment in transmission oil (unfortunately has no pictures of this)
looks like either bad head gasket or bad seal inside front engine case. either way i would buy a low mileage used 320 engine for $250 from a junk yard and swap that in
What does the oil cap and inside of the engine from the oil cap area look light? If its a milkshake it 100% a blown headgasket. Even if its not it still likely a blown a head gasket. Welcome to the club.
What does the exhaust look like, steamy or smoky?
I had a 3.4 L motor in an '88 Safari van after 5 years with a leaky head gasket and milky deposits like that on the oil filler cap. The GM dealer gave me the run around wanting to prove it was burning oil, which was obvious. I drove it a few more weeks then stripped the engine from the van and took it apart, every bearing surface was shot, the milky deposit was also in the valve covers, the holes for the push rods etc, the timing chain was like a piece of spaghetti.
I had the engine rebuilt better than new. That engine was known to fail in this manner and in the US it was fixed under a extended warranty, in Canada they just ignored the problem.
This could be a long shot but if you’ve never changed the oil cooler gaskets and 2 of the 3 failed I could see it maybe causing this problem. I changed mine at 86K and the bottom gaskets was so brittle it just snapped in half. You never know. It’s a pretty easy change except you need to find a 46mm socket.
I would do a simple test to check for the presence of water in the engine oil. Get the engine completely warmed up or go for a drive, Immediately after returning siphon about 50ml of oil from crankcase and put it in a clear glass container. Let in sit for a while and see if there is a layer of coolant/water forming on the bottom. If there is the problem most likely is with the head gasket.
I also tend to agree with Rob @ NeedsWings and look into doing an engine swap. Looking at the build on the caps and inside the valve cover I would say your problem is not new and the previous owners didn't follow very good maintenance practices.
looks like either bad head gasket or bad seal inside front engine case. either way i would buy a low mileage used 320 engine for $250 from a junk yard and swap that in
This would be, hands down, the easiest and least expensive solution. The swap is a day of your time, tops.
To replace the gasket will be both a money and activity trap.
The engine oil will be cooled also with the coolant water. This is the adapter with the black hoses at the oil filter. In some case they corrode and oil and water will be mixed. Maybe you have a look at this adapter.
This could be a long shot but if you’ve never changed the oil cooler gaskets and 2 of the 3 failed I could see it maybe causing this problem. I changed mine at 86K and the bottom gaskets was so brittle it just snapped in half. You never know. It’s a pretty easy change except you need to find a 46mm socket.
Have you checked the transmission fluid? The transmission cooler is inside the radiator. If it is leaking, it would do this, and leaking transmission coolers are a common problem in ALL makes/models of radiators. I'd check that well before I started pulling engines out.
Radiator Cap milkshake
