What Coolant In Engine Oil Looks Like & Possible Causes

In this video I go over what engine oil may look like if coolant has gotten into it and I also go over a few possibilities of how coolant could get into the engine oil.

Usually, when coolant gets into the engine oil, it can have a foamy or frothy look to it. It will be slightly lighter in color and it will seem thicker than normal oil due to foaming. Also, it is typical that the oil level will rise when coolant has gotten into the engine oil, as seen in the video. Typically if the coolant is low and the oil is over filled and looks foamy then you probably have an internal coolant leak.

A few things that could cause coolant to get into the engine oil are as follows... Internal coolant leaks such as blown head gasket, cracked head, cracked block, damaged oil cooler, or leaking water pump. (If the water pump is internal to the engine in some way.) These are a few things that typically will allow coolant to get into the engine oil.

Warning! Never run the engine with coolant contaminated engine oil. Serious engine damage could result.

Note: The information given in this video is very basic and may not encompass every scenario as to how and why coolant could enter the engine oil. Also, if your engine has coolant in the oil it may not look exactly like the example given in the video. The video is just an example, not an exact representation of what every case will look like.

Link to video showing final diagnosis of my 3.5L right here: https://youtu.be/pZyM3m-OEuI

Here is a link to a video made my Scotty Kilmer where he talks about 3.5L water pump leaks. It was uploaded just a few weeks after my video was uploaded. He speaks about it for the first 1.5 minutes of the video. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/U9r-dV5Zc6A

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Repair your vehicle at your own risk! Barbour's auto help does not guarantee a proper repair using these techniques.

Special thanks to my wife for checking my spelling on this video and all my videos. You're the best Babe!