Oil in Radiator reservoir

MUNCHKIN

MEMBER
1997 CHEVROLET LUMINA
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
182,000 MILES

Ok, fellow grease-monkeys. Got a dilemma that I want some 2nd (or 3rd) opinions on. Got oil in my radiator reservoir. AF level is stayin high there, but radiator itself is a little low. Don't know if there is oil in radiator too. Didn't personally look at that. Had a leak in the by-pass hose, but I changed that out today. Idiot light comes on & off at-will. Thinkin (hoping) just head gasket. Any ideas?

1 Reply

DRCRANKNWRENCH

MECHANIC
3,380 POSTS

It is possibly a head gasket, but usually the anti-freeze gets in the oil. That is becasue it is a lot easier as the AF circuit has a largfer area sealed by the head gasket. The oild circuit is under higher pressure, but does not depend on the head gasket so much.
One thing to try is changing the oil and seeing if there is any anti-freeze in it.
A few questions;
Pull a couple plugs, if they are anything other than a red/tan color, let me know?
Any overheating issues?
Is the chance that the Anti-Freeze did not get serviced and froze in the block possible?
How cold is it where you are?

Off hand I am think more along the lines of a crack in the head or block.
Let me know the above and I will reply ASAP.