Oil in the Radiator on a 1990 Toyota Corolla?

I just bought a 90 toyota corolla. When i take off the radiator cap, there is a little bit, only a bit, of oul on the cap. Every couple days or so, i check it and wipe the oil off. it keeps coming back. I did have a radiator fluch, it comes back. there is NO coolant in the oil, no coolant in the automatic tranny fluid, no stuff where it shouldt be other than the oil in the radiator. the radiator reserveor is a bit dirty, could that be it? i dont thin kthat it is ablown head gasket, here's why: engine runs really good, no bubbling anywhere, no smoke at hard accelerations, good acceleration, engine runs really good. so i dont know. i dont relaly want to replace it unless its busted, 300 dolalrs and all...im confused. i was told by the mechanic that the oil that is inside all radiators, to cool them, can be somehow leaking into the coolant, but i dont know how to check that. i have a choice now: replace the radiator or the head gasket, which may be good....anyone have any suggestions?Oil in the Radiator on a 1990 Toyota Corolla?
You can buy a block test kit it detects combustion gasses in the radiator a proffessional kit from napa is about 60$Oil in the Radiator on a 1990 Toyota Corolla?
You just bought a 17 year old car. It's possible a previous owner put a lubricant in the coolant to lubricate the water pump bushing.





Auto Repair Axiom #1 is ';If it works, don't fix it';. As long as it's running great, don't worry about it.


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Do a pressure test on the radiator. If there is no leak down the oil is most likely contained in the radiator (no serious problem). If you have leak down use a stethoscope to listen and try to determine where the pressure loss is coming from. Listen around the transmission and water pump, head gasket,ect.
May be head gasket, but no coolant in oil sounds weird. chuck some chemi-weld into radiator that may fix problem if minor leakage.
YES, change the head gasket....why do you think its the radiator, the gasket is what keep the stuff separate
your so called mechanic is a moron , there is no oil ever in a radiator , sounds like a head gasket , go to the parts store and pick up the repair manual probably $15 . 4 cylinder engines are a great way to learn how .
Sounds like a head gasket, indeed. Have you performed a compression test?





If the engine idles smoothly and your water temperature is in range, I wouldn't really stress too much about it. Are your water hoses in shape? 'Cause most of the times when you get a blown head gasket, the oil in the water reacts with the rubber parts, particularly the water (radiator) hoses, making them look ';chubby';.





Do you use some kind of anti-freeze? Because some brands have a compound that inhibits rust formation on the cooling system, when the anti-freeze gets old (8month more or less), this compound looks ';oily';, but it's not oil you're looking at, just old ethilene-glycol. Try draining your system and filling it up again with fresh-new anti-freeze.