Why is there oil in the radiator of my car?

Why is there oil in the radiator and reservoir of a 99 honda accord?Why is there oil in the radiator of my car?
I am assuming this is engine oil. I have replaced several engine blocks on the 98 99 Accord 4 cylinder for this problem. What is happening is there is a steel sleeve pressed into the engine block behind where the oil filter screws on. The cause is the sleeve shrinks and the oil pressure pushes engine oil through the porous aluminum into the cooling jackets around the cylinder. What I would do is bring the vehicle to HONDA have it diagnosed, then call American HONDA and see if they will help you with replacement of the short block.


Good Luck


www.hondatechonline.comWhy is there oil in the radiator of my car?
I would recommend having the radiator flushed and refilled with the proper antifreeze/water mixture (usually 50% antifreeze to 50% water). Hopefully the old coolant is your only problem. After you have it flushed, keep an eye on the antifreeze condition. If you have an automatic transmission where the radiator cools both the coolant and the transmission fluid, the transmission fluid could be leaking into the radiator. Some vehicles may also have an integrated engine oil cooler located in the radiator, but designed to keep the oil separate from the coolant (like transmission oil coolers). If the radiator reservoirs do not keep these fluids separate, oil could leak into the coolant. One last thing, oil in the coolant could also be an indicator of a cracked head gasket or other gasket that is leaking oil into the cooling system. Check the engine oil and transmission oil to make sure you don't have coolant mixing with these fluids.
I think that the radiator is your best bet if the car is an automatic. The transmission fluid cooler in the radiator is probably cracked allowing the fluids to mingle. Check the transmission fluid to see if it is milky looking. If it is the problem is your radiator and you need to get it fixed IMMEDIATELY and have both the cooling system and the transmission flushed out.
overheated engine blew headgasket??


trany cooler on radiator no good,(never seen this happen on a honda)


someone put oil in wrong place ???


if there is alot of oil in cooling system you are gonna need to replace all the coolant hoses,oil softens them up and then they could blow out.
1) the tranny cooler resovoir in the radiator cracked and tranny fluid is seeping into the antifreeze, AND vice-versa


2) the headgasket has cracked.
1) head or head gasket


2) froze and cracked block in water jacket


the repair will probably cost more than the car is worth
Possibly your head gasket. Get it to a garage to check. If it is that you would be looking at about 250 - 300 repair.
Because that's where it dropped out! BAM!