Help! Oil in coolant - Can I drive it home? (98 Forester, 250 Miles)

[Adam]

I have been occasionally and faintly smelling the delicious odor of
scalding coolant for a few days now. Then today went to pick up my
sister at the airport (150 Miles Roundtrip) Before leaving, I checked
the fluids. Oil was clean - and only oily. Coolant reservoir was
overfull and also oily. Radiator, on the other hand, was not full.
Needing to leave right away, I topped it off with water. Hard to say
how much, since it was from a garden hose, but I would guess about 2
cups of H20.

Picked her up, stopped for gas at about 100 miles. Checked the
coolant reservoir - looked the same, but I dipped a bunch of shop
towels in to collect the oil floating on the surface of the reservoir
(about 1/8 inch). Now the coolant looked scuzzy, but green on the
surface. Continued driving. About a mile from destination,
temperature needle stood straight up. I coasted into my parent's
driveway in a cloud of steam.

Looked in the reservoir - now it is entirely full to the point of
overflowing - haven't opened the radiator cap yet, but it was cool to
the touch. Water return hose (top passenger side of radiator) was
hot. Coolant still appears to be clean(ish) - no layer of oil - just
flecks that the shop towels didn't pick up.


I have a mechanic at home I trust - back home in Seattle. We are 250
miles away, and are supposed to get on a plane from Seattle the day
after Christmas - Can I safely drive it 250 miles without major
mechanical work being performed? I can probably get a rad flush on
the 24th, but probably not anything more extensive than that. Should
I send wife and daughter home on the train and wait for a Head gasket
change?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Adam

 

[Tony Hwang]

I have been occasionally and faintly smelling the delicious odor of
scalding coolant for a few days now. Then today went to pick up my
sister at the airport (150 Miles Roundtrip) Before leaving, I checked
the fluids. Oil was clean - and only oily. Coolant reservoir was
overfull and also oily. Radiator, on the other hand, was not full.
Needing to leave right away, I topped it off with water. Hard to say
how much, since it was from a garden hose, but I would guess about 2
cups of H20.

Picked her up, stopped for gas at about 100 miles. Checked the
coolant reservoir - looked the same, but I dipped a bunch of shop
towels in to collect the oil floating on the surface of the reservoir
(about 1/8 inch). Now the coolant looked scuzzy, but green on the
surface. Continued driving. About a mile from destination,
temperature needle stood straight up. I coasted into my parent's
driveway in a cloud of steam.

Looked in the reservoir - now it is entirely full to the point of
overflowing - haven't opened the radiator cap yet, but it was cool to
the touch. Water return hose (top passenger side of radiator) was
hot. Coolant still appears to be clean(ish) - no layer of oil - just
flecks that the shop towels didn't pick up.


I have a mechanic at home I trust - back home in Seattle. We are 250
miles away, and are supposed to get on a plane from Seattle the day
after Christmas - Can I safely drive it 250 miles without major
mechanical work being performed? I can probably get a rad flush on
the 24th, but probably not anything more extensive than that. Should
I send wife and daughter home on the train and wait for a Head gasket
change?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Adam

Hi,
What temp. is showing on the dash? If it does not show sign of over
heating it may be OK to drive.

 

[Roger Buttsnort]

Hi,
What temp. is showing on the dash? If it does not show sign of over
heating it may be OK to drive.

Ok to drive??
Are you fucking crazy?
Look ding-a-ling....if there is oil in the coolant, there is coolant in the
oil! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize this will destroy the
engine.
At the very least this will overheat the engine and destroy the heads. Be
prepared for spun bearings,scored cams,and shit everywhere inside the
engine.
By all means DO drive it home!
If you have no common sense, (you don't) be prepared to buy a complete
engine if/when you get home. I can't imagine you are really this stupid...

Here is some SMART advise......
Bring it home on a hook or flatbed. get it to a good mechanic and have it
diagnosed properly. You know damn good and well it's a blown headgasket.
Or drive it home. If your lucky it will catch fire and you will collect the
insurance. When you destroy the engine the insurance company won't pay off.

Happy Holidays!

 

[Tony Hwang]

Ok to drive??
Are you fucking crazy?
Look ding-a-ling....if there is oil in the coolant, there is coolant in the
oil! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize this will destroy the
engine.
At the very least this will overheat the engine and destroy the heads. Be

Yup, over heating is key word here. What did I say?
Also I said maybe....(depending how far and how fast using common sense)
Once I drove an old car with hole in the oil pan. Keep pouring oil in, I
drove 700 miles. Used lots of oil but made it.

 

[Adam]

Ok to drive??
Are you fucking crazy?
Look ding-a-ling....if there is oil in the coolant, there is coolant in the
oil! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize this will destroy the
engine.

If I was absolutely sure that the oily layer was engine oil that had
leaked into the coolant, I would be as self-assured (though possibly
not as excited) as you are. I don't know though, if the monkeys at
Jiffy Lube didn't pour a half-cup into the wrong reservoir before
noticing and didn't notify me. Unlikely, I know, but possible.

Obviously, if it is a head gasket failure, I am not going to drive it.


You sound quite convinced that it /is/ a head gasket. I will take
that under advisement.

 

[Adam]

Yup, over heating is key word here. What did I say?
Also I said maybe....(depending how far and how fast using common sense)
Once I drove an old car with hole in the oil pan. Keep pouring oil in, I
drove 700 miles. Used lots of oil but made it.

I had a similar experience with an international rambler (lost the
sump pan completely, in fact) I suspect that the Subaru engine would
be substantially less tolerant.

 

[ziggy99]

Had water in the oil on a Nissin 200B way back when; leaking head
gasket.

Ran it for quite a while before twigging.

No drama.

Negligible oil consumption when sorted.

 

[johninKY]

Adam,
Don't attempt it. But if you do or even if you don't, I'd like to see a
follow up in the near future. More good advice can be gotten at
www.ultimatesubaru.org. May even find someone there locally that can give
you a hand.

 

[QX]

I have a mechanic at home I trust - back home in Seattle. We are 250
miles away, and are supposed to get on a plane from Seattle the day
after Christmas - Can I safely drive it 250 miles without major
mechanical work being performed? I can probably get a rad flush on
the 24th, but probably not anything more extensive than that. Should
I send wife and daughter home on the train and wait for a Head gasket
change?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Adam

Go to a local U-Haul, and rent a truck and an auto trailer/carrier.
Transport your Subie home and drop it off at your mechanics shop. Get
a 4 wheel carrier if you don't want to disable the AWD.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I think many of us have "limped home" w/ engines that have suffered
serious damage. I know I have... but they "came apart" completely once
they got there. Damage levels ran from "install new head gasket" to
"scrap it and drop in a new long block."

I don't know what level of damage has occurred w/ your Subie, but since
you know you've been losing coolant and the gauge did "stand up
straight" already, I'd say w/ luck, you might be able to get away w/
just surfacing the heads and replacing HGs right now. However, if you go
ahead and drive it home another 250 miles, even slowly and carefully,
you're tempting fate, at unknown cost to your pocketbook.

The trailer/U-haul idea will probably save you some money in the long
run. Best of luck!

Rick

 

[John Varela]

Hi,
What temp. is showing on the dash? If it does not show sign of over
heating it may be OK to drive.

He said that in addition to the oil in the coolant, the needle was straight
up and the engine produced a cloud of steam.

I agree with Roger; those symptoms are sufficient for a diagnosis.

 

[Adam]

Hi,

I think many of us have "limped home" w/ engines that have suffered
serious damage. I know I have... but they "came apart" completely once
they got there. Damage levels ran from "install new head gasket" to
"scrap it and drop in a new long block."

I don't know what level of damage has occurred w/ your Subie, but since
you know you've been losing coolant and the gauge did "stand up
straight" already, I'd say w/ luck, you might be able to get away w/
just surfacing the heads and replacing HGs right now. However, if you go
ahead and drive it home another 250 miles, even slowly and carefully,
you're tempting fate, at unknown cost to your pocketbook.

The trailer/U-haul idea will probably save you some money in the long
run. Best of luck!

Rick

Just came back from Uhaul - had to get the 14 footer because we need
three seatbelts - this thing is going to drink down a ton of gas!

Thanks to everyone who responded.

 

[kaboom]

Just came back from Uhaul - had to get the 14 footer because we need
three seatbelts - this thing is going to drink down a ton of gas!

Thanks to everyone who responded.

**When I moved from MI to CT, I drove a 16-foot Penske with a full car
carrier for my Impreza. My possessions barely covered the floor of the
van but I had to get the larger van in order to haul the car. It got
about 10 miles to the gallon and I heard that that was pretty good

kaboomie

 

[Roger Buttsnort]

Hi,

I think many of us have "limped home" w/ engines that have suffered
serious damage. I know I have... but they "came apart" completely once
they got there. Damage levels ran from "install new head gasket" to
"scrap it and drop in a new long block."

I don't know what level of damage has occurred w/ your Subie, but since
you know you've been losing coolant and the gauge did "stand up
straight" already, I'd say w/ luck, you might be able to get away w/
just surfacing the heads and replacing HGs right now. However, if you go
ahead and drive it home another 250 miles, even slowly and carefully,
you're tempting fate, at unknown cost to your pocketbook.

The trailer/U-haul idea will probably save you some money in the long
run. Best of luck!

Rick

Just came back from Uhaul - had to get the 14 footer because we need
three seatbelts - this thing is going to drink down a ton of gas!

Thanks to everyone who responded.

Very smart move. The gas you burn will be a LOT cheaper than the cost of a
longblock, labor and downtime.
Headgaskets can be done IN the vehicle (its tough on the old body)....

 

[uccoskun]

Just came back from Uhaul - had to get the 14 footer because we need
three seatbelts - this thing is going to drink down a ton of gas!

Thanks to everyone who responded.

10 mile/gallon=25 gallons=75Dollars +200 (?)rental i guess. good
investment considering they will charge you 2500 to change head
gasket, (at least no engine from junk yard for 1000 more.)

 

[uccoskun]

10 mile/gallon=25 gallons=75Dollars +200 (?)rental i guess. good
investment considering they will charge you 2500 to change head
gasket, (at least no engine from junk yard for 1000 more.)

if you drive through snowy icy roads be extra careful because yoru car
will be pushing you out of road when you try to stop.