1996 12v cummins oil issue
 

i have just found traces of grey milky fluids in my radiator (antifreeze and oil mixing) but in the recovery tank there is black engine oil not mixed yet with the antifreeze. There is not a lot like before but anuff to worry me. what should i try to do before i tear the head off and change the head gasket. Im thinking about studing the head as well. what do you guys thing

I know on the side of the engine behind the injection pump there is a long rectangle gasket were there are four or five bolts have O-rings and are leaking. I was wondering since you have to remove the injection pump to replace it could that have something to do with not only a outside leak but a internal leak as well.

I think you are referring to the Tapped cover along the drivers side of the block behind the Pump. If that is leaking yes you need to remove the pump, however that would not lead to the internal exchange of fluids. If oil and coolant are trading places, you should be looking at the head gasket for sure. Short of another internal failure (cracked water passage etc) there isn't really another reason for oil and coolant to exchange. If it is totally black oil in the overflow, are you dealing with a prankster that is trying to make you think that you have a bad HG?

yes tapped cover didnt know what to call it. No, i know my engine and discovered all of this myself the big issue is that i just rebuilt this engine it has 182k on it and i put a brand new head,head gasket,rebuilt my injectors,and everything i made sure the stock head bolts were torque to correct specs and that the head and block were completly flat. There is no reason for a blown head gasket idk whats wrong i baby this fucking truck

Did you retorque the head Boltz again after a break in period? The pure black oil in the overflow is what has me. That is why I wonder if someone is messing with you. Have you checked the oil to see if it is going both ways or just oil in the antifreeze?

i saw completely black oil in the recovery tank with the antifreeze and grey from it mixing in the radiator. there seems to be no water in the oil i just did a oil filter and oil change about 800 miles ago and the oil level hasn't moved at all. I am wondering about the oil cooler i did everything besides the oil cooler. The new engine has never gone over 190 degrees i know forsure because i am the only driver of it and am a gauge hawk.

If no oil is missing and there is no sign of coolant in the oil than I have to say someone is messing with you and put oil in your rad overflow. There has to be oil missing or it has to have been replaced with coolant for it to now be appearing in the rad and overflow. Logically oil cannot be in the coolant if it has not left the engine so the oil should be low in proportion to the amount found in the rad.

before when this happened with the old engine there was oil loss and the oil was in the coolant mabye the head gasket is starting to slowly seep idk but im going to put a new oil cooler in it and flush the system see what that does.

Good starting point

did a flush no oil inside the block or radiator all most at all but i put a new oil cooler in just for the hell of it since i had one (other one wasn't leaking) let it warm up and thermostat open and there oil in it i checked my head bolts no broken ones trucks never been over heated idk whats up curse of the black beast

There are only 2 reasons for oil in coolant, most prominate is the oil cooler , the other is the HG, and its real unlikley the HG , you would know if it were leaking as they usually run ruff, smoke (steam), and or oil in coolant and or coolant in oil ( which if you get coolant in your oil you will need to rool in new bearings at the least ... as coolant contimination will wipe them out real fast)... Drive it a bit and report back, this may take a bit to determine if it is infact fixed..

sounds like oil cooler was leaking. If so cooling system is hard to clean. I've been through this a couple times. Had good success desolving Tide laundry detergent in a bucket of warm water then dumping in cooling system with thermostat removed and let run for an hour or so.

No doubt it was the oil cooler, and like brassmonkey said, you will need to get the cooling system cleaned before drawing any conclusions. I would do the laundry detergent run-flush-run-flush at least three times then run it with just water for a couple days to make sure before putting any antifreeze/coolant back in.

just flushed the system and put new oil cooler in. The first time the thermostat open a bunch of oil came in. Idk what to do im in the middle of tearing the engine out now and working the baby over better gasket,studding the head and stuff. One more thing all of a sudden with this oil in anti-freeze i have a lot of blow by out of no were engine only has 182k

Or your tore a O-ring on the install and thats where the oil is comming from ( I have done it a few times to my self )....

Some blowbye is to be expected - Just how much are ya talking ??? little or is it puffing quite a bit ?

constant cloud bro

Yeah, also might think about the turbo compressor side, I have done Manny Caterpillar C15 and Accert engines when it was a bad turbo that was compressing air through the oil return line ... Way cheaper to kick a turbo off and slap on one that will do till u can gets performance upgrade.... My $.02

ya i know the hx35s are pretty tough but over 300,000 miles on it running 35psi for most of those miles im sure its a little tired

Could be part if not the entire issue ... done it on a S60 recently ... then we found fuel in coolant ... ok now its toast ..LOL cracked injetor cups .. time for a new head ... oh man scored cylinders .. ok now time for a full build ... LOL i hate the slow moving train wrecks ... Plan for the worst , be happy with anything better than that ... LOL

haha ya i know what you mean

Hope your able to get er done for less coin than the S60 guy .. LOL.. $$$$$$ gonna be about 15K for a good running core and install ...

haha no worrys i will i do all the work myself with one of the best mechanics.

I dont know you ... ( im one of the best ..LOL) jk .... lol

Wish i could just travel and help guys BOMB thier trucks for a living ... That would be awesome !!!!

haha, long ways away. I do have a quick question tho with the 12mm studs and thicker special head gasket made would i be able to safely run a daily driven 42 or 45psi of boost threw a 63mm bd-turbo saftly without worrys of blowing gasket or lifting head.

No need for a "thicker HG" .. stock Cummins will be just fine ... 40-45psi will be fine ...
Before you go running the CHIT out of it though, make sure you drive it around after the HG and stud install, then let it cool... then do a re-torque...

Run for a week or two then do it again , then you should be able to romp on it easily ...( this is all just preventitive to ensure the head and the studs are all good and sinched down good ..) ... ofd course , not doin a re-torque , will kill it fast...

Also make sure you get your rocker pedistals .200" @ the bolt hole ...

i never beat my truck iv had it about 4 years and only had it to the floor 4 times mabye. I already got my pedistals milled down did that myself thicker head gasket wont do any harm i think tho

it could lower your comp ratio, and cause a poor spray petter in you bolw's in the piston ... SO yeah it could be bad unless you lower your injectors in the hole at least that much ..

if you go .010 over on the HG your gonna need to lower the injector that much to make up the differtence ... other wise your gonna end up hot and smokey ... Thats what was explained to me By DDP when I asked the exact same thing ...

just got the head off the truck finally man, i don't see were the HG even looks blown, the head is completely flat no cracks, and the block is flat. only issue i found was my marine injectors weren't staying correctly and there was bad carbon took a couple hours to clean everything.The pistons and walls look good, smooth, and solid no blueing front being hot or anything.

Get the head decked either way ... .009" is a long ways out , no way to know by the eye.... money ahead if you dont get it decked and correct

ill let you know how everything turns out once i get the truck all done thanks everyone for all the help

No Problem .. cant wait ..




















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