Oil in coolant but not coolant in oil on '88 Audi 80 4 cyl. auto. Suggestions?

4N 4RING · 05-01-2012, 09:48 AM

In 01/12 my daughter's car had the engine replaced with an 85 kmi engine which was sitting 5-6 years; all accessible gaskets were replaced. I put already $1600 in the car: brakes, muffler, seals, fuel pump. Now, it gets oil in coolant, 1 oz maybe. The oil level little low. Car runs fine, starts, no blue smoke, has power.
Before changing the head gasket, I like to know:
1. Could the oil cooler be the culprit (a seal inside which could crack)?
2. Any other "easy to fix" locations.
3. Other cars forums suggest the intake manifold gasket failure. I do not see oil and coolant lines there.
3. Any estimation for engine rebuilt indi. cost?

ezveedub · 05-01-2012, 10:23 AM

If it has an oil-to-water oil cooler, say on the oil filter housing where the oil filter is mounted to, replace that as the suspected cause. The engine oil pressure is higher than the coolant pressure and will most likely transfer into the cooling system when the engine is running.

egp320i · 05-02-2012, 05:40 AM

The 88 does have a oil cooler. If the seal breaks it will leak oil but not into the coolant, for that to happen internally the channels that direct the coolant over the fins would need to break.
I replaced mine a few years ago as one of the intake necks broke through and I was leaking coolant.
I bought it from AZ for maybe $60.

It could be the reason, maybe not. At 22 years old, if acidic coolant has been sitting in it as you mentioned the car sat for a few years it might be time to replace it.

The aluminum is thin at the necks, if it were to break you would lose coolant quite fast if you were driving.

Eliminate that chance from happening.

Replace the O-ring as well, after 10 years they harden and are no longer round but flat,BTDT.

05-02-2012, 05:40 AM	#3
egp320i AudiWorld Super User 1994 Audi 90 My Garage Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: E.Idaho Posts: 4,373	The 88 does have a oil cooler. If the seal breaks it will leak oil but not into the coolant, for that to happen internally the channels that direct the coolant over the fins would need to break. I replaced mine a few years ago as one of the intake necks broke through and I was leaking coolant. I bought it from AZ for maybe $60. It could be the reason, maybe not. At 22 years old, if acidic coolant has been sitting in it as you mentioned the car sat for a few years it might be time to replace it. The aluminum is thin at the necks, if it were to break you would lose coolant quite fast if you were driving. Eliminate that chance from happening. Replace the O-ring as well, after 10 years they harden and are no longer round but flat,BTDT. __________________

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05-01-2012, 10:23 AM	#2
ezveedub AudiWorld Senior Member 2012 Audi Q5 My Garage Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 812	If it has an oil-to-water oil cooler, say on the oil filter housing where the oil filter is mounted to, replace that as the suspected cause. The engine oil pressure is higher than the coolant pressure and will most likely transfer into the cooling system when the engine is running.