I have a 2003 saturn l300 with a v6. I found Oil in the coolant. What could cause this?

Ok this is to everyone that has a saturn l3oo. i am currently working on one i have the whole top of the motor apart and the oil cooler has a crack in the tube. u need to get a new cooler or have someone make one for u so u dont have to go to a dealer for a cooler..hope this helps

Very good chance you have a head gasket problem.you need to go to a radiator repair place and ask for a pressure test.no cost only takes acouple of minutes ----- youdoit








most likely only takes a couple of minutes.

Hi,

An engine depends on coolant/antifreeze to help to stay cool. The engine generates heat from the continuous internal combustion process. Coolant and antifreeze are the same thing; manufacturers call it by different names. Coolant runs throughout the engine block, cylinder heads, intake manifold (Some applications), engine oil cooler (if equipped), hoses and the radiator. Pin pointing the cause of coolant in the oil can save you in repair costs and help you make a decision on performing these repairs. One of the biggest obstacles is to determine where the internal engine coolant leak is located. If coolant is present in the engine oil, engine failure is eminent. The engine cannot run with coolant in the oil system. Once coolant is discovered in the engine oil do not run the engine. To check if coolant is present in your engine's motor oil, remove the oil fill cap. Once the cap is removed turn the cap over, does it have a light gray or milky colored goo inside? If so, you probably have an internal engine coolant leak. We have listed many common causes below:

• Step 1 - If your car is equipped with an engine oil cooler that uses coolant to operate this would be a good place to start. Sometimes an engine oil cooler can act like a one way valve. When the engine is not running but is still hot the cooling system will have about 15 pounds residual pressure forcing coolant into the engine. The GM manufactured 3.0 v6 in Saturn and cadillac and VW products are prone to this problem. This problem can be repaired by replacing the engine oil cooler. Once the oil cooler has been replaced you must replace the engine oil and filter and recheck.
  
• Step 2 - Anytime you have coolant in the oil and it's not the oil cooler it means the engine must be disassembled to locate the failure. The next options are not so pretty. There are three remaining causes for coolant in the motor oil and all require engine disassembly. This can be tricky because the repair overlaps and it is difficult to tell which one is causing the problem. For example: A repair shop has told you the cylinder head is cracked, and as they start disassembly they can discover it was the intake manifold gasket that has failed. It's up to the honesty of the repair shop to inform the customer that the cost of the repair will be less. Or the opposite can happen, example: A repair shop has told your engine has a blown head gasket, once the disassembly is complete they inform you the head gasket is ok, and the cylinder has been pressure checked and is ok. This only leaves the engine block as the failure and must be replaced to repair the problem, and that can be very costly. Always check the intake gasket first on V6, V8 and V10 engines. Then the cylinder head gaskets, cylinder heads and finally the engine block.

This means a head gasket is breached however antifreeze detected in the oil is much worse. Look at your dip stick do you see any milky substance present if so anti freeze is in the oil also look on the inside or back side of the oil filler cap if any whitish or tan substance is present = blown head gasket

Oil in coolant indicative of a hesad gasket breach. Oil pressure is greater that cooling system pressure. It's a must fix immediately issue or rod and main brgs will suffer damage.