The infamous chocolate milk...

[murphy17]

Okay, so today I decide to check my oil level, as it had been maybe..1,000 miles since i'd done so, oil level is okay, but at the very end of the max line i see a little bit of the infamous, chocolate milk looking stuff, not alot. So i wipe it off, and try again, and this time there seems to be no more. So i check the oil cap, none on there, and nothing frothy or bubbly either. So my question is, is this a sign of a blown head gasket? Or is it possibly that since i drive a short distance to/from work everyday (1 mile) that this is a result of that? I have heard that short trips can also cause this.. something about condensation mixing with the oil? Thanks in advance..

[salz2135]

it's possible that you need to replace your head gasket.

do you have any oil in your coolant expansion tank?

[A4Sam2.8]

yeah i found some the other day, my father, an antique airplane mechanic assured me that the whiteish/ milk-like/ melted plastic looking stuff is just condensation. its had been rainy the past few days. It has gone away since it has been dryer here.

[audiFUEGO]

how involved is replacing head gasket and VC gasket?

[salz2135]

notice any change in the way your exhaust smells? notice any color changes in your exhaust?

if there is in fact oil mixed with coolant in your expansion tank then your oil cooler gasket is leaking and should be replaced or your head gasket may need replacing.

BTW how many miles do you have on the motor?

[salz2135]

how involved is replacing head gasket and VC gasket?

R&R for the VC gasket is not hard at all. You just need to remove the VC itself, remove the old gasket, clean mating surface and any old RTV off, put on new gasket, RTV severe bends, torque down valve cover.

The head gasket will be more involved since you need to remove the cylinder head.

[audiFUEGO]

R&R for the VC gasket is not hard at all. You just need to remove the VC itself, remove the old gasket, clean mating surface and any old RTV off, put on new gasket, RTV severe bends, torque down valve cover.

The head gasket will be more involved since you need to remove the cylinder head.

You'd need to remove the timing belt in order to get the VC off, right?

[murphy17]

I haven't noticed any changes in the exaust smell/color at all, car drives the same, no problems other than I know i need to replace the coolant temp sensor, could it be causing this or contributing? Also there is no oil that I can see in the coolant expansion tank, it is still pink, what color would i be looking for in there? By the way it is a 2.8 with 127,000 on it.

[MikeWasHere05]

Couldn't it also be the oil cooler? Mixing the coolant with the oil...

[Just Quaff]

The airplane mechanic is right. My buddy replaced his tranny on his car and when we drained the fluid on the old one we noticed the "chocolate milk" coming out. We spoke to a few mechanics about it and did some research and its simply condensation interacting with the oil lubricants compound or something to that effect. However, it isn't a good thing. This means that when moisture is present you are getting it in your system, which shouldn't happen. You have a leak somewhere. That could be the gasket that salz mentioned.

[salz2135]

Couldn't it also be the oil cooler? Mixing the coolant with the oil...

yes...which is why I mentioned it previously. people usually just jump to the conclusion that it's the head gasket. the oil cooler issue is a much cheaper problem to fix.

[salz2135]

You'd need to remove the timing belt in order to get the VC off, right?

negative. timing belt cover only.

[ILoveT]

You'd need to remove the timing belt in order to get the VC off, right?

No

[murphy17]

ok so i just took it for a drive and noticed that there is a slight burning coolant smell coming from the engine, or it could be in my head. in this case its probably either the oil cooler or the head gasket, but i'm thinking the head gasket is a lot more labor than the oil cooler, so how do i check to see which one it really is?

[salz2135]

well if there is no oil in the expansion tank as you mentioned, you can top off the coolant level and monitor whether or not their is significant consumption.

compression tests can also help indicate if there is an issue with head gasket(s).

[audiness]

could be oil cooler too!

[salz2135]

could be oil cooler too!

I hope you're joking.

[AudiA4_20T]

Hey ok, when my oil cooler went... My oil seemed to be a bit liquidy, but my coolant was pure pink, no signs of oil in it. This is because the coolant system has more pressure than the oil system, so therefore the coolant was getting pushed into the oil, and not the other way around, which is what would happen if you had a bad HG

[B7A4AWD]

I would say do a compression test on each cylinder and see where your at from that point.

[murphy17]

ok so what are we lookin at cost wise for a new oil cooler, and how much labor?

[murphy17]

and what color would the coolant be if oil was mixing with it?

[MikeWasHere05]

ok so what are we lookin at cost wise for a new oil cooler, and how much labor?

I believe with a new cooler, gaskets, coolant and oil you'll probably be looking at maybe $125 in parts. Figure 2-3 hours of labor into that, get a local shops price. From what I understand DIY isn't too difficult:

B5 A4: Oil Cooler DIY
B5 A4: How to flush your coolant.

[MikeWasHere05]

and what color would the coolant be if oil was mixing with it?

Majority of the time it'll turn to a "chocolate milk" color, like you're describing. It also stains the coolant reservoir a nasty poo brown . If that bothers you you'll need to drop another $30 on a new reservoir as well. I believe the B6 one works and looks nicer/different, but double check that before you spend any dough.

[prey]

So wat man, the cars making you milkshakes, don't complain.