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Old 03-23-2015, 07:43 PM   #1
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Year: 1993
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Coolant sludge in the oil. Am I screwed?

Just bought this bus from a school bus garage last Wednesday. 1993 International Navistar DT360. Looking at the maintenance record I see there was indication of coolant in the oil... in 2011... 13,000 miles before the bus was decommissioned. Called the bus garage back today, they said they'd try to find newer records but that it would have had to have been fixed for them to have run it for that long.

There's lots of coolant sludge on the dipstick. We've not gotten it up to operating temp since the original drive home, though, so could be water vapor from that. I can't feel any coolant finger deep in the coolant reservoir. We've not gotten it up to operating temp since the original drive home, though, so could be water vapor from that. Can't see any other way to check it either. Did I just waste $3000?

Kinda ticked cause the bus garage guy said there were no known issues.

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Old 03-23-2015, 10:31 PM   #2
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Open the drain plug and let just a little out. Water and antifreeze will come out first.
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Old 03-24-2015, 05:43 AM   #3
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no known issues but there was a oil analysis showing there were known issues. go back to the seller and get your money back!
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Old 03-24-2015, 06:09 AM   #4
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You may be able to get your money back.
But usually they have you sign a waiver clearing them of any liability for pretty much anything. As-is-where-is type of wording.
Best of luck. It may not be as bad as you think. Stay positive!
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Old 03-24-2015, 06:24 AM   #5
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Drain out some oil and get your own oil analysis done.
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Old 03-28-2015, 10:14 AM   #6
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No luck with a trade. Guy straight up lied to my face. They definitely knew about the problem. I called the oil analysis place and they said there was another analysis done a year later with the same result. So it's been running for 13,000 miles with this problem. We did a coolant pressure check which has a drop from 10psi to 8psi in 15 minutes, but we could hear air hissing from the radiator hose before it even got in there, so we're taking off the oil pan today to see if we can actually see it leaking anywhere.
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Old 03-28-2015, 10:38 AM   #7
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I'm not sure. but I think those engines have wet sleeve cylinders, and the "O" rings can leak causing coolant to enter the oil, I know the 466 is wetsleeve.
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Old 03-28-2015, 08:44 PM   #8
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Good news, I think. We drained the oil and did another pressure test today after tightening the radiator hose. No loss of pressure. Also the oil looked fine, no sludge, and only about a teaspoon or so of water droplets came out of the very bottom as soon as we started draining it. Saw no coolant at all in there. Did another pressure test after it was drained and left the oil pan plug out. Nothing came out and no loss of pressure! Should I take this as "we don't need to fix anything" news? Tomorrow I'm gonna run a diesel oil mix for a while to clean it out, then drain and test while it's hot in case heat expansion shows any more leaks.
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Old 03-29-2015, 06:20 AM   #9
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Put oil back in and run her, at this point there is no issue

As to there being coolant in the oil, how much was it measured in ppm?

If you drove it home, and around town and let it run, pressurized system(although cold, not sure how much parts would have expanded warm) and no indications of leak, run it

And like has been said, wet sleeve engine so it can be fixed if just o-ring or gasket

Good luck
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Old 03-29-2015, 07:08 AM   #10
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Change the oil in the filters! Don't forget this step if you run the diesel mix and then change to straight oil. Also, it will eliminate the little water/ oil mix that has traveled to the filters.
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Old 03-29-2015, 07:16 AM   #11
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could have been condensate. could have beena leak from pressure loss after the engine warms. hoping it was just condensate! lots of starts and short trips will do that. after oil change, drive / run her till she gets to operating temp (above 170) for several minutes.
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Old 03-30-2015, 10:04 PM   #12
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Today we put a gallon of the old oil back in with some engine flush and ran it for five minutes. Drained it off from the oil pan.... No sign of anything in the oil. Then changed the oil filters and put a gallon of fresh oil in, ran the engine for half an hour up to 170/180 degrees with the pressure test on. No change of pressure. Let the oil cool and settle and drained it off. No sign of anything in it!!!! Filled her up, and we're just gonna say that's that and keep a good eye on it. No sign of anymore gunk on the dipstick either.

In celebration, I took out all of the bus seats! 1 hr per seat by hand, or 1 hr per 20 seats with air wrench. Lesson learned; the pneumatic wrench is my best friend.
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Old 03-31-2015, 07:27 AM   #13
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Congratulations!! That is great news!
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Old 03-31-2015, 09:24 AM   #14
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Let the compressor do the work, saves your arms and time.

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Old 06-16-2015, 06:59 AM   #15
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I know from yrs of running synth inc oils that they had additives that will show up as coolant in testing. But as already stated if the ppm is low I just ignored it. But oil analyses is only worth anything if you have a track record, so analyse it for the next few oil changes and then it's worth something , you have done the proper steps to make certain the coolant isn't there. Another thing to consider is in my area mechanics that can't get jobs go to work for the school district they will hire any one with a tool box that can pass background checks and drug test. So I'm not certain you should put much faith in what they say.
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Old 08-06-2015, 04:36 PM   #16
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Well here's an update: today we finally got our insurance and plates!!! And then driving home from the inspection shop a mile from my house, the engine overheated all the way, the oil/coolant alarm went off, pulled it in the drive and all of the coolant is in the oil pan. UGH.
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Old 08-07-2015, 09:46 AM   #17
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That sucks man. I had a feeling you were going to have problems. Most places don't go two oil analysis with coolant present and then sell the bus if it was something simple to repair. Good luck with it!
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Old 08-07-2015, 11:18 AM   #18
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I'm most irritated though because typically when a school bus is sold from a school district in NC they put on the listing if something's wrong with it. Water in oil, leaking gasket, rust, etc. Then they discount the bus by at least $500. I'd have been at least a bit more happy about the situation if they would have refunded me the $500.
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A gal, a guy, three cats, two dogs, one rabbit, and one goat, traveling the country together.
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Old 08-07-2015, 04:02 PM   #19
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Old 08-07-2015, 04:04 PM   #20
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I see these goat lovers having the gumption and tenacity to do that!
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