Is it possible for oil to leak into the radiator? If so, what is happening inside the engine? And is there anything short of getting a new engine I can do?

 

Many times oil in radiator is due to a leaky transmission oil cooler which is inside the radiator. What car, year,engine???

 

1998 v6 3.8l 5 speed manual

 

maybe head gasket..

 

osduck had the same problem maybe pm him and see what it was. seemed to me it was a head gasket but could be wrong.

 

And make sure you really got oyl, and not that brown stop leak gook that a previous owner could have put in.
The two taste way different!

 

If your oil is clean its most likey something that just looks like engine oil. The factory orange coolant will become like a brown mud if it is not serviced .

For oil to get into the coolant and no coolant into the oil you would have to have a hair line crack in the block that was just enough to allow oil under 40 PSI thru but not let 15 PSI of coolant back thru once the motor is turn off.

Our cars have no oil pressure going thru the heads so a head gasket is unlikely unless your oil looks like a milkshake.

 

Let us know when you find out what the problem was..? thanks

 

When I got mine, the previous owners never serviced the coolant, and it was dark brown and nasty. It looked a lot like used motor oil and it smelled horrible.

I completely flushed out my coolant system and added fresh coolant, problem solved.

 

Does it have white smoke continously coming out of your exhaust pipes ! If so it is a blown head gasket. Cracked head can be diagnosed with a detection kit from parts store. Oil in coolant is not a good sign, could be either, do you know if has overheated ? The red coolant does look bad when old, does it smell and feel like oil ?