Coolant in Oil? HELP

[Kyle J]

hey guys i have a 97 7.3 with 170k on it, the past 2 days after sitting all night there has been a puddle of fluid that looks like oily coolant and smells like coolant. my oil pan leaks from the front of the motor and looks like its right underneith the puddle. coolant bottle looks clean, there no other leaks that i have seen. my coolant cap hisses a bit when the trucks shut off like a small leak not sure if that has anything to do with it. any ideas guys.

injector cups?
head gasket?
oil cooler?
cavitation?

[RoadScholar]

Hope someone answers I have a similar problem. Coolant entering oil. I have replaced the oil cooler after having oil in coolant. Now I am told that the block has a hole in it somewhere that is letting coolant into the oil.

[backwoodsboy]

To the OP, is there oil in the coolant reservoir, or is the oily coolant a puddle underneath the truck?
Statistically speaking i would say, oil cooler, injector cups, head gasket, cavitation, in that order.
Oil cooler and injector cup failure are far more common than the other two possibilities. Head gasket failures are rare on the 7.3 unless you are pushing big boost numbers or the engine has been severely overheated. Cavitation between oil and coolant passages is also uncommon.

[Kyle J]

well i dont have oil in my coolant bottle but there seems to be coolant in my oil leaking out of the front of my oil pan. oil cooler looks dry, water pump looks dry, oil level dose seem so be a little higher and coolant seems to go down a tad. im stumped. from what i have been reading it can only be a few things.

cracked block
oil cooler
head gasket
cavitation
injector cups?

[444 ci]

its not injector cups because there would be diesel in your oil instead of coolent. mine had a bad oil cooler and i had oil in my antifreeze tank.

[BigFuel]

Originally Posted by backwoodsboy

To the OP, is there oil in the coolant reservoir, or is the oily coolant a puddle underneath the truck?
Statistically speaking i would say, oil cooler, injector cups, head gasket, cavitation, in that order.
Oil cooler and injector cup failure are far more common than the other two possibilities. Head gasket failures are rare on the 7.3 unless you are pushing big boost numbers or the engine has been severely overheated. Cavitation between oil and coolant passages is also uncommon.

Don't forget the weep port on the water pump itself. This would be a light leak that dribbles down the front of the motor and can mix with your other oil leak before hitting the ground. If it is weeping then time for a new water pump.

Originally Posted by 444 ci

its not injector cups because there would be diesel in your oil instead of coolent. mine had a bad oil cooler and i had oil in my antifreeze tank.

Not always, my cousin's 7.3l had tiny cracks in the cups that allowed oil to enter the cooling system. What you are describing above is not cup failure but o-ring failure.