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? Regarding OBDII reader's & weather they can detect my problem.


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Tidbit96
New User

Sep 8, 2019, 11:41 AM

Post #1 of 5 (1523 views)
? Regarding OBDII reader's & weather they can detect my problem. Sign In

 Ok, this ? is about a 2012 Dodge Avenger 3.6L V6. Just under 100k...bout 95k miles. This is a bit of a snowball of issues leading me to where I'm at now needing help w/ this?...So it begins few months ago, we took our car to get tuned up at our local garage b4 taking a 5hr(drive time) round trip the next day. Well unfortunately my Girl asked them to top off all the fluids & apparently they had hired a new kid that was unaware of the severe consequences of mixing 2 different coolants in a car. Ours uses a HOAT phosphate free type of coolant & I'm certain he probably mixed in at least half a gl.- 1 gl. of that universal all models coolant you commonly find at every convenient store. Well as our luck ALWAYS goes, we don't begin to notice the seriousness of the coolant mistake until AFTER we'd arrived at our destination, 2hrs 45min. from home. Unfortunately we weren't financially set at that time to afford to have a car towed that far... Since it was early March in KS after sundown we took our chances & limped it home pulling off every 15-20miles to let the motor cool....We tried to pull over & shut it off b4 the over heat warning ding sounded every time. Usually around the 3/4 mark on the temp gauge...However due to the fact we were on a narrow 2 lane hwy we had 2-3 times we were unable to find a safe spot to pull off in time b4 the overheating warning sounded but every time we were able to shut it off within 20-30 seconds of the warning ding.
Anyways after makin it home 9hrs later just as the sun broke the horizon, I began the long tedious job of flushin the peanutbutter like substance out of our coolant system, blowing all the gunk out of the heater core, as much as I possibly could that is. I've been wanting to fill it back up w/the correct coolant again however Everytime I run 1 more flush of all distilled water through it to finish cleaning out every last bit of gunk in it I find when I open the reservoir it looks almost like the same peanutbutter substance floating at the top again as if I have yet to flush it regardless of how many times I repeat the flush process... I'm concerned that I may have damaged the head gasket which is causing oil to leak into the coolant system which ends up resembling the original thick brown substance I had 1st began to flush out of the system....?
So if this is the case & I do have a shot head gasket... Will my OBDII reader register a code indicating a bad head gasket or is that something too miniscule for a sensor to be able to pick up & tell me about..... & If that is so, are there any signs, or are there any tricks any of you can teach me on how to for sure tell that it's a head gasket issue I'm dealing w/?
Sorry once again for the novel I'm a stickler for detail...But any help you guys can offer or any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for all the help & support I've received from you all so far at this forum!


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Sep 8, 2019, 12:23 PM

Post #2 of 5 (1519 views)
Re: ? Regarding OBDII reader's & weather they can detect my problem. Sign In

You're way off base here blaming the mix of coolants. You have something else wrong here that you haven't found yet, probably the reason it needed all that coolant added in the first place. Mixing universal coolant is not a problem at all.

It sounds like you have oil mixing with coolant for some reason and that's what you need to get to the bottom of. If it has an engine oil cooler, that would be highly suspect.

Here's a picture of your cooler





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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Sep 8, 2019, 1:42 PM

Post #3 of 5 (1514 views)
Re: ? Regarding OBDII reader's & weather they can detect my problem. Sign In

Ah - same - don't blame the mix itself of coolant types. Problem was lurking or you just drove it way too long ignoring a problem it had.
General: Check around yourself for the levels and condition before a quick trip of many hours not just rely on the "DING, DONG" Avon's Calling crap,


T



Tidbit96
New User

Sep 11, 2019, 2:23 AM

Post #4 of 5 (1480 views)
Re: ? Regarding OBDII reader's & weather they can detect my problem. Sign In

Hey thanks 🔨 time I really appreciate all the help you you've offered me. Just after only 2 different ?'s you've offered answers to both of them that ended up being 💯 times more informative & helpful than any other forum I've tried, Repairpal etc. etc...
However I do have just a quick follow-up ? Regarding your answer here as well as some information I accidentally failed to include in my original post... this engine oil cooler you mentioned, (PS, thanks for the pic that will help me a ton if I choose to dive into this issue by myself) but this is something I'm unfamiliar w/....So in your opinion this could more likely be the culprit rather than the head gasket, or in other words you'd recommend starting here then move through the list of possible suspects? That is a bit of weight off my chest for the time being since it seems it'd be much less labor intensive at least. Also the bit of info I forgot to include was that the main reason I was quite certain I've been seeing oil in the coolant wasn't just from the dark oily look in the coolant reservoir, but while flushing the system, just during the few running hrs the engine was put through during my nearly WEEKS long flushing experience, the low oil light ding 2 different times & both times I had to add between 1 to 1& 3/4 quarts to register on the dip stick... plus, even more concerning, when I opened the oil cap to add oil, both times I noticed a light peanut butter colored ring around the rim of the oil reservoir.... the same exact color as the coolant gunk I had been blowing out of the system for the last whole week. If this engine oil cooler broke or possibly had seals fail or something like that, could that be what's causing my oil/coolant mixing issue?
Thanks again so much for all the help hammer time. It's very greatly appreciated.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Sep 11, 2019, 4:22 AM

Post #5 of 5 (1469 views)
Re: ? Regarding OBDII reader's & weather they can detect my problem. Sign In

Yes, the engine oil cooler would be the number one suspect in this situation. If it were a head situation, it would likely have to be a cracked head and without past history of severe overheating, that is highly unlikely.

Now, fixing the leak is only half the problem. Getting all that oil out of the system will be difficult but it's very important that you do as that will highly restrict your cooling system.

When I get one of these I remove the thermostat, fill it with clear water and some liquid dishwashing soap. Run it until good and hot, flush and repeat. You may have to do this and many as 5 time before you get it clean. When you finish flushing with the soapy water, then flush it thoroughly with clear water to get all the soap out. Replace the thermostat and vacuum fill it with coolant.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.







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