Questions and Answers

Chevy Lumina Coolant In The Oil Q. Dear Vince, Here is my situation: I was driving the car and the low coolant light came on. I topped up the coolant and had to bleed the air out of the system, and noticed that the oil was milky. I changed the oil and parked the car. The lifters were a little noisy but I hope that goes away once the fresh oil circulates. There are no external leaks.

From what I have read on the web, it is the lower intake manifold gasket. Is there anything else I should check for before tearing the motor apart? I am a pretty good DIY mechanic. Is this something I should leave up to a dealer? I probably need to buy the GM manual for the car, but I was wondering if you could quickly outline the scope of the job. Do the lifters need to be removed? Should I use an engine flush to get rid of the milky residue? Your advice is appreciated.

• 1995 Chevrolet Lumina Sedan
• 3.1 Liter V-6
• Automatic Transmission
• 165,000 miles
• Fuel Injected
• ABS
• P/S, A/C and Cruise Control
• Power Rack and Pinion Steering

Thanks,
Brian

A. It could be the intake gasket or a head gasket. A pressure test with all plugs removed may help here. If any coolant comes out of a particular cylinder, I would suspect a bad head gasket. The lifters do not need to be removed to do the intake gasket, but all the rocker arms need to come off. Sometimes coolant in the oil will cause main and rod bearing rapid wear. If it hasn't be driven to long or too hard it may survive with just the gasket and oil change.