Hi All,

I keep seeing a film of motor oil in my radiator. I have replaced the head gasket, had the radiator re-cored and just today I took the car out and there was a considerable amount of oil floating to the top of the radiator.

I also notice a white foamy film on the inside of the radiator cap after driving the car.

I realize it could be a few different things wrong but I'm leaning towards this thing (please see yellow arrow in picture).

I don't know what this thing is but I do know it has both motor oil and antifreeze flowing through it. I'm guessing it's either an oil warmer for cold climates or an oil cooler ... 50/50 chance ... lol ...

I would appreciate hearing your thoughts and past experiences and hopefully resolutions to this matter.

Thank you in advance,
Crin

Attach file:

---

  (83.07 KB)

Your arrow is pointing at your oil cooler (heat exchanger) which is in series with the full flow filter; most likely the core has a leak and as the oil pressure is higher than the coolant pressure, your crankcase oil is entering the coolant flow. Not an uncommon problem as these cars have reached old age.

Looks like the oil cooler on your '36 Eight Sedan has probably sprung a leak. Need to disassemble it, messy job, to locate the leak. Hopefully only a gasket failure.
and a question. What is the signifigance of the photo in your Registry Entry?

Edit - O_D, too quick off the mark for me!

Thank you for the quick response. Now for the silly question, how do I fix it? When you say the core has a leak - do you mean the oil cooler itself? Do I need to start searching for a replacement?

Thank you,
Crin

Hi,
I forgot what my photo is on my registry entry - how can I check it?
THanks,
Crin

Oh ... that's Bender from Futurama - always looking for the "angle". Being a Romanian Jew I always get teased that I'm always looking for the angle (as in "what's in it for me") ... just like Bender ... lol ... gotta love it. If I had a dollar for every time I was called a Gypsy ... I would own my dream-Packard.

Thank you all - much appreciated. I now recall that I was having a little trouble with that oil cooler gasket a while back and kinda blew it off. Lesson learned.

Assuming it's the core (like a hot water heater core but built to handle much higher pressures) and not just a gasket, evaluate it the same as you would a heater core. Pressurize it with air, put it under water, and the bubbles will lead you to the leak. Repair or replace, or machine a bypass to take the place of the core, still allowing the filter to function.

This isn't a new topic here, use the search function and you'll find more information.

Thank you sir. Much obliged.

Quote:That explains it, Didn't think it looked like a Packard!