Oil in radiator

[gucu]

Good morning all

My wife just rang me to say she has put oil in the radiator. We haven't started the car yet! What's the best way forward please? She said it is only a small amount. The water looks rusty and I'm not sure of the condition of the radiator.

Thanks

Rich

[myoldjalopy]

Oh my! Well, as long as she didn't also put water in through the oil filler cap you should be alright! Just drain the rad and flush it through a bit before topping up again (don't forget the anti-freeze). If the water is looking rusty you might want to flush out the whole cooling system.

[Bill_qaz]

Fill with water and couple of scoops of washing powder let it soak then take of bottom hose and flush with hose pipe. Run up to temperature with plain water, drain again, then refill with normal antifreeze mix.

[geoberni]

If it's not too late to offer advice....

Assuming it was only a little before she realised... People's idea of a little can vary considerably

I would see if you can add a little more water to get it up to the top of the filler, then disconnect the top hose with a container under it.

That will hopefully drain the oil off the top without draining it all the way through the radiator and making the clean up harder...

Once you have a clear idea of how much went in, then you can see about flushing the system through...

[gucu]

Thank you to everyone who replied. Just finished draining and flushing and in a way I am glad it happened. The water is very rusty and having run it again it had oil in it. I checked the oil filler and found white creamy deposits. I think that means head gasket needs replacing? Can someone let me know please?

Just wished this hadn't happened on Christmas eve!

Rich

[myoldjalopy]

Not necessarily. Creamy deposits may just indicate short trips in colder weather. How does the car perform and sound?

[gucu]

Underpowered when 4 up - two teenage children, a wife and me.... Very rattly engine. Sounds loud. It slows badly going up hill and I need to drop down to 2nd every time. But I do live in Cornwall.

Having said that I still smile when driving it. It is fun.

[Bill_qaz]

I would recommend a compression test before going for head gasket.As said cold running short journeys can cause build up of deposit.
Is the performance a sudden drop off or always been like that?
Have you checked, valve clearances, air filter, plugs, points, timing etc

[svenedin]

Underpowered when 4 up - two teenage children, a wife and me.... Very rattly engine. Sounds loud. It slows badly going up hill and I need to drop down to 2nd every time. But I do live in Cornwall.

Having said that I still smile when driving it. It is fun.

Unless I missed it, you haven't said which engine your car has. None of standard engines are particularly powerful but the early side valve engines are obviously less powerful than the late 1098cc models.

If it is a 1098cc then that would have had 48 horsepower when new (at 5,100 rpm) and 60 Lbft torque (at 2,500 rpm). It is quite likely that some horses have been post over the years but even so with 4 in the car it is quite normal to change down to 2nd on a hill. I am sometimes in a situation where I nearly have to change down into 1st on very steep hills.

The rattling if from the front of the engine is most likely to be a worn timing chain.

A compression tester is not expensive to buy or you may be able to borrow one. If the compression is good and is consistent across the cylinders then you may find that a general service and tune up improves the performance.

Stephen

[myoldjalopy]

Good advice from Bill re compression test first. But, from what you have said it sounds like it may have been under-performing for a while. Which could be due to a lot of the things mentioned by Bill, but also general wear as suggested by your 'very rattly engine'. Rusty water in rad suggests possible previous neglect - we don't know how long you've had it - or what other 'servicing' your wife may have undertaken
Yes, lots of hills in Cornwall and some of them can challenge a Minor! But the gearing helps.
Whereabouts in Kernow are you? (I'm in Truro).
We also don't know what model you are driving, as pointed out by Stephen - if its a 'tired' 803cc model, it will be 'underpowered when 4 up'!

[gucu]

It's a 1964 1098. I bought it a couple of months ago and have needed to overhaul the ignition and fuel system. Up to now no other 'servicing'. Working through the car slowly. I don't think it has been shown a lot of neglect just not used. In 15 years it has done about 3000 miles in total. We have put well over 500 miles already. I would like to put a tow bar to it at some point. The car is happy, one up and flies along the Fowey road. I live in Lostwithiel and we mostly do Lostwithiel to Fowey which is around 24 miles a day. I drive with 3 passengers generally.

Next job was going to be an overhaul on electrics and brakes.

But I will do a compression test and look into other possible issues.

Thanks for all the help.

[myoldjalopy]

Ah, Lostwithiel, currently under siege from the Smit dynasty But I digress.....
TBH, 'just not used' is a form of neglect - these cars need to be used regularly! I'll wager the car has seen little, if any, servicing over those 15 years the PO had it. So the car probably needs an overall health check. Let us know how a compression test goes. If the car is not blowing a lot of blue smoke, the rattle may well be just a worn timing chain, as Stephen has suggested. Hard to know from a distance.

[gucu]

Hopefully not much smit for longer. The guy is a crook and not invested in all the things he says he is. Anyway, I don't want to digress!

I have owned Minors previously and this purchase is an exciting opportunity to give a car a new life. It is my intention to make this our only car at some point which is a big ask of it but our driving consists of around 30 to 50 miles at the most. Cornwall is a small county and I travel to Bristol about once a year.

So, looking forward to the journey to get this car running poetically! Thanks for all the help today.

Just out of interest are you part of the Cornwall Minors Owners Club?

[myoldjalopy]

No, I'm not........although I feel as if I ought to be! You?

[gucu]

I looked into it but never signed up. I think I will in the New Year just to be able to attend the monthly rally.

Hope all have an amazing Christmas. Been for a run in Rosie already this morning. To let the chickens out and feed them!

[myoldjalopy]

It was a chicken that fed me today!
Maybe I should join the Cornwall branch too. They probably need some support....

[gucu]

Yes I am going to join. Their website is

https://cornwallmorrisminorclub.co.uk/

Hopefully see you there

[myoldjalopy]

Thanks - maybe a resolution for the New Year!