KA24E losing coolant into oil....

[Alfred Sanford]

Hey guys, I have a 1991 nissan p/u with the ka24e with aprox 240,000
KM's on it. I let the broken timing chain guides go way to long and now
I'm gonna need a new front cover, timing kit,etc

My question is this, about a week before I tore my engine down it lost
about 3 litres of coolant (enough to stop the interior heater from
working, the first sign I've noticed) but the engine didn't over heat. I
checked the oil which was not containinated as far as I could tell and
topped up the coolant to get home. There was no obivious leaks on the
ground or steam from the tail pipe,etc just like the coolant
disappeared.

The vehicle was fine for the next few days, til I checked the coolant
which was down and the oil was a milky solution of water n' oil, crank
case probably had 8 litres or so contents and the plugs were all fouled
up/ smelled like anti freeze.

Any of you guys know why the engine would lose coolant the first couple
of days and then mix it with the oil after another few days running? I'm
pretty damn sure the oil on the first day wasn't containated.

On a compression check the engine hit 155 PSI on every cylinder,
virtually no variation at all. I've pulled the head to inspect it and
the HG, all looks fine. The front cover had a bad gouge where a guide
once was and a little poking with a screw driver open up the damage into
the water ump cooling housing. This is the obivious damage.

I don't want want buy a new HG, timing cover, timing kit,etc to put all
back together just to have the engine lose coolant from another leak. Do
the heads or blocks crack in any well known locations,etc?

Any advice about me being in the right track, or should I just fix the
timing cover/HG and chain set then see how it goes? Not interested in
spending 400 or 500 bucks canadian to fix the engine to still have it
lose coolant :)

Thanks..
Alf

[S. Wong]

Alfred Sanford <asan...@roadrunner.nf.net> wrote in message
news:37FA5D1E...@roadrunner.nf.net...

> Hey guys, I have a 1991 nissan p/u with the ka24e with aprox 240,000
> KM's on it. I let the broken timing chain guides go way to long and now
> I'm gonna need a new front cover, timing kit,etc
>
> My question is this, about a week before I tore my engine down it lost
> about 3 litres of coolant (enough to stop the interior heater from
> working, the first sign I've noticed) but the engine didn't over heat. I
> checked the oil which was not containinated as far as I could tell and
> topped up the coolant to get home. There was no obivious leaks on the
> ground or steam from the tail pipe,etc just like the coolant
> disappeared.
>
> The vehicle was fine for the next few days, til I checked the coolant
> which was down and the oil was a milky solution of water n' oil, crank
> case probably had 8 litres or so contents and the plugs were all fouled
> up/ smelled like anti freeze.

Obvious the coolant has gone into the engine block & the oil pan.

>
> Any of you guys know why the engine would lose coolant the first couple
> of days and then mix it with the oil after another few days running? I'm
> pretty damn sure the oil on the first day wasn't containated.
>
> On a compression check the engine hit 155 PSI on every cylinder,
> virtually no variation at all. I've pulled the head to inspect it and
> the HG, all looks fine. The front cover had a bad gouge where a guide
> once was and a little poking with a screw driver open up the damage into
> the water ump cooling housing. This is the obivious damage.

Should concentrate on these "damaged" area. Is the water pump the only
damaged component or more than this? Was the leak happening here?

>
> I don't want want buy a new HG, timing cover, timing kit,etc to put all
> back together just to have the engine lose coolant from another leak. Do
> the heads or blocks crack in any well known locations,etc?
>
> Any advice about me being in the right track, or should I just fix the
> timing cover/HG and chain set then see how it goes? Not interested in
> spending 400 or 500 bucks canadian to fix the engine to still have it
> lose coolant :)

Losing coolant is bad but have it getting into the engine( cumbution
chambers) is what should really concern you.
>
> Thanks..
> Alf

[Ray T.]

Hi Alf,

That often happens when the head gasket blows. It lets the
water get into the oil gallery. Very rarely, stop leak will
stop it for a few minutes, or even months. But, I understand
that antifreeze in your oil will wipe out your bearings.

Ray T.

[Adam Zylstra]

This is a common problem with this engine. The plastic timing chain guides
break. The chain slaps around and acts like a chain saw, and cuts a hole
right through part of your engine so that the coolant leaks into the oil. I
can't remember the name of the metal piece that the chain chews up, I think
it's a timing cover or something like that. So you simply do a full timing
chain job plus replace the chewed up part. I think you need to replace the
chain, both guides, the tensioner, and all the gears. Use genuine Nissan
parts. They have since redesigned the chain guides to make them less likely
to break. hope this helps.
Adam

Alfred Sanford wrote:

> Hey guys, I have a 1991 nissan p/u with the ka24e with aprox 240,000
> KM's on it. I let the broken timing chain guides go way to long and now
> I'm gonna need a new front cover, timing kit,etc
>
> My question is this, about a week before I tore my engine down it lost
> about 3 litres of coolant (enough to stop the interior heater from
> working, the first sign I've noticed) but the engine didn't over heat. I
> checked the oil which was not containinated as far as I could tell and
> topped up the coolant to get home. There was no obivious leaks on the
> ground or steam from the tail pipe,etc just like the coolant
> disappeared.
>
> The vehicle was fine for the next few days, til I checked the coolant
> which was down and the oil was a milky solution of water n' oil, crank
> case probably had 8 litres or so contents and the plugs were all fouled
> up/ smelled like anti freeze.
>

> Any of you guys know why the engine would lose coolant the first couple
> of days and then mix it with the oil after another few days running? I'm
> pretty damn sure the oil on the first day wasn't containated.
>
> On a compression check the engine hit 155 PSI on every cylinder,
> virtually no variation at all. I've pulled the head to inspect it and
> the HG, all looks fine. The front cover had a bad gouge where a guide
> once was and a little poking with a screw driver open up the damage into
> the water ump cooling housing. This is the obivious damage.
>

> I don't want want buy a new HG, timing cover, timing kit,etc to put all
> back together just to have the engine lose coolant from another leak. Do
> the heads or blocks crack in any well known locations,etc?
>
> Any advice about me being in the right track, or should I just fix the
> timing cover/HG and chain set then see how it goes? Not interested in
> spending 400 or 500 bucks canadian to fix the engine to still have it
> lose coolant :)
>

> Thanks..
> Alf

[Patrick W. Hall]

You'll first begin to hear *marbles against sheet-metal* sound upon cold startups
for only 2-3 seconds. Gradually, the marble sound will get longer and longer
until you sometimes hear the sound while driving. The chain is actually slopping
around, smacking the timing chain cover and/or itself on the opposite side.

Herm wrote:

> How do you know when the chain guides break?..a lot of noise?
>
> Herm

[Herm]

[riceje...@gmail.com]

I have the same exact problem as alfred. maybe not a good enough seal rtv on the timing cover. maybe the head gasket got tore harldey when i just replaced it and bent valves from timing chain failure. the timing cover itself looks like theres nothing effecting the water jacket. i poured some stop leak into it today see how it geos