oil in the coolant and vise versa.. :(

[Eastcoastmod]

The good.
Oil has been changed a couple of times now with a couple of hundred spirited kms between changes...No more white smoke and absolutely no coolant in the oil. I'm now refilled with synthetic.

Coolant was flushed a couple of times, pulling the front bumper to get at the hoses, pulling the water pump and thermostat to removed any sludge. No matter how many times I flushed it with water I just couldn't get out all the sludge. I caved and went the cascade route which seems to be popular solution on the diesel truck sites. Throw in some non foaming cascade dishwasher liquid to help emulsify the oil. This seems to have done the trick. I have flushed it twice now with the cascade and the amount of oil showing up in the overflow tank seems to be getting progressively less. I'm still not 100% sure I'm out of the woods but it looks promising.

Surprisingly the coolant system on these cars seems to be excellent. We are experiencing a heat wave at the moment. It's been between 30-39 degrees for about a week now. Even with just water the car is holding steady just above 180. I would have to stop for a long time with the car running for the temp to climb at all. Even then it only gets have way to the next line and drops almost as soon as I drive away.

I'm still fearful of a blow head gasket but should know more within the week. I will continue to flush the system until I see no oil before putting coolant back in.

thanks for all the replies. I will let you know how it turns out..