Guess what? There IS transmission fluid in the engine, and 4+qts. of it, by the looks of it. When the guy who bought the car drained the fluid, there was 9 1/2 qts. of fluid in the engine. He doubts it happened by accident–but either way, surely it couldn’t have escaped the mechanic’s notice when the car was brought back subsequently twice due to leaking oil as well as transmission fluid. Advice?
'96 Camaro V6 3.8 Erratic ENGINE FAILURE(former title Transmission Fluid in Oil: Effects on Engine?)
Something is not right here. Ever since the transmission vacuum modulator disappeared from transmissions, there is not a direct path for the transmission fluid to get into the engine oil. Are you adding fluid to the transmission in the same amount that is appearing in the engine crankcase? Have you added 5 quarts of transmission fluid to the transmission since the last oil change? How could you get 5+ quarts up in the crankcase without noticing it on the crankcase dip stick? What has the fuel economy (mpg) been lately?
I am wondering if you are getting gasoline dilution of the oil instead of transmission fluid contamination. That would explain the thinness of the oil; the chronic oil leakage; the bearing failures, the high oil level, and the stalling. However, most mechanics would smell the gasoline dilution and head down that road with a vengence. If it is gasoline dilution look to a leaking fuel pressure regulator or fuel injector(s)
BTW is this throttle body injection or port injection?
If the lubricant in there really is transmission fluid then someone put it there.
There’s a lot of unknown here and the engine can go south pretty quickly if the engine oil is heavily diluted with transmission fluid or as mentioned, saturated with gasoline.
The oil leaks could be caused by the overfilling of the crankcase.
You stated back on 4/7 the car would likely be sold and apparently was sold. Hopefully this is not going to be a sticky issue for you and I’m wondering why someone would buy a known problematic car unless the price was just right.
I’m typing this in for Wes. Based solely on internet research, according to the year of the car (1996), it would seem to have port injection. Wes wasn’t away of any drastic change in the fuel economy (which is pretty poor on that vehicle to begin with), but he doesn’t monitor the mpg. When alerted about possible transmission fluid contamination, we both had looked at and smelled the fluid on the dipstick. No convincing pink color there, but the guy said in the bubble of the fluid he drained, you can see the pink. There was no distinct smell of gasoline. To me the fluid -maybe- had a subtly different smell from the sample that I compared to the oil from my dipstick (old car that hasn’t had an oil change for a while), possibly the fluid from the Camaro had a more volatile hydrocarbon smell that wasn’t pinpointable to me nor very obvious.
In your opinion, how long (mileage-wise) after introduction of quarts of the wrong fluid would it take for these issues to manifest themselves in the engine dying.
After the car was back from the shop for the leaking fluid issues, previously (prior to the day the engine actually died) Wes had been noticing a low ticking noise, which the repair mechanic told him was the fuel injector. Could it have been the beginnings of the engine troubles?
(The guy who bought the car bought it to restore it with his son. He knows the situation.)
However, we are still in a mess, since the car had to be sold for next ot nothing, now he has no vehicle, and it is looking like the mechanic messed up his car.
There are two ways tranny fluid can get into the engine assuming it’s an automatic.
One is a breech in the radiator between the coolant section and the tranny cooler section.
The other is a breech in the vacuum modulator diaphragm.
In an engine of this age and apparent wear, tranny fluid drawn in vis the vacuum modulator could be getting into the oil via blowby, and even washing down the cylinders adding to the wear, which ads to the blowby, which adds to the wear…
However that doesn;t address the oil loss. Unless, of course, th eoil usage is a result of the wear…which is entirely possible.
A serious headgasket breech cold be a factor as well.
And any dilution of the oil would answer the cause of the clacking. Unfortunately, the clacking is damage that cannot readily be fixed. “Sleeving” the bearing (using an undersized sleeve bearing) is not the answer the crank surface would still be damaged, even of you could get the plastigage to meet spec.
Sadly, the engine is IMHO toast. A Jasper engine is a solution (get a long block, or a crate motor, don;t reuse the heads) is a solution, but at this age the vehicle is goiing to end up a money pit. I’m afraid that a rebuilt motor would only be a temporary solution.
Sorry, but I think this car is history.
“Both engine oil and transmission fluid continued leaking. (Needed to add 2 qts. oil.)”
“Yes, I checked the oil. I had been continually checking it and needing to add about a quart of oil over the past few day, so at the point when it died, it was 2 qts. low (and I added some more before continuing home)”
“When the guy who bought the car drained the fluid, there was 9 1/2 qts. of fluid in the engine.”
Alright boys, round up the usual suspects. I think I know who has been adding fluids to the vehicle.
The fuel economy on these vehicles is not “poor to begin with” as it’s described unless the car has some undiagnosed issues.
My oldest son still owns his 1996 Camaro RS with the 3.8 and that car to this day still ticks off 30 MPG on the highway; and that’s with a quarter of a million miles on it.
The RS is a trim package only and uses the same powertrain as the base Camaro. An RS will have badges on the sides of the front fenders.