Oil in coolant reservoir

Well Bibbady ball bags. On Easter Monday me and the wife were heading home and my Freelander 2 TD4 2008 got crazy hot and shut down. Called out RAC and there was no oil in the engine (even though I topped up that day after leaving it for ages) ended up a huge amount of it was in the coolant reservoir. So got a tow back home.

Today I started to try and get as much if not all the oil out of the reservoir and used water and some dishwasher cleaner tablets to break down the oil. Got it pretty clear then needed check so added a bit of oil to the engine. When to start the engine and the bloody battery is dead FFS before I had no problem starting the engine had cooled down as I had to back it into the parking bay at home and had no problem.

Anywho. Called mechanic the day after the incident and he said it’s either the head gasket or sounds more like a broken pipe as the oil mixed so rapidly.

So I might try and clean it out again later as the mechanic can get me in soonest early May

Just after any advice. It’s an old car, I genuinely like it but it cost me 4 grand and I’m not really about spending shed loads. I even looked into that K Seal in case it was the head gasket as they seem to have pretty good results.

Also if it helps when I looked in the engine it seemed very clean apart from oil near the back just below the window.

You'd have thought it was a break in the oil cooler (presuming there is one) if it dumped that much into the coolant bottle that quickly.

Having said that how big is the bottle to take all the oil out of the engine?

Unless it replaced coolant that went into the engine I suppose.

You've got a right mess to clear up and find the fault.

GrumpyGel said:

You'd have thought it was a break in the oil cooler (presuming there is one) if it dumped that much into the coolant bottle that quickly.

Having said that how big is the bottle to take all the oil out of the engine?

Unless it replaced coolant that went into the engine I suppose.

You've got a right mess to clear up and find the fault.

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Yeah it’s a right messy shambles and really didn’t need it (but then who does) I’m just hoping the cost isn’t to hard hitting and to car is ok for a while after. Bloody hate cars. They are very convenient but the cost to run and the constant devaluation causes sleepless nights when it all goes sideways. I know a Land Rover isn’t the right choice after saying that but I genuinely like the Freelander 2 and usually it’s not too bad to get back into shape.

The oil cooler is the most likely cause, like most engines, it's combined with the oil filter housing. If your repairer doesn't know this and / or wants to fleece you for unnecessary repairs, I'd get it taken somewhere else.
Of course, there is a chance that there is further damage to the moving parts due to oil starvation & overheating, so maybe the next step is check the oil filter for metal particles, top-up the oil and do compression & cylinder leakage checks before committing to repair or replacement of the engine.

You say the battery is dead, but when is it that makes you think it is? Does everything electric work, but it doesn't crank over? Has the dash displayed CRASH on the LCD, at the same time as the hazard lights came on?

I find it hard to imagine that at least a liter of oil in the coolant would fit, unless the coolant was displaced out the overflow. Any evidence of coolant ejected from the coolant reservoir overflow?

Oh, and technically a Freelander 2 isn't a true Land Rover, it's basically a modified Ford Mondeo.