535is Oil in coolant

[Ilia Zharkov <zharkov@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi guys,
This is the story. I got the car ('87 535is) in last November. Since it is
getting warmer I decided to check coolant and was shocked. The expansion
tank was filled with some viscous liquid of beige color which smelled like
engine oil. And not just a couple of drops, I pumped out about 2 quarts of
this oil. 
 So the question is how oil can get into the coolant (cracks in cylinder
or bad seal in gaskets). Another possibility (much more preferred) is that
the previous owner put some by mistake. The oil level in the engine does
not seem to be lower, and even if it is, then not a lot. 
 Also I had problems with heating during the cold winter. It worked rather
intermittently. Could this be related to the oil, say, clogging thermo
switch or something.
 Thanks,
Ilia Zharkov.



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