I have a 1987 740 turbo automatic with 250K miles. I recently 20k miles ago replaced the head gasket and was disappointed to see last month that there was oil in the radiator fluid and that the engine lacked power. After reading the FAQ section it seems that the oil might be transmission oil and not the result of a fauly head gasket. I am also experiencing very delayed shifts in the automatic transmission which might be explained by the transmission oil and water were mixing. If this is the case, could this leak also be the cause of the low engine power or is it likely to be something else? The turbo seems to be dead or dying so perhaps thats the porblem?

thanks for any comments.

adam

You may have multiple problems. If this is the original radiator, then almost certainly you have tranny fluid in the coolant or vice versa from a leaking oil cooler. Replace the radiator, then drain and flush the tranny with fresh fluid. If your headgasket is leaking, you should be able to do a compression test to find out more. "No power" is a little vague as a symptom.

thanks steve,

a leaky radiator seems to be the culpret for the shifting problem, any idea what the chances are that the transmission is ruined?

By no power i mean the car has problems making it up moderately steep hills or accelerating on flat ground. it seems more noticeble at low rpms before the turbo kicks in. I'll check the engine compression and then what else could be likely causes? what should the compression be? the car has 250K miles with the original turbo which is whinning, and therefore i assume dying, and original cat converter. Any chance the transmission is the cause, somehow the water oil mixture in the transmission creates a lot of friction thereby resulting in dimisnished power to the driveshaft?

I was thinking of just replacing the engine (950$ with turbo) and transmission (500$) with used ones from Volvo & Saab Auto Dismantlers of Rancho Cordova, CA. supposedly the parts have about 100k on them. Any experience with this dismantler and any comments on the quality of the engines or transmission I might get from a dismantler. am i better off rebuilding my engine, how much does that cost?

thanks for any suggestions,

adam

250K miles with the original Cat converter on just about any vehicle is like driving around with a cork in the exhaust pipe. is the muffler original too?

----------Robert

Your kick down cable may be worn causing the hard shifting.

As far as low power, check for air leaks on the trubo air hoses. Spongy feel is no good.

Also check the ign coil. May cause low power.