I have an 83 fb with a 12a engine, after starting the engine after a 12 year storage the engine is putting oil in the radiator ... Should I look for a new (bee hive) oil cooler or should I be looking deeper? I am assuming the commonly replaced mount o rings will not help this issue.
Any comments would be appreciated.

 

how much oil are we talking about and is the oil system holding pressure? i suppose it's possible the oil cooler has some internal failure/damage, but i tend to think the oil you saw has some other source.

 

Where in Iowa are you located?

 

Diabolical 1 you are correct, its not the oil cooler. I ended up pulling the oil cooler and made a block off plate, pressurized the cooler with 75 psi air,on the oil side, then filled the coolant cavity with water. I watched for bubbles. I saw none. Now I assume its combustion in the cooling system. I just got this car running after sitting for 12 years, there was no coolant or fuel in it when I got it. Now after all new fluids & getting it running, I did a 30 min test drive I checked the coolant and found this frothy / oily residue in the top of the radiator, about an inch deep. Not a good sign for my new found toy it appears. There doesn't seem to be any coolant in the oil though, so maybe there's a chance to rebuild with just orings? The car has 212k miles on it and is very rust free.
I want to keep the car a rotary, so rebuild seems to be the fix?
I'm a diesel mechanic for 24 years, so I'm thinking it should be a nice "light" change.

 

I'm a central Iowa, a little south and west of Ames. IanS are you a fellow Iowaegan?

 

yeah, as much as i don't care for those oil coolers, i can honestly say i've never heard a case where one failed. so that was why i doubted it as the source.

anyway, have you checked the coolant for hydrocarbons?

 

I haven't checked for hydrocarbons yet, but I plan on it. Thanks again for the "Heads Up" and showing of personal experience. A few more questions: If I tear this thing down is there some place specific I should be looking for that normally fails or is prone to be a bad spot?
Remember this is a high milage engine (212K) should I expect bad housings or main shaft, or is it more like everything else if it was well maintained there may not be that much wrong with it?
Thanks again!