Could oil in the water be coming from the cooler/heater tube at the bottom of the radiator. There is no water in the oil, but the water level drops a little every day, and there is sludge in the recovery tank. There are also no leaks of coolant anywhere I can find. HELP!

Submitted by hhrrmatthewj.m… on Sun, 05/06/2012 - 12:00

Very nice XJ Larry, if your Jag runs well and there are no signs of burning coolant out back, I would suspect the radiator having corrosion through between the coolant side and oil cooler.
I do think coolant Will get into the oil as it is heavier than oil and there is sufficient pressure to do so when parked and hot. You may simply not be seeing foam under the filler cap yet.
If you haven't already, STOP driving the car. If you are a decent mechanic, do a compression test, look at all spark plugs as others recommend, take off a valve cover and look for foamy signs of coolant in the oil... If everything checks out remove the radiator and have it tested. Maybe you will get lucky and simply have to replace the radiator.
I wish you the best of luck determining this issue,
Regards, Matt

Submitted by lorr3@att.net on Sat, 05/05/2012 - 18:39

Thanks a million Scot. That pretty much answers my suspitions. Incidentally, I'm a tar heel myself, born in Charlotte, raised in Asheville, Raleigh, Rockingham, then as an adult in Raleigh and Wilmington. All my relatives are there.
The coast is my favorite place to be.
Thanks again for the info.