legacycentral bbs

Hello all,
I was driving home the other day in my 99 Legacy Limited (2.5 Auto) and the car stuttered off. I tried to restart without any success. I then noticed smoke coming out from under the hood...pushed the car home...opened hood, coolant everywhere. Oil short 1 quart. Pulled radiator, no oil in what was left of coolant but a bunch of oil? sludge at the bottom. Oil (Tranny I think) lines didn't leak at all when I pulled them off the radiator?

I don't have anywhere to drain the oil yet so I'm working on that....basically I'm not sure where to go from here. I don't know why would coolant spray everywhere? How do I actually confirm its a head gasket, which side etc.

I'd appreciate any help - Justin

all your hoses are ok? maybe one got a small crack or hole? when you pull the dip stick whats it look like?

This sentence doesn't make sense no matter how many times I read it: "Pulled radiator, no oil in what was left of coolant but a bunch of oil?"

idk man. just trying to help.

All the hoses and the radiator (as far as I can tell) looks perfect. When I pulled the radiator out, I poured out the remaining coolant (half a gallon) and it was clean (no oil in it) but at the very bottom, the last bit to come out had this sludge (not 100% sure it was oil, it was brown and thick). Haha...my original sentence was nonsense.

Here's what I'd suggest doing.

Pull the thermostat out, put the housing back on, and put the radiator & hoses back in. Then fill the cooling system with the garden hose and see where it leaks. That should help you narrow down where the problem is.