So my neighbor was out of town and his wife got a “low coolant” warning on her LR4. Well, she went on YouTube to figure out what to do, and her intentions were quite good, but she dumped a jug of Prestone where the oil is supposed to go.

She drove it for 2 days like that and of course the dash lit up in excitement. I believe now that it won’t start at all. So...what are the theories of what has happened to this engine, and how would it be remedied?

 

Depending on how much was added then its probably toast. And a jug is probably a gallon - ouch! Between foaming and lubrication loss.... good luck. I bet the main crank is totaled.

 

 

For some reason, engine coolant seems to damage engine bearings. Not sure if its a chemical reaction, the fact that its water based or despite coolant having lubricating properties, it lacks the proper lubricating properties. Or it could be a combination of all of those, but the bottom line is, coolant in the oil ruins it.

"Won't Start" is a very vague term. Does the engine spin over? If it won't spin over when the key is turned, don't overlook the obvious like weak battery or failed starter.

Lets also consider that if coolant was put in the wrong place, then coolant was never put in the RIGHT place and it may have overheated and caused damage that way.

 

Maybe she could just add a bunch of oil to the coolant to balance things out...

 

Well now that just might work.

 

The engine is probably a total loss after driving for 2 days with a gallon or more of coolant in the crank case. Depending on the type of insurance they have I have seen customers make a claim and get it fixed with their insurance. They will have to pay their deductible and probably higher monthly premiums after the claim but this may allow for a new engine installed at a dealer or LR shop. Option 2 is find a good used engine and replace or, option 4 sell it as is and buy something else.

 

I dunno, I still think some oil added to the cooling system might help....

 

"RIP in peace"

 

I'm assuming you don't want to just write off the engine, so what you're going to want to do is drain the mix from the engine. Remove the oil filter and dump it, but don't change it. Then, put new oil in obviously, try to get the engine running. When/if you do, let it run for 5 minutes. Drain the oil again and toss it because it's trash, put in new oil and a new filter. If it isn't toast now, you're in luck. After the second change drive it 10 miles and check the dipstick for evidence of remaining contamination. If it is noticeable, change the oil and filter one more time and do the same thing.

Now, here's the key part, if you've gotten this far and everything looks and runs okay, what you'll want to do is take it to the nearest used car dealership and trade it in for something else, because even if its running okay after all that, it won't be for long. Could last 500 miles could last 5000. As long as there's no evidence of coolant in in the oil when the mechanic checks it, you'll get the "full value" of the vehicle.