Could my thermostat have failed and caused oil to leak into the radiator,but not ruined the head gasket?

I brought my 1989 honda wagon into the shop to get a tune up and oil change,it was past due and the car was running rough. They talked me into getting a radiator flush,new top radiator hose,fuel injection service,etc. A total bill of 400!


When leaving the shop the owner said ';you car not start'; I said huh? ';you car die'; (he didnt speak much English) ';you car die tomorrow it not my fault';-WHAT


I asked him to explain and he said my car was old and could die anytime, I was suspicious and hounded him for a reason it would die he clammed up.


Fast forward a week my car overheats and spews water and a little oil.


I have checked for all the signs of a cracked head gasket but all the pieces do not fit.


There is oil in the reserve tank of the radiator, drops on the rad cap.


There is NO water in the oil.


There is NO white smoke.


There are NO bubbles in the coolant when running the car .


The fan is not kicking in.


The car Is overheating.


The engine is running well .


Any ideas?Could my thermostat have failed and caused oil to leak into the radiator,but not ruined the head gasket?
First thing is the fan not running. This however could be caused by a bad thermostat. If the sensor that tells the fan to run is not receiving hot water the fan won't turn on. This happens if the sensor is on the radiator or on the output side of the system. It can also happen if the sensor is in a pocket, without water flow the pocket may remain full of air.


I would say the thermostat may be bad. If you aren't getting white smoke and don't find any oil in the water or vice-versa my first guess is the head gasket is fine. Now, overheats can cause the head gasket to fail so don't let this go on and don't let it get too hot.


Apparently the car starts and runs now...you didn't say how that happened.


Take the radiator cap off, run the engine, when it gets hot the thermostat should be open and you should be able to see flow through the radiator.


Take the thermostat out, see if the car overheats. Or, test the thermostat in a pot of boiling water. It had better open by the time the water reaches boiling temp.


If you have flow, and thermostat works, look at the fan. It's probably a sensor, relay, or fuse.