<matthew_jamees@hotmail.com> wrote
> Elle, Thanks for the reply and appreciate your response for the
> following:

Good questions, all.

> 1.If the new radiator was not put back correctly by the mechanic, can
> the coolant leak into the oil system?

I too was trying to think of how that coolant could get into the cylinders,
and then out the exhaust. I just can't see how replacing the radiator could
easily get coolant into the oil system (and then into the cylinders, and
then out the exhaust as steam). The two systems are piped completely
separately. There's a link at the end of this post that backs this up.

Something far-fetched, though: Your mechanic had the oil fill cap off (or
maybe the valve cover?) when replacing the radiator? There is no reason
these should be off during a radiator replacement, though. I still think
you're looking at a head gasket problem or cracked cylinder head.

> 2.If the coolant leaked into the oil system, can I expect to find a
> milky white oil when I check the inside of the oil cap?

From my reading oil contaminated with coolant is not necessarily obvious by
just looking inside where the oil fill cap fits.

Others will have to comment here.

> I will also check the coolant level and oil in the coolant system as
> you have mentioned.
>
> 3.From all the helpful reply, I strongly suspect the coolant has
> leaked. The reason for my suspicion is - When I start the engine when
> it is dead cold, there is no smoke but there is small shudder when I
> start the car.

That shudder it seems to me results from poor ignition of a fuel, air, and
now coolant mixture. Coolant doesn't ignite.

> There is no smoke all the way to college which is 10
> miles (it takes 20 minutes drive this 10 miles). When I start the
> engine 15 minutes after the engine is hot of driving 10 miles, I see
> white smoke and the car shudders a lot.

I hear you. Maybe any crack there is, or breach of the gasket, doesn't get
serious until metal parts expand and make the crack or breach wider.

> When I reach the college and
> instead of starting after 15 minutes but start after 11 hours (the
> engine is dead cold), there is no smoke. So I see smoke only when the
> engine is hot and you had mentioned that it take high temperature for
> coolant to convert to steam. Is my deduction some what correct that
> coolant has leaked into the oil system?

The only way I can see coolant and oil mixing is via the engine cylinders:
Oil lubricates the cylinder sides, but coolant is getting into the cylinders
via a breach of some kind. Some of the coolant mixes with the oil and goes
to the crankcase, etc.

Keep monitoring the coolant reservoir level. Constantly check the
temperature gage.

http://www.2carpros.com/topics/whitesmk.htm has some interesting commentary
on intermittent white smoke, etc. It suggests that the car's overheating
shrunk the head gasket.

By the way, if it were my car, I would be investigating further the sealer
Elliot suggested. I haven't used such a sealer, but it might work.