Hello i just purchased a 2003 V40 and the water reservoir that goes to the radiator is a muddy oily consistency, i have had two opinions one that is a leaky head gasket and the other that is a oil coolant issue, any ideas what it could be?

 

Those two opinions sound like only one opinion expressed slightly differently. Is there actually oil in the coolant? If so you very likely have a leaking head gasket.

 

Yes, it does have oil, but no water goes into the motor oil, so would i have to replace the head gasket?

 

Oil in the coolant generally means a leaking head gasket and there's no way to fix it other than replacing the head gasket. Sorry for your troubles. Try taking it back to the place you bought it from (if it's a dealer) and see if they will help you.

 

Thats what i was afraid of 😩 i really like the car, the only agreement was they would pay half of the repairs, and i know its not cheap
Thank you anyways!

 

agree with migbro - to note, oil pressure inside the engine is on the order of 5x that of the water pressure, so its most common for the head gasket leaks to go from the oil into the coolant. If it were the other way around, then you could be looking at a cracked cylinder head as a possible cause. Definately needs to be sorted out...