oil in coolant

surely if it was the water pump, then water/oil would be coming out of the drain hole between the seals on the water pump?

I would discount the water pump area in the investigation as;

The oil is not pressure fed to the water pump spindle, and as the pressure of the cooling system is greater than the oil/crankcase pressure in this area the chance of oil working it's way in there is slim.
The oil pressure is much greater than the coolant pressure in the cylinder head area, that's where I would be looking first.

How much oil is in the coolant?

i checked waterpump and all seemed ok ( nothing coming out of the drain hole) so i moved on to the head. the exhaust came off fine two nuts and two studs but thats ok, off came the cover and out came the camshafts great!! started slackening the head bolts and SNAP ow b****r i snapped one of the head bolts off in the case now i'm stuffed!

That's not the result you wanted 
All is not lost though.
You will still be able to get the head off, although you may need to drop/remove the engine to get enough clearance to do it.
Once the head is off, depending on where the bolt snapped you will be able to take your time and remove it without damaging the cases.
I would guess that the bolt had rusted up where the head gasket was leaking coolant and oil.
Good luck with it.

well on to the next chapter! i tried to remove the engine but all mounting bolts are seized up solid, so i had the idea of trying to drill out the broken stud in situ. some careful drilling later and the application of a easyout and success out came the broken bit. back to the net now to look for head gaskets not replacement engines, should be back on the road soon 

Nice one! It does sound like the HG although I've only come across blows between a cylinder and the water jacket -> pressurised coolant. Keep us posted!

Well done on getting that stud out, they can be a pig.

Now you've got the head off (I assume) can you see where it failed?

You should post a picture, I am sure we would all be interested...

she runs again !! i'll keep an eye on coollant level. fingers crossed no more trouble. there was no huge obvious marks on the head so we shall see. i fitted a replacement radiator, with a fan this time as it was missing, the fan works but I don't think I ever got it hot enough for it to come on previously. new tyres to be fitted at the weekend and that should be it for a while.
ps. Anyone going to Thundersprint this year sunday 11th may at Darley moor, I missed last year when it moved from Northwich but should be fun.

Lovely job mate! I assume you replaced the head gasket?

shropshirewildman wrote:she runs again !! i'll keep an eye on coollant level. fingers crossed no more trouble. there was no huge obvious marks on the head so we shall see. i fitted a replacement radiator, with a fan this time as it was missing, the fan works but I don't think I ever got it hot enough for it to come on previously. new tyres to be fitted at the weekend and that should be it for a while.

Well done,