If anyone here saw how rusty my coolant is, they'd probably faint. Anyone have any clue as to what would cause this and what to do to prevent it? I've never seen coolant like this before. And yes, I will be performing a flush next week.
Rusty Coolant?
- Thread starter Black Sun 5.0
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srothfuss
Last night I stabbed the same guy 7 times in a row
When the coolant gets older, the rust inhibiting properties of it break down. This leads to rusted out water passages / water pumps and radiators {heater cores}
The best ways to prevent rust:
1) change your coolant
2) Use distilled water
3) drain the rusty old coolant out of the overflow bottle.
The best ways to prevent rust:
1) change your coolant
2) Use distilled water
3) drain the rusty old coolant out of the overflow bottle.
The thing is, I JUST had a new aluminum radiator and waterpump put in a few months back. In spring, actually.
Michael Yount
Mustang Master
You say you 'had it put in'. That job done well should have had a complete chemical flush done BEFORE the old stuff was taken out (so you don't foul the new stuff), and then fresh antifreeze with distilled water put in.
Do you know exactly what they did when they replaced the stuff?
I'd use some of the chemical flush products to try and clean it -- then several flushes with distilled water to get all the regular water out; then add your antifreeze. That's about as good as it's gonna get short of pulling the motor and having it tanked to clean up the passages.
Do you know exactly what they did when they replaced the stuff?
I'd use some of the chemical flush products to try and clean it -- then several flushes with distilled water to get all the regular water out; then add your antifreeze. That's about as good as it's gonna get short of pulling the motor and having it tanked to clean up the passages.
Like mentioned above I think you should at least flush it out. Be sure to get a good mixture of fresh coolant in there when you are done flushing. Keep an eye on it for a while just in case there is a more serious issue causing the corrosion.
Other things...
What color was the coolant that was added? Some of the orange coolants tend to look more rusty than they really are. If it was green coolant, that's more of a problem.
I have a question though. Does Copper and Aluminum rust come out looking like Iron rust in coolant? Would an aluminum block suffering from corrosion yield white corrosion in the coolant, if no Antifreeze was added? Would copper radiator corrosion show up as green coolant, if no Antifreeze was added?
Other things...
What color was the coolant that was added? Some of the orange coolants tend to look more rusty than they really are. If it was green coolant, that's more of a problem.
I have a question though. Does Copper and Aluminum rust come out looking like Iron rust in coolant? Would an aluminum block suffering from corrosion yield white corrosion in the coolant, if no Antifreeze was added? Would copper radiator corrosion show up as green coolant, if no Antifreeze was added?
Well, that's the issue. WHAT KIND OF COOLANT WAS ADDED TO MY CAR TO BEGIN WITH. I have this terrible suspicion that DexCool was added by a nitwit mechanic at some point. I never had this problem with any of my cars, and I've had this car for 4 years now. In 1 year's time, no coolant should like like this mess. My first thought was oil in the coolant, but I'm due for my next change at 4,000 miles (synthetic) and have not had to add a single drop of oil since the engine broke in. That's a good thing. But the coolant initially looked like chocolate mild, but when it splashes on anything, you see the rust color really come out. One mechanic that saw it before it got reall bad said it wasn't too bad (yeah, right). It's pretty bad now. I guess I have a long weekend ahead of me doing this flush.
Sounds like the "quad" mechanic put in dex-cool. Are you over heating?
Always make sure when you get your coolant flushed, ask that they put in the prestone green stuff.
Not to highjack this thread or anything, but how often do you guys flush your systems??????????????????
The last time I had my system flushed and replenished was 22,000km or 14,000 miles ago. The thing is, that was almost 3 years ago. I check my coolant often and it's always a nice healthy green, but I'm wondering if I'm due anyways. I use the Prestone 50/50 stuff.
Always make sure when you get your coolant flushed, ask that they put in the prestone green stuff.
Not to highjack this thread or anything, but how often do you guys flush your systems??????????????????
The last time I had my system flushed and replenished was 22,000km or 14,000 miles ago. The thing is, that was almost 3 years ago. I check my coolant often and it's always a nice healthy green, but I'm wondering if I'm due anyways. I use the Prestone 50/50 stuff.
QDRHRSE
New Member
You need to do a flush and stat every year regardless of how many miles you drive. It doesn't matter it's 1 mile or 100,000. It must be done.
BlackSun-
A flush won't take you very long. Be sure to clean out the radiator out as best as you can. Most aluminum rads cannot be rebuilt...not unless you have the type with the plastic tanks that can be removed. Don't forget to get the heater core side of the cooling system as well.
BlackSun-
A flush won't take you very long. Be sure to clean out the radiator out as best as you can. Most aluminum rads cannot be rebuilt...not unless you have the type with the plastic tanks that can be removed. Don't forget to get the heater core side of the cooling system as well.
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