WTH is on my engine, please help, pics..

[mob]

Hello folks, well today i had to drive my brother to greenway ford to drop off an application and for a few days now my car has been low on coolant so i said screw it ill put a few water bottles in now. So i open my hood and my upper and lower intake and distributor and alternator are COVERED in this brown powder stuff, its dry but kinda sticky, idk what it is, car starts and drives perfectly, ive driven 25 miles since i realised it and it runs fine. The only thing i can remember is last night i was coming ho me from work at 11pm and was going on a turn and accidentaly hit 1st instead of 3rd but it was really quick and only reved to like 5krpm so i dont htink my stupid ass had anything to do with it. I looked around everything is connected and i cant see where it came from here are pics

 

[quikrnu]

Possibly coolant, I'd pop the rad cap and see what colour the coolant is, might have a small leak in upper rad hose or egr.
Good luck

 

[srothfuss]

That sure looks like some rusty a$$ coolant that has sprung a leak from somewhere. I bet if you start the car with the hood up, you'll see where it's coming from.

 

[RYC CUKR]

Looks like some old corroded and dirty coolant to me. Now the trick is finding the leak.

 

[mob]

hmm k thanks guys, ive noticed before my collant is the same color, that **** brown color, and there no coolant in there really its all water, idk what kind of coolant or how much to put in so i just put 3 water bottles in

 

[mob]

how do i fix the old coolant? Should i get like a new resivour? or can i drain it out som how, this leak is gonna be a bitch to find, well its going to the shop soon so they can look at it

 

[srothfuss]

I'm telling you to just open your hood and start the motor... A leak like that should be really obvious to find.

Repair the busted hose and then take it to a instant oil change place and ask them to flush that stuff out.

After that, be prepaired for more parts in the cooling system to fail. (Gaskets, Water Pump, Heater Core, etc.)

 

[whtpny]

Yea these guys are right. Be prepared for some fun. Flush that stuff out the best you can. You can do it in your driveway pretty cheap. Flush kits can be bought at any parts store. Once it starts to flush out it will probably dislodge your leak and really show it.

 

[QDRHRSE]

Its really easy to do a flush. BTW- you should service your cooling system, meaning a flush and stat, every year. It does not matter is you drive 15 miles or 15,000.....once a year! I can't believe that people let their cars get that bad. Is there actually any coolant in there with all that rust? Anyway, pull off all the hoses and run the hose (water) through all the cooling hoses- especially the hoses going to the heater core. I'm willing to bet that your heater core is almost shot! Then mix water and coolant 50/50.

 

[slo65]

yea thats definitly rusty coolant, i let mine go too far without a good flush and looks like i'm getting a new radiator

 

[mob]

Its really easy to do a flush. BTW- you should service your cooling system, meaning a flush and stat, every year. It does not matter is you drive 15 miles or 15,000.....once a year! I can't believe that people let their cars get that bad. Is there actually any coolant in there with all that rust? Anyway, pull off all the hoses and run the hose (water) through all the cooling hoses- especially the hoses going to the heater core. I'm willing to bet that your heater core is almost shot! Then mix water and coolant 50/50.

well im sorry, my motor was just got a completle tune up last december, new water pump, new tstat, new timing chain, spark plugs, all that good stuff, i didnt think i had to do any maintinance yet, and i didnt know brown coolant was bad, i mean i know it looks bad but i didnt think it mattered. And i alrady said there is no coolant in there, its just water

 

[mob]

i just looked, i cant find the leak, i started the motor and looked and its normal, i told you ive been driving the car for like 25 miles if not more becaues idk when this happened, so it looks like it just leaked once idk if thats possible but its not coming out from anywhere and i have no idea where it could have come from..

ill go get my coolant flushed tomorrow

 

[mackey]

Wait till the car heats up and runs at the max temperature it does, then pop the hood. By the location, my guess is the pipe that runs from the Coolant to the EGR spacer/throttlebody or whatever.

 

[vristang]

If the coolant is definitely a brown as you say then it could be ahead gasket problem. Especially since the cooling system has been serviced in the last few months.

Start with the flush and looking for the leak. If problems persist I would look into a leak around the EGR or a head gasket.

 

[Daggar]

You look like the victim of the well water blues. Lots of iron in your water (probably why it's brown). Don't use your house water if you're on a well. I have city water and STILL don't fill from the tap (too much calcium and I've never ready any mantenance manual that said my cooling system needed flouride).

 

[mob]

i use zephryhills bottled water lol its just what i have and its cold, and i have city water anyways, but ill get it flushed, use coolant and water and if it continues ill see what else is the problem, hope its not a head gasket, thanks guys

 

[hllon4whls]

I believe that distilled water and antifreeze would be the best. 99% of people that change that ever add any water will use tap water.

 

[maverick0716]

I bet your radiator is all bunged up. Mine was when I first got it. I got the stock radiator re-cored, and it was super clean after that....cooled way better too. I personally run straight water with a bottle of Redline Water Wetter in the summer and in the winter coolant ....works really good.

 

[Car RamRod]

Wait till the car heats up and runs at the max temperature it does, then pop the hood. By the location, my guess is the pipe that runs from the Coolant to the EGR spacer/throttlebody or whatever.

Im with this guy on both statements.

 

[hondakiller44]

Its definately rust thats causing the brown color. It happens when your water/antifreeze ratio is more on the the water side. It causes your radiator to rust hence the brown color. Your radiator is more than likely rusted and plugged. Keep your eye on your engine temp. gage to see if you start to over heat in the future. If so replace that sucker before you damage your engine. Thats why it is so important to keep your water/antifreeze ratio around 50 50. You can get a cheap replacement for like 80-100 bucks at advanced auto or autozone. Or do the upgrade to 3 core while your in there for an extra 80. good luck man