my coolant is brownish, which i am guessing means that there is oil in it or something like that? What exactly does this mean and what causes it and how can i fix it??

 

It wouldn't be oil, but drain and flush the system ASAP.

 

It sounds more like rust than oil. I agree with DJsyclone, flush out your system real good and refill it with a 50/50 solution of water (preferably distilled) and anti-freeze. Leaving it like it is will not help your system or your water pump.

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!l

 

There are some kits you can buy for like $10 for any auto parts store to flush your own cooling system. It will help clean out any rust from the radiator without ruining your engine. You need that done ASAP.

 

thats what happens when you dont flush your coolent regularly..... people dont seem to relize that the coolent does need to be changed, just like the oil.

 

i have been running 2 years since i put in a new radiator, when u guys flush them? i was thinking once every year but i really dont want to. if it works fine and looks ok i am just keeping what i have in there.

but i have seem some nasty stuff before!


well the regular prestone is green, others like dexcool are like orange in color.

 

i generally flush it twice a year... once before winter to make sure my heater core is cleaned up, and and once when summer starts so that im positive its cool... (hehe, pun intended)

athough thats probly overkill.... once a year is fine.

i got in the habit with my old car, in the winter time i ran anti freeze, but in the summer, straight water with some water wetter was all i used because you're not suppost to run antifreeze at the dragstrip...

 

Most non-long life coolants claim 2 years of service life. I like to flush mine annually, in S. Florida we don't get much of a winter so I just flush mine once a year. Won't hurt anything...

With that nasty, brown, dirty, useless coolant, flush the system with water until it starts to come out clean. Then drain in and add your 50-50 mixture. Try to clean out as much of that crude that gets built up in there. Imagine what could be blocking up your radiator!!!

I like to use distilled water in my mixture as well...

 

yeah i guess better safe than sorry well i better put on that on my yearly keep up.

 

Regular, average, everyday coolant (the stuff we use...) is green. Nice color too...... Designed to last 2 to 3 years. (2 is as long as I would trust it....)

Dexcool. THis is the new stuff. Orange in color. (also a nice color,
I am sure this is important to you...... LOL) Designed to last up to
5 years. Never used it, so not sure how long I would trust it.

Backflushing your cooling system is the best way to get all the garbage out. (reversing direction of flow) Coolant will crystalize under the right circumstances (age, other unknown factors....) and the little rocks will plug up your radiator, heater core, and on TPI cars, they can also lodge themselves in the flow control valve and it will stick in what ever position. (yep, voice of experience) There are kits available at most autoparts stores for just such an exercise.

Have fun.

 

a couple years ago me and hamspiced did a coolant flush on our friends moms ford minivan. it was a mid-90's, id say a 95-96. we take off the cap and not only was the coolant browner then the inside of an outhouse, it had buildup on it and you could kind of make out little metal flakes in the buildup

she said she never had the radiator flushed and had no idea you were suppose to... so 7 years of no coolant flushing... ick.

i also saw a report on how dexcool, or as they called it "death" cool was eating away waterpump blades and other metals in the engine so im never using that stuff unless i have too.

also at auto stores they sell self repairing radiator sealents in a bottle. its a goo with metal flakes in it. ive never used it and i dont think anyone should. i just couldnt trust something like that in my engine.

just take a hose and in the top hole in the radiator and keep running water through the radiator till the water is nice and clear. as for the coolant in the engine... im not sure but i think theres a plug on the block you can take off to drain it? i dunno

 

Some of the nastiest radiators I have seen have had Dexcool in them. That 5 year thing is a crock IMO...

 

at work i always jsut run a hose through the cap to flush it. u can test coolant too. a test tool that looks like a turkey baister, forgot the name right now.

 

Hydrometer

 

and for all my fellow chemistry majors....i wanna send a shout out to them.....

you can test coolant with lithmus paper to check it's acidity/basic nature and figure out when to change it based off that. woo hoo....one more year to go.....4 down one to go :lala: :lala: :lala: :lala:

 

My understanding of Dexcool is that it is for 94 and newer Chevy's. Each car manufacturer started using Dexcool at different times. YOU CANNOT MIX DEXCOOL AND THE GREEN STUFF! If your car is 94 or newer you MUST use Dexcool. I work part time at Checker (Kragans, Shucks). I will have to read about this again and get back to anyone who is interested to see why you must use the dexcool on newer engines.

 

You can also check the coolant with a voltmeter. .5 v ac and you should think about changing it. To drain the engine of coolant there are plugs on each side near the bottom of the block. Just hitem with a socket and you can flush the entire engine clean.

 

if your coolant is light brown and foamy like a milkshake then it means that you have a blown head gasket... I hope thats not the case.

 

if ur head gasket is blown, does it smell inside of the car from the motor out of the heater?

 

You can run Dexcool on ANY vehicle. The trick is to get as much of the old stuff out as possible. Texaco, who invented Dexcool says 2 flushes are the best way to do it. I used a chemical flush first, then refilled with straight water, ran the car a few days did another flush using that little gizmo Prestone makes to attach to a garden hose then refilled with straight water a second time. A couple of days later I refilled with Dexcool. The cleaner the system is from the old stuff the longer the interval you can have with any of the extended life coolants. I also changed all the hoses. The garbage you hear about problems with Dexcool usually come from the system being low, incorrect ratio(too much water). Dexcool will form a muddy residue if the system leaks and the coolant level gets low. generally a chemical flush takes care of that. Another point often missed is whenever a flush is done especially a chemical one remember to use new sealing tablets available from any GM dealer. Powered Bars leak is the same thing. All GM vehicles come from the factory with sealing tablets, they provide lubrication to the water pump and will prevent water pump failure after a flush. Can't say how many times I have seen that, and most mechanics don't know about the use of sealing tablets. I have been running Dexcool since it came out in my 89, I have never had any problems and it's nice to have a longer service interval since fooling with coolant is a PITA.

 

i had my whole engine flushed and my tranny too
then got a new waterpump, raditor and hoses
and the car never ran better
i use the orange stuff, i guess thats the dexcool correct. i like it beter.

 

well I just changed my water pump and I Used the super tech antifreez from wallmart. I was going to use the Prestone stuff but the ingredients were the same and the same ratio, so I went with the cheeper stuff.

 

retrofit to prestone? nah, i see no advantage..besides, the green stuff is pretty to look at:lala:

 

tastes good too. nice and sweet.....

 

my neighbors cat thought so too.. got in big trouble when i left some out and Buttons got thirsty... moral: if you hate your neighbors cat, antifreeze is the way to go.

 

Yeah I really nead to do that. my sisters cas walks all over my car sometimes. pisses me off A lot! I put a coupple mouse traps in the headlight pockets so when it jumps up there... WAP!!! haha

 

double post

 

What's the matter??!!?? You don't like paw prints all over your fresh wax job??? Stupid cats!!!

 

at the parts store (advance), most of us recommend to not use dexcool if at all possible. it tends to form a clay like substance. This usually only happens when its low or old tho, so if you have dexcool in your vehicle, MAKE SURE ITS REGULARLY CHECKED. we have an old radiator that ran low on it for awhile. theres probably 6 inches on top where you could possibly put more a/f. the rest to the bottom is all clay. scary thought huh.......

 

I work in a quick lube and see this evertday. DON'T put in the dex-cool or orange stuff it only goes about 50,000 miles before it turns to a mud sand type mixture which can clog up your system and ruin your rad. or build up so bad overheat and blow your motor. Our cars up to like 97 I think uses green coolnt whick should be changed every 30,000 miles or 2 years which ever comes first. If you have a newer car with the dex-cool in it make sure you flush it every 50,000 miles. Or it can cost you.

 

just a heads up, as was said, you can use dexcool in any vehicle as long as it's properly flushed of the old coolant.

however. dexcool wasn't a factory fill in gm cars until the 1996 model year.