When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Tech / General EngineIs your car making a strange sound or won't start? Thinking of adding power with a new combination? Need other technical information or engine specific advice? Don't see another board for your problem? Post it here!
I have very dirty water like oily, I flushed the radiator several times and it gets dirty again, from what I read in some other threads is very difficult that is engine oil, sounds more like transmission oil since both share the same radiator.
To start I will disconnect the hoses from the transmission lines that plug into the radiator and will set up an external cooler with a filter.
After that will plug the old lines in the radiator and flush it a couple of times again and see what happen from there.
Check above the oil filter. If there is a odine oil watercheat exchanger there it may be the culprit. I would drain both engine oil and tranny oil to inspect for coolant. Tranny clutched use water based glues and even ta bit of water in the oil will screw up your trans.
Check above the oil filter. If there is a odine oil watercheat exchanger there it may be the culprit. I would drain both engine oil and tranny oil to inspect for coolant. Tranny clutched use water based glues and even ta bit of water in the oil will screw up your trans.
Probably an internal leak in the radiator. The trans cooler runs through the radiator. I saw it quite a few times when I worked at Chevy on Blazers. You could pressurize the trans cooler with an air nozzle on one fitting and block off the other. If you hear air coming out you have found your leak. Good luck!
Probably an internal leak in the radiator. The trans cooler runs through the radiator. I saw it quite a few times when I worked at Chevy on Blazers. You could pressurize the trans cooler with an air nozzle on one fitting and block off the other. If you hear air coming out you have found your leak. Good luck!
I'm deleting the radiator trans cooler and installing an independent cooler with the parts in the second post.
If that doesn't fix it?
Add 1 cup of Lestoil (buy it at Lowes) to the radiator. It will break down the oil so that it will mix with the water. Drain, flush, refill with water, try it again. If you still get oil, then it was not coming from the transmission.
When oil is found in engine coolant, it resembles the consistency of a milkshake. These two fluids mixing is very bad, because it means that a major engine gasket has failed, creating an internal leak which can quickly destroy your engine. The most common way oil and coolant mix is when a head gasket blows.
What would cause oil to be in the radiator?
According to Eric the Car Guy, a blown head gasket denotes that the combustion system is leaking oil into the cooling chamber of the car. Head gasket failure is often the most frequent reason for such a leak. Another possibility is that a leaking intake gasket is causing an oil problem.
Add 1 cup of Lestoil (buy it at Lowes) to the radiator. It will break down the oil so that it will mix with the water. Drain, flush, refill with water, try it again. If you still get oil, then it was not coming from the transmission.
I will do it this weekend.
Originally Posted by NoEmissions84TA
How does oil get into the cooling system?
When oil is found in engine coolant, it resembles the consistency of a milkshake. These two fluids mixing is very bad, because it means that a major engine gasket has failed, creating an internal leak which can quickly destroy your engine. The most common way oil and coolant mix is when a head gasket blows.
What would cause oil to be in the radiator?
According to Eric the Car Guy, a blown head gasket denotes that the combustion system is leaking oil into the cooling chamber of the car. Head gasket failure is often the most frequent reason for such a leak. Another possibility is that a leaking intake gasket is causing an oil problem.
The water doesn't look milky, it looks more like rusty.
That's corrosion from the engine block. You will just have to keep flushing it. Lookup some videos on how to do it.
GD
Originally Posted by NoEmissions84TA
How does oil get into the cooling system?
When oil is found in engine coolant, it resembles the consistency of a milkshake. These two fluids mixing is very bad, because it means that a major engine gasket has failed, creating an internal leak which can quickly destroy your engine. The most common way oil and coolant mix is when a head gasket blows.
What would cause oil to be in the radiator?
According to Eric the Car Guy, a blown head gasket denotes that the combustion system is leaking oil into the cooling chamber of the car. Head gasket failure is often the most frequent reason for such a leak. Another possibility is that a leaking intake gasket is causing an oil problem.
Originally Posted by NoEmissions84TA
Add 1 cup of Lestoil (buy it at Lowes) to the radiator. It will break down the oil so that it will mix with the water. Drain, flush, refill with water, try it again. If you still get oil, then it was not coming from the transmission.
Ok, I used some radiator cleaning solutions and drained the system a couple of times, on the third one I ran a de-ionized water hose from one end of the radiator until it came out on the other end draining the whole system even the heater core, after that the water came out crystal clear...
..for like 70 miles, yesterday I had my car lifted from the top to replace the suspension and I noticed that the brown water came back.
First, to clear up one bit of confusion, when Eric the Car Guy talks about oil entering the cooling system at the head gaskets, he is not talking about cam in block engines, like all of the chevy V8s. There is no pressurized oil passing through the head gaskets in these motors because there is no pressurized oil in the cyl head. Engine oil in the coolant could only come from a cracked block.
If in fact it is rust rather than oil that is contaminating the coolant, you need to follow GD's recommendation and flush the block a few times. It is hard to remove all of the rust from a cooling system that hasn't been maintained as the rust tends to settle in the bottom recesses of the block.
The coolant has anti corrosion additive in it. That's why a 50/50 mix is essential and as much as a 70/30 mix can be used. The more water in the mix, up to 50%, the better heat exchange. The old green coolant, which should never be used in anything, had silica sand(ethylene glycol silicate) emulsified in the ethylene glycol coolant. Trouble is, the sand would fall out of suspension over time, especially in engines that weren't run for periods of time, leaving no protection. Nothing preventing the iron from rusting and the aluminum from corroding and metals from mixing in the fluid and eating at each other. Organic acid coolants, which is everything but the old green stuff, contains organic acids that prevent the metals from corroding. Unlike the silica sand, the acids don't fall out of the mix, so the corrosion protection lasts for years, even when a car sits over time.
The coolant to use in these early engines is Zerex G-05. It is an OAT(organic acid technology) coolant that also contains silica sand. The silica sand, aside from being the old tech choice for anti corrosion, is also a sealant to cover very small leaks and porosity. G-05 gives us the best of both the old and the new technology and it will protect your cooling system and engine for 5 years, even if you garage your car over winter like I do. Speaking of which, I'm due to replace my G-05 coolant this summer.
BTW, all of this information comes from the Prestone company.
The coolant to use in these early engines is Zerex G-05. It is an OAT(organic acid technology) coolant that also contains silica sand. The silica sand, aside from being the old tech choice for anti corrosion, is also a sealant to cover very small leaks and porosity. G-05 gives us the best of both the old and the new technology and it will protect your cooling system and engine for 5 years, even if you garage your car over winter like I do. Speaking of which, I'm due to replace my G-05 coolant this summer.
BTW, all of this information comes from the Prestone company.
First, to clear up one bit of confusion, when Eric the Car Guy talks about oil entering the cooling system at the head gaskets, he is not talking about cam in block engines, like all of the chevy V8s. There is no pressurized oil passing through the head gaskets in these motors because there is no pressurized oil in the cyl head. Engine oil in the coolant could only come from a cracked block.
So if I have a cracked block I should have water in my oil as well, and this is not the case, is just the water that is contaminated.
If in fact it is rust rather than oil that is contaminating the coolant, you need to follow GD's recommendation and flush the block a few times. It is hard to remove all of the rust from a cooling system that hasn't been maintained as the rust tends to settle in the bottom recesses of the block.
I did flush it a few times using the prestone radiator flush kit and on the last time I even remove the thermostat and disconnected the hose going to the engine and connected a hose with diwater and ran it until all came out clear on the radiator, it stayed clean but it came back after like 50 miles.
The coolant has anti corrosion additive in it. That's why a 50/50 mix is essential and as much as a 70/30 mix can be used. The more water in the mix, up to 50%, the better heat exchange. The old green coolant, which should never be used in anything, had silica sand(ethylene glycol silicate) emulsified in the ethylene glycol coolant. Trouble is, the sand would fall out of suspension over time, especially in engines that weren't run for periods of time, leaving no protection. Nothing preventing the iron from rusting and the aluminum from corroding and metals from mixing in the fluid and eating at each other. Organic acid coolants, which is everything but the old green stuff, contains organic acids that prevent the metals from corroding. Unlike the silica sand, the acids don't fall out of the mix, so the corrosion protection lasts for years, even when a car sits over time.
I haven't use any coolant at all, I been using plain water, I don't want to waste money in coolant if is going to be contaminated next day.
The coolant to use in these early engines is Zerex G-05. It is an OAT(organic acid technology) coolant that also contains silica sand. The silica sand, aside from being the old tech choice for anti corrosion, is also a sealant to cover very small leaks and porosity. G-05 gives us the best of both the old and the new technology and it will protect your cooling system and engine for 5 years, even if you garage your car over winter like I do. Speaking of which, I'm due to replace my G-05 coolant this summer.
BTW, all of this information comes from the Prestone company.
Can it be that is just getting bad from the water since is an iron block?
I will try to flush and use G-05 coolant.
There is not much worse you can do than run straight water in a mixed metal system. In the cooling system on a thrird gen you have cast iron block, aluminum radiator, brass or aluminum heater core, aluminum intake manifold and throttle body. Depending on the engine you may also have aluminum heads. The unprotected metals mix in the water and react badly with each other. You will have leaks internal and external before you know it. When you tear down to fix the leaks you'll find erosion on the aluminum surfaces. It can make re-sealing the engine nearly impossible. BTW, use distilled water with your coolant rather than tap water. Tap water has minerals that your engine doesn't need.
it might be late now but did you drain the block? there are pipe plugs on either side of the block that are for draining the block (mine have them....but its an aftermarket block..can someone confirm that stock blocks have them) I think its 1/4 or 3/8 pipe thread with a Allen head on them....mine were tight as hell but I got a ton of crap out of them block by cracking them open, so much that I had to use a coat hanger to break it up on one side BC it initially came out as a drizzle.
there are pipe plugs on either side of the block that are for draining the block (mine have them....but its an aftermarket block..can someone confirm that stock blocks have them)
Yes, they are there in stock blocks. Typically one is used by the knock sensor. 1/4" pipe thread.
