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#1
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Brown slurry in coolant = me confused
I just flushed the cooling system today, and found a load of a brown, diarrhea-like slurry in the auxiliary tank. Considering the heads and block are aluminum, and won't rust, what could this be from?
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I can do no wrong, for I do not know what it is. -The Mysterious Stranger Joe Giliberti 1992 SVX LS Formerly 1995 Volvo 854t |
#2
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Re: Brown slurry in coolant = me confused
i belive its the stop leak stuff it should come out just take the aux coolant tank off and blast it out with the hose
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#3
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Re: Brown slurry in coolant = me confused
Quote:
This stop leak stuff stops the leaks but it also seals off grills in your radiator. Eventually it destroys the effectiveness of your cooling system. All of the bottles say that they "Won't clot" but you should really give your cooling a good 1 over. |
#4
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Re: Brown slurry in coolant = me confused
Sounds a lot like the Subaru "Cooling System Conditioner", perhaps someone put it in thinking it was more than just stop leak. (That's all it is, it's not the "additive" that they play it off to be, it's just to keep the phase I 2.5L motors from leaking coolant... )
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1992 SVX LS-L #1222 Pearl White 1987 GL Turbo wagon, 5 lug conversion, D/R 5 speed (Rice killer) 1992 Dodge Ram 4x4 diesel (car hauler) 1968 Dodge Polara convertible (Camaro killer) 1990 Toyota Corolla FWD auto (330,000 mile grocery getter) 1986 VW Jetta |
#5
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Re: Brown slurry in coolant = me confused
The "Stop-Leak" additives will usually not be like you described. They will be flaky, settle and plug the hose at the bottom of the tank like a 1 way valve.
I hate to say it but this sounds more like a head gasket failure and your exhaust is leaking into your coolant. Just not sure why it's brown. With the engine running you will probably see bubbles in the tank and steam coming out of it. Of course I may be wrong and if that's the case you should be happy.
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David B. SVXipedia @ SVX-IW.COM -- SVX Information Warehouse 2.0 coming...eventually! Ebony 1992 SVX LS-L 5 spd Koni/GC Stebro 187k miles RIP (Rust In Pieces) 1993 SVX 5 spd Koni/GC Stebro Polyurethane bushings still available! |
#6
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Re: Brown slurry in coolant = me confused
it happened to me with my first svx....was your engine overheating ? were u missing a littlebit of engine oil ? if so i would say headgasket. the oil was going into the cooling system wich made his effectiveness bad ,the oil is much lighter than coolant, so it was only at the surface of the coolant .sometimes it was sprewing everywhere from the expension tank where it looked like dirt when it was empty...i guess it was because the oil was burning. have a look
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Claret 92 Ls-l R.I.P - 24XXXX - kms "april 2008" rest in pieces Ebony black 92 Ls-l Alive - 25XXXX - Quick change, Powermod , Alternator Mod , audiobahn 1300 watt ach ,exile 800 watt peak, jackhammer 12" 300 watt rms, polkaudio 6 1/2 compoment. kenwood dvd\nav . radar detector.small car lens and grill Last edited by Francis; 09-03-2008 at 07:30 PM. |
#7
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Re: Brown slurry in coolant = me confused
Eh, I had the same. I just chocked it up to really old coolant and flushed it really well. (remove t-stat and rad hoses, put garden hose in upper water pipe thing on the engine, let-r-rip till good, clean water is coming out.) That was 2 months and a lot of miles ago, haven't seen a problem.
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Chris 92 Ebony Mica LS-L "A Rolling Restoration": 223,250 KM - Sleeping 2007 STi 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, PWR Rad, JDM hood badge, svxfiles 6000K HIDs, JDM Clear Corners, $15/15 min mod, $20/20 min mod, Energy Swaybar Bushings, Hella Supertones horns, Gold STi BBS rims, Group A lightweight crank pulley, A/C system removed, Custom header-back exhaust, Hybrid carbon/metal rear sway bar, restored headlights with CCFL halos 2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Diamond Grey Metallic - Sold 2020 Ram 1500 Longhorn - Red Pearl |
#8
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Re: Brown slurry in coolant = me confused
I wouldn't leap to the head gasket conclusion absent other symptoms; that's your worst case scenario. Even if the stuff in the tank is stop-leak sludge, it could date back to something dumped-in years ago by a previous owner trying to limp around with a busted radiator. I'd just fill with fresh coolant and keep a keen eye on fluid levels and the temp gauge for awhile.
If you're having overheating troubles, coolant boiling in the overflow and such, that's a different story. dcb |
#9
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Re: Brown slurry in coolant = me confused
Now would be a good time for a coolant flush.
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Tim 92 Liquid Silver SVX 5MT 2009 BMW Z4 (Gone) 2012 Camry V6 SE |
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