bluebird71

iTrader: (54)

My car has been running hotter lately and getting upwards of 230º even with the 160º thermostat. I figured the thermo had just gone bad until I investigated further. I found that the coolant reservoir had a crack in the top of it, possible from the weight of the Optina battery, but what shocked me the most was when I pulled it off and dumped it out and what came out looked a lot like dog ****. I'm wondering what could have happened here and how serious this is. I'm going to go get it flushed out I guess, but will that be enough and is there more going on here than just the radiator. Here is what came out:

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Holy Chit thats crazy...

bluebird71

iTrader: (54)

Motor still runs fine but I gotta figure out what this is. I was planning on doing my blower install next weekend too.

dilatedpeoples28

iTrader: (16)

wow, never seen anything like that lol

Patrick G

iTrader: (14)

Yuck. That's some nasty looking stuff. Glad you found the problem.

Soul TKR

iTrader: (4)

looks like typical effects from Dexcool crap... mine did the same thing for the longest time. I'd flush, put in fresh Dexcool, flush again, more Dexcool, etc... after a lot of research I ended up finding out that the Dexcool was the culprit. Put in some yellow/green Prestone extended life and haven't had a problem since. I check it often, and never get the "jelly" substance that I was getting from the Dexcool. That stuff is complete crap...

LS1crazy01

iTrader: (14)

X2 I kept getting some nasty gritty crap in my resivour and I would flush it and after a few days there would be more. I finally switched to some yellow stuff and its been clean for about 10 months now.

jam01

the problem with dexcool is you are supposed to use distilled water. that nasty **** is what comes from tap water.

71-Camaro-98

iTrader: (17)

The first week I got my Camaro I had it flushed and only distilled water and Prestone have gone in it since. Never had a problem.

bluebird71

iTrader: (54)

Do you think this **** is clogged up in my thermo or will a flush clear all that out too?

badhoopty

looks familiar... yesterday i managed to squeeze this out of my overflow tube while flushing my system due to a faulty power steering cooler. the stuff is so sticky that putting air to the tube wouldnt shoot it out.
http://pics.montypics.com/badhoopty/...6_img_4195.jpg

i too had a cracked overflow tank that i replaced about 3 years ago. i didnt notice any of this stuff in there, but then again i wasnt looking...

rest of my cooling system looks like its in very good shape besides being recently subjected to about 30 or so miles of power steering fluid contamination. i'm completely ocd when it comes to maintaining this car, and i know for a fact that in the 6 years i've had the car that no green stuff has been added and it has never been ran with low coolant.

i'm thinking its just typical dexcool voodoo from being exposed to air and constant wet/dry cycles in the overflow.

jam01

i would flush it real good, or you could replace the radiator. just check the cooling fins inside and keep an eye on what comes out. exspensive but better than a new engine.

bluebird71

iTrader: (54)

So should I keep runing the Dexcool and mix it with distilled water or what?

jam01

you can do that or flush and use the green stuff. they still recomend using distilled water with the green stuff. tapwater has too many impurities in it.

ADM

I found this similar crap stuck to my radiator cap when I opened it a few weeks ago at the start of my cam swap. And this is a new radiator, hardly 1000 miles on it! I am flushing it and flushing the block as well.

DaddySS

Flush it three times per the service guidelines - allow the thermostat to open each time then refill with dexcool and clean drinkable water. You do not need distilled water with dexcool, just clean water - I use bottled water in the gallon jugs.

bluebird71

iTrader: (54)

How many gallons do I need to get to put in there?

71-Camaro-98

iTrader: (17)

It is always a better thing to put Distilled water into a radiator no matter what coolant you are using. The reaction you worry about is between the radiator metals and the water, not the water and the coolant.