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Brown Sludge
by
One_punchmachinegun
on 12 Jul, 2012 17:01
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Ok, So i was driving to work today and everything seemed good, I got to work, parked the car and got out and smelled coolant. I looked under and nothing, so i popped the hood and took a peek, and it looked like a blood bath in the engine bay. There was this pastey stuff all over everything that obliviously came from the Radiator. I Didnt know what to make of it at the moment plus i was late so i just shut the hood and walked away.
Then i went back out on my first break to investigate a little more. I pulled the rad cap off and there was a mud(brown) substance in there and around. Its pretty thick stuff, But foamy. I didnt see any actual coolant looking down the rad. I dont know what to make of it. I dont understand what could cause this... Please let me know
Thank you
Tim
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#1
by
DRP67207
on 12 Jul, 2012 17:15
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Sounds like a head gasket. The sludge is a mixture of oil and coolant, and it sounds like it built pressure in the coolant system, blowing a hose or something and spraying the concoction about the engine bay. Fun... Just finishing up replacing my head and gasket, good luck getting it fixed.
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#2
by
burn_your_money
on 12 Jul, 2012 17:16
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What does the oil look like?
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#3
by
8v-of-fury
on 12 Jul, 2012 17:42
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Oh no Tim!
That is just the luck.. You will probably find that the oil level is down, as it is more than likely (was) in your coolant.. which is now on your engine
.
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#4
by
745 turbogreasel
on 12 Jul, 2012 17:45
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Although leaking oil and tranny coolers can also produce said sludge, and are worth checking.
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#5
by
One_punchmachinegun
on 12 Jul, 2012 18:04
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I check the oil and it is perfect no issue there... I just did a fresh oil change today and it is the same as when i did the change, no milking sludge on the oil cap either.
Ok so the engine is a mechanical one, and it does have a MLS headgasket with the two oil drain holes. Was plugged, but do you think this is the issue?
I'm not to worried about replacing the head gasket if that is the case, i perfer not to
I just dont want this car down again. Plus my wifes car just blow a heater core!
Head gasket options if that is the case. What is the best fiber gaskets you can get? I would go for the MLS gasket with the sigle hole, but not in for the wait.
And i want to be able to push 25psi if i feel like it.
^ this is all if that is the case
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#6
by
One_punchmachinegun
on 12 Jul, 2012 18:15
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Also, correct me if im wrong but i though that the mixture between oil and coolant make a milkly,thick, white-ish color mixture. This stuff is like rust colored.
DO i attempt to drive it home? i dont live that far.. and 14 miles. IT was Not over heating either. So??? No white smoke out the exhaust either, Thats where im confused with the head gasket.... I lack other symtoms.
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#7
by
theman53
on 12 Jul, 2012 18:20
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I am guessing but it could be years of radiator stop leak finally letting go. HG and oil cooler are good things to check as those mentioned.
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#8
by
8v-of-fury
on 12 Jul, 2012 18:22
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If the coolant is full, of something. It wasn't over heating, and there was no smoke. I personally would drive it home. It could get bad from there..
Here si a good question, What year is the engine being that it is mechanical? Does it have metal coolant flanges on the head or plastic?
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#9
by
745 turbogreasel
on 12 Jul, 2012 18:36
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hmmm, a bad coolant bottle or cap can blow a bunch out when you park sometimes.
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#10
by
One_punchmachinegun
on 12 Jul, 2012 18:39
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it is plastic. i switched it over to fit my MK2 wireharness without issue.
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#11
by
One_punchmachinegun
on 12 Jul, 2012 18:43
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Yes, but the cap was bandnew. But the big concern is the pastey stuff. I was running just water for a little while then just added coolant today also. Could that cause it. It seems that it has to be some type of chemical reaction.
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#12
by
ORCoaster
on 12 Jul, 2012 18:55
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Let me propose this: Coolant/water/some sort of prior radiator treatment + Air. Froth it up with a little head gasket air infeed and or an air bubble from heater core not full when system refilled. Now drive on that and produce a thick gooey mass of slime being asked to remove heat from the engine. Not efficient enough so temp and pressure build. Not going to show heat because air in foam won't let gauge do its work. Finally the pressure on the cap or a hose lets go and Kabluey you got radiator puke all over the engine bay.
I worked in a place where we did radiator repairs as well as AC installs. That corner of the building produced some awful smells, slimes and critters we called aliens. Back flushing them bad boys was an incredibly disgusting task.
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#13
by
One_punchmachinegun
on 12 Jul, 2012 18:59
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So you are saying that there is a chance that i was over-heating?
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#14
by
ORCoaster
on 12 Jul, 2012 19:39
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Yes, and in doing so when you add air to it all some sort of goo was coming out of the head, the heater core and or the radiator. Got it all slimey inside. Basically you just hot tanked your engine clean. If it was running pretty well I would be suspect of a head gasket. Compression test would tell you that easy enough. Your oil was clean so that is why I am putting down the clean of coolant system theory here. A good flush of the system when warm might do wonders for all parts concerned.