Brown Sludge in the radiator.... suggestions please?

[PanthaVS]

Hey everyone,

Here's all the info:
1996 VS Series II S-Pac Sedan (3.8ltr Auto)
245,XXX kms
Located MELB CBD.

Checked the radiator fluid yesterday, and it was like a mud mix in the radiator. The cap had a thick sludge on it.

I checked the oil, it was a bit low, (I topped it up to get home) but it didn't seem to have water in it (Wasn't milky white) so I believe the leak is ONLY from oil to water, and not the other way.

What I'm asking is, what are my options and how much financially would that option be?

I'm thinking:
- engine swap? (Maybe even to a s/c engine?)
- if its just a head gasket, repair it?

any input/other ideas would be a big help...

cheers!

[soop]

Drain it out and refill it for a start.
Could be just really really old. My old mans is like that, has been for nearly 12months... Its probably the factory coolant.

Then get the cooling system pressure tested.

[justbad4you]

Flush it,change to coolent not water,take a look and see if you can see an oil leak? Hope it aint burning oild,bleed the coooling system.im off to work ill get back to you later this eve if no ones gotten back to you,,,cheers

[justbad4you]

HERE DO THIS IF YOU KNOW HOW>?Get some good quality radiator flush, Nulon or Tectaloy are good, probably cost you $5-$10. Run that in the radiator with plain water for a day or so. When it's nice and cold, just drop the bottom hose off the radiator and empty the water out, it should be a little murky depending on how much crud is in your cooling system. While you do that, unscrew the washer/overflow bottle from the engine bay and empty it out. Spray some windex or light degreaser in and flush the whole lot clean. Screw that back in and put everything back where it was. pop the bottom radiator hose back on and fill with plain water again, turn the car over for a minute and then turn it off again, empty all the water out of the cooling system again, repeat this process until it runs clear.

Make a 50/50 mix of good quality coolant concentrate and fill the whole lot up. It's ok to dilute the mixture a little with water, no more than 30/70 coolant/water though, and no more than 50/50 even mix, because of the poor cooling qualities of excessive coolant mixture. Run the car until the thermostat opens and top up the radiator. If you have the same engine as mine, pop the radiator cap back on and unscrew the bleed valve at the top of the thermostat housing a little, when green coolant starts coming out that means you've purged the system of air. You're ready to drive.

[PanthaVS]

more info:

I have an oil pressure gauge, when i was driving the car home yesterday, the oil pressure stayed normal and the temperature (after topping up the coolant to get me home) stayed cool (below 1/4 on the gauge)

Im just heading out to flush the coolant and check the oil now... will keep you posted...

[Krilnik]

Mine was like that. Brown and sludgy. I hadn't changed the water for like 3 years.

I drained the water and replaced with a bit of coolant. Its now clear and green and has been like that since.

Nothing to worry about.

[rch-13z]

That sounds like a inlet manifold gasket, common problem - including mine which should getting swapped in the new year

[PanthaVS]

UPDATE:

just flushed the system, when i removed the bottom hose, the "coolant" came out pretty clear/fresh. So i dare say, the sludge (which floats) was a little bit near the top.

I reconnected the bottom hose, filled it up with normal water (as to flush it, will put coolant in once it cools) it pressurised nicely, the top hose is firm to squeeze when hot. but... i noticed...

On the top of the inlet manifold, at the front, directly behind the thermostat housing, (Passenger side) was a pool of green coolant. which leads me to agree with rch-13z:

That sounds like a inlet manifold gasket, common problem - including mine which should getting swapped in the new year

So, looks like im going to need a new gasket too... But to absolutely confirm, im going to pressure clean my engine (its filthy) and see if i can find the leak... Or should i just change the gasket anyway?

[soop]

Ahh just change the gasket. Piece of piss to do mate. Saves the hassles later.

[PanthaVS]

Have done some ringing around...
Cheapest i can find is bursons in west melb, spoke to a bloke name phil, said there are 4 different types, (all in stock) so i need to take my engine no# with me...

but he informs me the cheapest is $80 and most expensive is $115 ... depending on which set i need.

Before that, i rang repco south melb, and they said they have it in stock, but mentioned nothing about different types, and quoted me $165... what a rip... no expertise and a high price!!

And autobahn... apparently rang 2 suppliers and he can't even source v6 inlet manifold gaskets... only v8 ones... what the?!

So anyway is $80-$115 a good price?

[PanthaVS]

Update:
Got the gaskets (including a throttle body gasket) with coolant for $125.

Going to change the gaskets soon... my question is... what could i do whilst i have the inlet manifold off...

eg:
- check the PCV to make sure its working.
- Clean injectors
- manifold isolator

and yeah???

[djvass]

I would be taking the lid off the manifold and cleaning all the black burnt fuel off it and then cleaning the throttle body as well. Make sure you have the fuel line disconnector tool to take the fuel lines off makes your job 100 times easier. I would also be putting a new thermostat in and gasket as well. I just did all of the above about 1 month ago. You should have got the gasket from mace on this website or off eBay $110 and they would have lasted the life of the car.

[justbad4you]

WITH OUT THE fuel line disconnector tool IS HARD TO GET THE FILTER OFF....