Dirty water? what could be the problem?

[DK-VX]

Hey guys,
alrighty, so my VX has been giving me way too many problems for my liking..

I've been noticing alot of dirty water under the radiator cap, even after a complete flush, new radiator and thermostat?
I've been told that it could be due to something corroding through the water pump? The cars done 203,000 k's so it wouldn't suprise me. Would it be as simple as just a water pump replacement or something else?

I've noticed the issue when the car overheated, where at that point i had the thermostat replaced, then two weeks later, overheated again.

[calais24/7]

define dirty water. Could be a sign your head gasket is blown

[accentstencil]

Are you using coolant or just water?

[DK-VX]

Coolant was put in it, it was nice and green when the radiator was changed about 3 weeks ago, now the waters gone "rusty", a brownish dirty color, ill take a picture in a few minutes and upload it.

[karlos]

When radiator was changed was it a new item?

Regarding the overheating have you tried re-bleeding the system?

[wortus]

When you flushed it or when it was flushed was the heater core flushed out properly? When I did mine I removed the hoses near the water pump going to the heater core and flushed the core out seperately, a fair bit of browish sludge came out.
Have you had the car long and has the cooling system been maintained in the past according to requirements?

[DK-VX]

When you flushed it or when it was flushed was the heater core flushed out properly? When I did mine I removed the hoses near the water pump going to the heater core and flushed the core out seperately, a fair bit of browish sludge came out.
Have you had the car long and has the cooling system been maintained in the past according to requirements?

I had the mechanic flush it out, so couldn't really answer that, he says it was done right?
I've had the car for about 3 or 4 months now, and from what I'm aware, the only maintenance done was through a regular service.

This cars giving me nothing but dramas sadly to say, currently i've had:
- Alternator replacement.
- Ignition barrel replacement.
- Exhaust has an issue that needs a replacement.
- Alot of body work due to the height, bumper replacements and paint resprays.
- The electrical system fry itself.
- Power windows faulty.
- Power steering issues (fixed).

Yes.. i bought a lemon -.-


Anyway, here are the photos, apologies for the poor quality, taken from the phone:


Edit:
I'm thinking the water pump may have just coroded due to the excess km's.

[accentstencil]

Maybe crap coolant was put in or it was too weak, because there really shouldn't be any corrosion if the correct coolant is used as it has corrosion inhibitors. Good coolant concentrate that meets Holden's specifications will cost at least $30-$40. I'd be inclined to flush the system thoroughly again and use good coolant at the correct 50/50 ratio. After flushing put 6 litres of coolant in and the top up with de-mineralised water.

[Rhin0o8]

Looks like Oil in the water??

Lower Inner Manifold Gasket ( LIM ).

you getting any water loss? or missing/hesitating at idle?

[wortus]

The coolant looks a bit weak if it's new and 50/50 it should be a bright fluro green. I have used Nulon Long Life for years and have had no problems. It's meant to be kinder to the seals than GMH coolant and you don't need the pellets. From the Nulon site it's the same sort of coolant that is used in export models. You do need to flush out the old coolant completely before using it though.
the level in your radiator looks a bit low as well. When you take the cap off a cold engine the coolant should be up around the top of the filler, so you may have a faulty cap or some trapped air?

[graham7773]

Just a thought, transmission fluid? I had the problem a few months ago and was cracked tranny cooler in radiator. New $125 radiator from ebay (free delivery) Installed the new radiator, no more discoloured coolant. Been to Qld and back since. I hope it's that simple for you.

[mattgear]

Hi DK-VX your problem lays with your inlet manifold gasket (have replaced heaps) generaly speaking they are paper from factor and are the most common thing to go in the eco techs. if you go to repco or holden they will sell you a revise metal gasket.

[wortus]

Hi DK-VX your problem lays with your inlet manifold gasket (have replaced heaps) generaly speaking they are paper from factor and are the most common thing to go in the eco techs. if you go to repco or holden they will sell you a revise metal gasket.

Do you know when the revised metal gaskets replaced the paper ones in production?

[ch1mp]

Hi DK-VX your problem lays with your inlet manifold gasket (have replaced heaps) generaly speaking they are paper from factor and are the most common thing to go in the eco techs. if you go to repco or holden they will sell you a revise metal gasket.

yep i've just had this recently, check your oil cap too. mine was like jelly and found out that it was the inlet manifold gasket. if it was a head gasket you nearly wouldn't be able to run your car unless you fill it up with water every 5 minutes and you'd be getting a lot of crap coming out of your exhaust. also i had oil in my radiator and overflow reservoir. if you don't get it done pretty soon you might start hearing tappet noises too. then you need an engine flush. that's what i need done

[jetboy]

Hi DK-VX your problem lays with your inlet manifold gasket (have replaced heaps) generaly speaking they are paper from factor and are the most common thing to go in the eco techs. if you go to repco or holden they will sell you a revise metal gasket.

have seen this myself ...many times common

[Bowen]

you might also find that your old radiator / heater box just has a shit load of corrosion from improper maintenance, when i boguht my car at 130K i knew it had rustyish coolant, was in the back of my mind to replace, then replaced it at 160, flushed it no joke 6 times (as in with new radiator not reusing old one), before the water coming out was clear enough for my liking! so yeah just make sure you really give it a GOOD flush when you do it, n itl work wonders! p.s sounds like the LIM gasket to me also!