Whats this in my radiator?

Hey guys, I just had my radiator re-cored a couple weeks ago. Today I stuck a finger in the filler neck to check fluid level, and found this brown grease-like stuff on the inner tank walls. I have put less than 100 miles on since it was recored.

I don't remember anything like this before. Could it be some kind of soldering flux from the re-core job? What the hell? I sure don't want to plug up a new rad.

 

Probably stop leak pellets.. New car manufacturers drop a couple in every radiator before start up...........

 

Yep, I vote for Bars Leak. I used it in my new radiator in my truck.

 

That makes me feel better. So the pellets probably in the new core. Thanks guys!

 

Black Primer

In all my life and all the RADs that I've had re-cored,

I've NEVER had one come back with any Crap in it like that....

How much did you pay for that job ?

ARE you happy with the end results ?

Just my two cents !!!!!!

I could buy Barleak at the Parts store for a couple of bucks .....

 

Im not understanding why you would need any kind of leak pellets or Bars leak on a fresh new radiator. Wouldnt that be a sign of poor workmanship?

 

rougebeats

I agree 100 %

and thats kind of my point also ...

whats the point of the barleak if you sent it to the Rad shop ?

Did THEY use barleak in it ?

 

could be water pump lubricant or Bars

 

The old S10 plant in Moraine put 2 pellets in every truck just before start up for the first time........

 

I dont see that much flushing from the engine within 100 or so miles. My guess is that there was a "quick fix" additive put in yours. Not really something I'd expect from a radiator shop. Ask the guy who re-cored your radiator if there was an additive after he finished his work.

 

how does the engine oil look? If it's milk-shakey there's likely an oil-to-coolant leak somewhere.

 

Judging by the finger you shared so proudly to us. It wasn't the radiator you checked .

 

Hahaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

frog mucus : ) seriously , is it kind of greasy ? it could be flux / solder paste from soldering on new core , they do dip a recored radiator in a tank of water and fill it with air to test for leaks , they dont change the water in the tank till its gross , maybe its slime from the test tank ?

 

I am wondering if you have water in the oil since it looks like theres oil in your rad?

 

Oatmeal? Black pepper?

 

Horse shit?

 

Not to scare you, but I've also seen alot of engines with cracked heads or bad headgaskets push crap (rusty sludge) into the rad. When you start the engine up, does it bubble in the rad?

 

Did you use any stop leak or other snake oil remedies in the cooling system before you changed radiators?

Is the engine fresh and just rebuilt and hot tanked or has it been running for a number of years. If the engine has a lot of miles on it and wasn't flushed out almost any kind of residue could be in it. And as some of the guys said, a lot of people arbitrarily put in a bottle of Bars leak or water pump in ever cooling system that they have or work on leak or not.

And it could just be the fresh coolant breaking crud loose out of the block and heads. You did use fresh coolant and not pour old stuff back in out of a jug or drain pan?

 

X2 on the head gasket.
That looks alot like you are getting exhaust gases into the water jacket.
Fill the rad to the brim and start the engine, do you see constant bubbling?
head gasket/warped head etc.




.

 

Been there..............hopefully it's just left over residue from the radiator shop

 

Bars stop leak doesnt look like that .It will look like speckles in the water even after a long time .I use it in everything i own as well as "Water Wetter" with it (both great products BTW).To me that looks like oil in the water ...

 

Wow lots of different ideas here.

I never added any stop leak to it.

Yes it is greasy and thick.

The engine oil is nice and clean, looks new.

It really dosen't seem like its a rusty residue, more like grease.

Motor was rebuilt about 1500 miles ago. I'm not too confident of the rebuilders abilitys. Pretty sure the block wasn't tanked. Runs great, but I think it was just freshened up.

Yes I paid plenty for the re-core. Maybe they used an additive? A phone call is in order.

Lastly, sorry for giving you guys the finger!

 

I'll try topping off the radiator, and check for bubbling tomorrow.

 

....I agreed ......I would flush out the radiator and see if its still there.....Hope its not a head gasket...

 

Any chance you mixed orange "Dexcool" style antifreeze with normal green stuff? If you did, that could be your problem. When those 2 mix, they turn into a wierd brown clay like substance. I"ve seen one stop up a complete radiator.
Just my $.02

 

Are there any other simple tests I can do to detect a bad head gasket? I just can't believe I would get that much crap inside clean tanks so soon. I'm gonna talk to the rad man tuesday.

 

No Dex-cool, only green anti-freeze, distilled water and one bottle of water wetter.

 

does it have a tranny cooler in the bottom? if so, it may be leaking internally

 

that was my guess too.