13 replies to this topic

[HurryUpMiniMetro]

Hi All,

 

I'm quite new to the forum and need a little advice if this rust or oil in my radiator? The stuff lines the walls inside it and doesn't really feel like oil but considering all the different opinions on what is oil or not and that some people say if it's mixed it should look like Baileys I'm already a bit confused on my situation

 

 

Thank you very much for any help

[68+86auto]

just looks like water/rust to me.

[ings]

rust, looks like it needs a little bit love. maybe there is to much water or the colant liquid is old and no rust proteciton chemicals left.

 

1 drain all the colant by removing the lower hose ( dispose properly )

2 flush the system with a lot of water, you can open the radiatorcap an let the water flow with a water hose.

3 when there is no rust comming out of the flush you can drain all the water and refill the system with colant.

 

maybe you have to repat the flush a few times to get all the rust out of the engine.

 

fresh colant should protect the engine, hoses, waterpump and radiator from rust.
 

[mbolt998]

That looks fine to me. If oil is getting there from the engine then water will also be getting into the oil and you will see mayonnaise under the rocker cover or on the dipstick (engine oil goes like that if water gets into it). I think that's what your friend might have meant by "Baileys". If the oil looks oily then you're fine. I'd top that radiator up a bit though.

[slidehammer]

That looks fairly normal to me, the blocks and heads are cast iron and do corrode a bit with time, even with anti freeze in them. Worth changing the coolant and flushing the system with a hose pipe and cold water to try and get as much crud out s you can.

[HurryUpMiniMetro]

I've just put the water up to the correct amount and after returning home it's drained back to the height it was before weirdly?

 

Now to figure out the mystery of the disappearing coolant. It's def not through the exhaust because my friend who follows me generally likes to say if my exhaust throws any smoke out and I can't see and dripping or coolant anywhere else than in the radiator. What a pain

[68+86auto]

What temperature is it running at?

 

If you can buy one, a cooling system pressure tester is a great tool to have. Then there is no guessing if there are going to be any leaks as they will show up. Also good if it can test the cap as they fail often.

[Steve220]

Does it get any lower than that? Thought being that when the system gets hot and pressurises, it'll force some out if over filled and return to a level. The MPi is very good at this... if the cap and tank aren't totally screwed!

[mbolt998]

Does it get any lower than that? Thought being that when the system gets hot and pressurises, it'll force some out if over filled and return to a level. The MPi is very good at this... if the cap and tank aren't totally screwed!

In my car anyway the level it finds for itself in normal driving is a bit higher than that. Maybe half an inch or so above the actual matrix. But I have fitted a ghetto expansion bottle (just a 500ml coke bottle strapped above the subframe with some old bicycle inner tubes) and I think it does suck a bit back in from there.

[Quinlan minor]

Reminds me of a Jag we had.

Kept losing coolant. Pressure tested okay, no sign of leaks.

After many visits, we had it up on the ramp, for the umpteenth time, one frosty November evening.

Backlit, from the workshop, you could see a faint cloud of steam coming from one of the hoses.It had a micropore that would let water vapour escape, but not liquid. As it condensed in the cold air, we could, finally, see it.

New hose, problem solved.

[sonscar]

I had a vauxhall astra mk1 which did exactly the same thing,sweating through a hose,Steve..

[bpirie1000]

I would suggest to check a bypass hose... if you have one...

[growlerbearnz]

I've just put the water up to the correct amount ...

 

You say "water" but you mean "coolant" right? Engines need proper coolant (sometimes called antifreeze) to stop them corroding away internally. Using plain water without any additive is asking for trouble. 

Racers sometimes run plain water, but racers also rebuild their engines regularly. 

Edited by growlerbearnz, 08 June 2023 - 11:31 PM.

[HurryUpMiniMetro]

Yep I mean coolant, I've checked the system over again for any leaks but haven't found any. It just seems that when the coolant is over the fins it either kicks it out the overflow or just disappears so I assume the radiator cap isn't fitting right leading to it boiling away. I'll teat this new 15psi cap I've got on the way and fingers crossed that sorts it. If not I'm having the radiator out 🥴