Murky coolant, over and over

[DCEPTCN]

I've got a new 87 GN and it's had a problem since I recently got it. I originally noticed that my water/coolant was really murky (looks like there's mud in it) so, of course, I flushed the bejeezus out of it and put new mix in. At the end of flushing, the water ran perfectly clear. As soon as I drove it into town and back, I noticed that the mix in the reservoir looked 'muddy' again. Sure enough, it is the same in the radiator. Now I've already made plans for a new radiator, but does anybody have any guesses as to what this might be?

BTW, I know of no obvious leaks or other openings that could let in dust, etc.

 

[strikeeagle]

Somebody could have left the coolant in too long (like 10 years). Or used DEXCOOL - yikes!!!

RMI-25 is good for clearing this stuff out. May take a few changes before things start looking better. But RMI can't work miracles.

What about your heater core?

You definitely want a pristine cooling system on a TR - discourages knock.

Good luck...

 

[Gary Wells]

Water passages inaside the block might be the culprit. You might want to remove the thermostat and then reflush. This is only a guess,though.
I would do that before you pay for the new radiator, too.

 

[TurboDave]

My bet would also be somebody put DEXCOOL in it

Just keep flushing/driving/flushing/driving, etc. It took me 5 flush cycles to get the DEXCOOL out of mine
My fault BTW. Back before anybody realized what crap it was.

 

[DCEPTCN]

I'm out of the loop on this one,guys. I've never heard of this DEXCOOL (?) stuff.................

 

[87gninpa]

DEXCOOL is simply the orange colored coolant used in most new GM vehicles. I dont know what about it is bad for our cars, but i do know that regular green coolant is bad fro the newer GMs as well./

 

[garysol1]

Head or intake gasket? Oil mixing with the coolant? Hope not but a thought

 

[chevyII]

how did you flush the system? Ive seen guys open the petcock and shove a hose in where the cap goes. The problem with that is is the flush going through the block? In my experience you will need to route the fresh water to flow though the block and force it though the heater core also. This can be done by clamping differnt hoses to direct flow. If the block is full of mud it will be a long process to clean it out. I once saw a ford engine the was so full of mud it rotted out the freeze pluggs and didnt leak coolant.

 

[Steve Wood]

If it is sludgy/muddy, it is probably Dexcool. If it is a milkshake as you get from oil in the water (or vice versa), you might find a cracked oil cooler in the radiator.

In the latter case, the oil level in the pan will drop faster than you expect.

 

[DCEPTCN]

Well, it's sounding alot like this Dexcool is the culprit....I'll just keep cleaning! Thanks a ton, guys!