Coolant Problems

[ryan1011]

I have a 2000 3.8 L camaro that has me puzzled on this. My car need the coolant filled about every month. Ive tried flushing it twice, checked for leaks, and no water in the oil when its changed. In addition, there is some gunk residue in the coolant. Is the coolant just breaking down?? Should i go with green instead of dexcool? and will the gunk residue cause damage overtime?

[wrightz28]

The "gunk" could be from someone mixing traditional antifreeze with dexcool previously. What's more concerning is the constant need to refill, which means the system is not sealed. After running it for a bit check around the radiator cap for signs of steam or leaking. The cap can also be tested.

[ryan1011]

Originally Posted by wrightz28

The "gunk" could be from someone mixing traditional antifreeze with dexcool previously. What's more concerning is the constant need to refill, which means the system is not sealed. After running it for a bit check around the radiator cap for signs of steam or leaking. The cap can also be tested.

will that gunk always come back for the rest of the cars life or will flushing the radiator enough times get rid of that? and can that test also be used for checking hoses and where they connect?

[wrightz28]

It should go away unless it's really glogged up somewhere like the heater core. Saying that and thinking of a current problem that is very similar I'm having on my end, it oculd also be electrolysis breaking down the radiator or heater core.

The hoses and all, well, that's the reason why coolant has color to it, the glycol will leave a stain mark, and it smells sweet. The system is normally only at 20 lbs or less, so pressurizing it is not a good idea.

[ryan1011]

well the car does have 152k miles on it and previous owner didnt do anything to it...other than regular maintenance. Im thinking of flushing it once more.. and ill inspect all coolant lines and cap for that loss of coolant.

since im still on this subject...what are you doing about your electrolysis if this ends up being the problem?

[wrightz28]

Originally Posted by ryan1011

...what are you doing about your electrolysis if this ends up being the problem?

Well, the victim in my situation is a Jeep that is only cursed by it's creator's mistakes and is simply fixed by wraping some electrical tape around the water neck for the thermostat housing.

We've only had the truck for about a year, and I've had to flush the system out twice. Then again, the previous owner mixed coolants, many times, blew the head gasket, and eventually the short block. Soooo, I kind of expected to be flushing it a bit.

Another fault by design in my case is the radiator tanks are plastic, and thus so is the filler neck. So, at the moment I'm dealing with a warped plastic filler neck opening not keeping the system pressurized and coolant steaming past the cap.

[ryan1011]

Don't you love when they have those brilliant ideas?! not to go too off topic but i had a 96 grand am ls 3100 and for some odd reason they made the serpentine belt tension wheel plastic...baring locked up, belt melted the wheel, belt was shot, exc. what was a real kick in the crotch was the motor sat sideways so the belt was a pain in the ass to replace.
just sharing the grief of some mechanical ideas

thanks for the tips on my current car though!

[Southern Comfort]

Hey Ryan, I have experienced the same problem with my 1998 camaro V6 3800
I found the problem to be a blown intake and plenum gasket. My car didn't leak a lot of anti-freeze, at least not enough to isolate where it was going. I found the problem and replaced the intake and plenum gasket and all is well now. Apparently, the anti-freeze was going out of the exhaust and intake ports. I do recommend flushing the engine and radiator many times as it takes, but after you replace the intake and plenum gaskets. If you don't change them and keep adding water or anti-freeze, it will result in further damage to the gaskets, allowing anti-freeze to get into the block and will damage the crank and other internal parts.

Thanks,
SC