weird clay / rust in radiator

[lgarion]

i have a 1996 century with this wierd issue with the radiator- it keeps on gathering this wierd rust / clay like substance on the inside which i have to flush out on a monthly / bi-monthly basis. its also in the coolant overflow tank (residue). im just curious to know, if i replace the radiator, would it get rid of the clay ??

cb

[jackblackjeet]

I have an '89 4-banger with the same problem seems like i'm always flushing it but the problem won't go away, i having a more than creeping suspicion that this might be the sign of a much larger problem, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[NakedDancer]

Here is a fine article on just that subject

http://www.garage-pak.com/pat-goss-w...-red-death.cfm

[computerdude14]

Originally Posted by lgarion

i have a 1996 century with this wierd issue with the radiator- it keeps on gathering this wierd rust / clay like substance on the inside which i have to flush out on a monthly / bi-monthly basis. its also in the coolant overflow tank (residue). im just curious to know, if i replace the radiator, would it get rid of the clay ??

cb

most likely your probably using the wrong coolant, as i have a 96 century 4 door, and its got the v6, but we found out the hard way that if you use any coolant other than the "extended life" coolant, then it begins to rust the insides of your cooling system... which obviously gives you the brown crap. we were really unfortunate with finding this stuff out cuz it apparently ate away at our intake manifold gasket, which resulted in a shower of antifreeze just coating the underside of the hood and the top of the motor with the rust colored stuff, which has perminately stained the top of the motor, but had it taken in several years ago and had that intake gasket replaced ($400 or so later). try flushing the system out completely again and make sure that you have gotten as much out of the cooling system like inside the motor and such as you can, not just the stuff sittin in the radiator, cuz then the old will mix with the new which isnt good. then make sure you get the extended life coolant and fill it up... and make CERTAIN that you bleed out the coolant lines and such. as if you get air bubbles inside there with the extended life coolant it will eventualy turn it into a form of acid, which would definately reik havok on your motor and cooling system. hope this helps!

mike

[public]

You need to flush the system very well. Then fill with the green stuff and you will have no more issues. There are a couple of class action suits pending about DexCool.

[computerdude14]

Originally Posted by public

You need to flush the system very well. Then fill with the green stuff and you will have no more issues. There are a couple of class action suits pending about DexCool.

NO holy crap dont tell him that! lol... thats WHY we blew the intake manifold gasket the shop said... with these cars you CANT use anything but the extended life crap. as sucky as that is... any and all warranties on any sort of parts no matter how new will NOT be covered if they find out u were using the green stuff. im not makin this up either, thats what the buick dealer told us and thats what the owners manual says.

mike

[lgarion]

damn - the onlly problem is that this started happening with the orange - extended life stuff - but after the second power flush i tried using the green stuff and the same crap. and to reply to nakeddancer, we replaced all hoses tanks and caps 3 times as it was the cheaper alternative for now .

[computerdude14]

Originally Posted by lgarion

damn - the onlly problem is that this started happening with the orange - extended life stuff - but after the second power flush i tried using the green stuff and the same crap. and to reply to nakeddancer, we replaced all hoses tanks and caps 3 times as it was the cheaper alternative for now .

yea that generally happens if you dont flush the cooling system once every year or so on a regular basis... it eventually starts to literally rust out the insides especially the radiator, and another thing, if you dont bleed out the cooling system after each flush, then even a tiny bit of air bubbles inside there will turn the coolant into a mild acid which will eventually start eating away at stuff and rusting it out and such. you may end up needing to replace the radiator eventually if the rusting goes too far. hope this helps. and yea the extended life shit isnt the greatest but its the only thing that keeps from hurting it immediatly anyway. heh if it were me id trade that buick in for a nice honda. heh, i love hondas but i have to drive this buick for now cuz my honda is waiting for me to get around to replacing the rear main oil seal. good 6 hr job. c ya

mike

[NakedDancer]

Here are some products that may help the situation. If you google for more I'm sure there are others. http://www.autobarn.net/chc10-12.html
http://www.pennzoil.com/products/anc...hmvRadAdd.html
http://www.sariainternational.com/autoprod/radiator.htm

[public]

Originally Posted by computerdude14

NO holy crap dont tell him that! lol... thats WHY we blew the intake manifold gasket the shop said... with these cars you CANT use anything but the extended life crap. as sucky as that is... any and all warranties on any sort of parts no matter how new will NOT be covered if they find out u were using the green stuff. im not makin this up either, thats what the buick dealer told us and thats what the owners manual says.

mike

You are not supposed to mix the two. As for warranty, you are right they will void it if they see the green stuff(i guess you could change it before taking it to them ). However, You can (I have) switch them over without any issues. The reason you blew you intake gasket is that the Dexcool will gel if exposed to air when hot, like in your overflow tank. Thats the problem. Search around here or on google for Dexcool problems. I think you may be suprised to find that a lot of people are blowing their intake gaskets due to gelling of dexcool.

btw: there is some indication that the cars affected by this have clay tablets in the coolant system from the factory. I do not know why clay tablets would be in there?

Good Luck.

[computerdude14]

Originally Posted by public

You are not supposed to mix the two. As for warranty, you are right they will void it if they see the green stuff(i guess you could change it before taking it to them ). However, You can (I have) switch them over without any issues. The reason you blew you intake gasket is that the Dexcool will gel if exposed to air when hot, like in your overflow tank. Thats the problem. Search around here or on google for Dexcool problems. I think you may be suprised to find that a lot of people are blowing their intake gaskets due to gelling of dexcool.

btw: there is some indication that the cars affected by this have clay tablets in the coolant system from the factory. I do not know why clay tablets would be in there?

Good Luck.

sorry... my bad... ill just shut up then lol

mike

[public]

Originally Posted by computerdude14

sorry... my bad... ill just shut up then lol

mike

No don't do that. You brought up a good point about the warranty. My cars are so old I forget about that. lol.