Coolant Color

[94superstang]

Hey guys have yet another cooling question. A couple of weeks ago I installed a new radiator, hoses, t stat coolant and a month or 2 ago I replaced the water pump. Yesterday I drove it around town And the temp got really high. So I parked it and it cooled off. This morning I checked the coolant and it looked rusty. The man who owned it before me was preety old and he really didn't drive it much and for that matter it doesn't look like he ever changed the coolant. When I first got it It looked like rusty mud with some water in it. What do you think it is from. I started haveing the overheating issue after I changed my intake manifold. I took it to a mechanic and he told me the radiator was extremely clogged. So after changing it It ran great for a while but now I almost have the same problem. My temp gauge Looks like its a bit bouncy. Any ideas Could there be soo much crap in the motor that its re clogging the radiator? thanks in advace. O and the t stat i used is a 180 degre mr gasket.

 

[SQUEEZE&STROKE]

You need to flush the block and the cooling system again. There should be small allen head plugs on both sides of the block that allow you to open the water jackets. I have removed these and flushed gallons of water through the entire system.

When you replaced the intake manifold, did you use the correct gaskets and trim ount the little piece in the coolant passage?

Have you ever had the heads off?


Basically, run LOTS of water through the cooling system. You could pull the thermostat out and run a bunch of water in and out and hopefully you will get all that crap out of there. Also, what coolant are you using?

 

[Stanger007]

I agree with SQUEEZE, you want to really flush that system out, I'm surprised the mechanic didn't do this before replacing the clogged radiator - why clog another one?

Another thing I've noticed about our cars is that when refilling the system, it is helpful to get the air out of the upper radiator hose - it tends to get trapped in there and will make your temperature gauge go hot.

The stock temp gauge will fluctuate with the 180... it won't always be in the same spot. The gauges aren't very precies but to give you an idea of "normal" (no pun intended) operation, expect it to go between the "O" and the "A".

Wes

 

[94-302-vert]

at a minimum I would get teh prestone flush kit (the hose one) and flush that thing out.

 

[94superstang]

I'm gonna flush it tommorow. I just drove it around the block and it got super hot. I don't think the thermo was opening. I opened the hood and felt the upper hose. I could sqeeze it with out much effort. It was hot but it wasn't firm . Another question. If I remove the water plugs on the water jackets do i need to run the car or can i just use a hose in the radiator. I've never had the heads off and there weren't any tabs on my gaskets. I'm using prestone radiator fluid. There might also be crap in the radiator or motor for that part. When it runs hot the volts are lower than normal which would make me think there is more drag on the waterpump. What I don't understand is that it was running fine and now its doing the same crap. I tested the thermo before I installed it and it was working.

 

[mojopony]

FWIW water is actually a better coolant than anti-freeze, but it doesn't offer any protection from corrosion or boil over. It sounds like old pops let the coolant mix get out of whack and/or he never changed it. I'd flush the daylights out of that thing. I used to run a 180 deg. thermostat in my '94, but after I got a hi-flow water pump I found that the 180 wasn't necessary anymore. I've got underdrive pulleys, but my chip throws the fan on a little early. You want your coolant to look like it just came out of the bottle, that rusty mud stuff is no good.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

Buddy of mine bought an older Mustang and had the same problem. The new coolant we put in, would come out black, and the car would overheat!!! We changed everything, same result. Then we put a new radiator in it, and it solved the overheating problem. We still had to change the coolant two more times though...before it stayed green. We flushed his block too...but long after. We didn't fin much nasty stuff, I think most of it came out with the 5 times we changed fluid.

I would flush the block as suggested above.

 

[94superstang]

well I think that I found the culprit of this rust problem. I removed the coolant recovery tank and the was about 1/2 pound of greenish rusty mud. I went up about an inch from the bottom. I cleaned it all out and ran a coolant flush. On the directions of the coolant flush the directions say to run the car with this coolant flush and water for 4 to 8 hours of regular driving. I did this friday and i already notice a difference. Tommorow I'm gonna take out the coolant flush and run water in it as directed to do in the insturctions. than I can refill it with coolant. Thanks for the help. I will post any updats.