Cream colored slimey, residue ....

[Boomyal]

...in radiator filler neck and bottom of radiator cap? Found this, in a 107K mi 2L OHC Plymouth Breeze radiator today. I was looking to buy this vehicle, with right front end damage, when I discovered this. The motor starts and runs well and there is no milkyness in the oil. However, the residue appears to be a mixture of oil and water. Could a bad head gasket be the cause of this?

 

[jimr]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

alot of manufacturers put different forms of stop leak in vehicles from the factory. could be that or someone flushed the system and put some water pump lube in it. just thinking of better things to be wrong than a head gasket

 

[BrianFD]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

My wife's old car ('97 Olds Cutlass) had the same problem. Found that the antifreeze reservoir was full of the stuff. When I lifted the radiator cap, it was all through the radiator. We hadn't used any stop-leak in it as the radiator was in excellent condition. The only solution was to drain and back-flush the cooling system. Never did get a satisfactory explanation from either GM nor my regular mechanic.<br /><br /><edit> There also was no problem with the head gasket. My daughter has that car now, and has not had a cooling problem with it. Also (and I'm no mechanic), if it were a head gasket, wouldn't antifreeze be showing up in the oil and not vice-versa??

 

[DJ]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

Anti freeze tends to get like that, with age.<br /><br />With the cap off, engine running, do you see any bubbles in it?

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

Originally posted by DJ:<br /> Anti freeze tends to get like that, with age.<br /><br />With the cap off, engine running, do you see any bubbles in it?

The car is a '97.<br />There was no antifreeze visible in the filler neck. The car was crunched in the right front fender and the recovery reseviour was crushed. I didn't want to run it for very long to see if any coolant appeared. The neck was not immediately above the core. The engine compartment was very clean (original clean, not detailed clean) and there was no evidence of any leakage or vapor out the tailpipe.<br /><br />The residue did feel a bit oily, when rubbing between fingers. It was about the color of cream of wheat (yuk)<br /><br />Thanks all, for your responses. Sounds like it probably is not a head gasket.

 

[ED21]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

Oil/ combustion blow by can get into the coolant. <br />A shop can test for hydrocarbons in the coolant.

 

[red10]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

you might have a tranny cooler inside the radiator and they can leak into your coolant it happened in my 88 regal

 

[DJ]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

Boomyall,<br /><br />One thing to remember, anti freeze (ethylene glycol) never goes away. Only the water mixed with it does.<br /><br />Without being able to see the reaction of the coolant, with the cap off, is a crap shoot as to whether you may have combustion gases getting in.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

Hes got the fever!!<br /><br />BOOMYAL & SON<br /><br />AUTOBODY<br /><br />Cant help ya with the coolant issue, I think its a crap shoot.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

Originally posted by LubeDude:<br /> Hes got the fever!!<br /><br />BOOMYAL & SON<br /><br />AUTOBODY<br /><br />Cant help ya with the coolant issue, I think its a crap shoot.

I gots to find sumpen else to spray wit my new gun!

 

[Link]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

Boomyal <br />You can use a empty milk jug for your recovery reseviour. Mine broke while on a job and I used it to get home and for a week until the new one came in. This was in a 85 F250 so yours may be different. (No pressure or anything) <br /><br />Just a thought

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Cream colored slimey, residue ....

Thanks all, I let the car pass. It was on ebay, a local credit union repo. Too much uncertainty added to the obvious front end damage. Would have grabbed it had it not been for the 'cream' in the radiator.<br /><br />The last car I did (Sunbird) with and for my son, ended up needing a head gasket in addition to the known body repair requirement. Didn't want to repeat that.