Radiator Problem Please help

I have a 88 caprice 4.3l V6 and I just noticed that the radiator was leaking. Its been leaking for a while now and I just kept toping it off. I had to top it off a many times with just water. Then I put some Antifreeze in without mixing it... as I figured it would mix in the cooling sys. However, today on my way to work I did not have any heat... after checking the fluid it is now THICK and is White... it seems to have clogged the system...


I am getting a new radiator and will have the sys. flushed.


However, what caused the fluid to turn white? Blown head gasket? The oil level looks fine... what about tranny fluid in the coolant?


Any input would greatly be appreciated. I do not believe that the car over heated... There is no temp gauge, but there was not a overheating warning (idiot lights).


As I said I will be replacing the radiator, but I don't want to pull the heads if its possible the white stuff in the fluid is from something else. :banghead:


Thank You Very Much

If the leak is not that bad and the radiator is in good condition, inquire at a local radiator shop. They can take a quick look at it and you'll gain some knowledge. Check the tranny fluid to see if that is contaminated, if so, the cooler in the radiator tank is leaking and the radiator should be replaced.

Bob

The radiator needs to be replaced... its 20yrs old and is split at one of the seams... I did a patch job on it that slowed the leaking. However, now I have a cooling sys filled will thick white goo... I would just like to know why the goo is in there, what it means ect. I will check the tranny fluid again but at first glance it looked normal.

could air in the cooling sys cause the sludge buildup?

The radiator needs to be replaced... its 20yrs old and is split at one of the seams... I did a patch job on it that slowed the leaking. However, now I have a cooling sys filled will thick white goo... I would just like to know why the goo is in there, what it means ect. I will check the tranny fluid again but at first glance it looked normal.

could air in the cooling sys cause the sludge buildup?

A thick, white goo can indicate engine oil contamination. Look to see if there's water in the oil.

The oil looks fine... its at the proper level... and brownish. Not fresh but not black either. I changed the oil about 1500miles ago (3 weeks of driving for me). my main concern is that it seems that the entire sys. is clogged up, so I would think that it would take a large amount of oil for this to occur ( at least 1/2 qt.) I could be wrong and I have no idea how long the coolant was in the car before I got it.

I think I will change the radiator (flush the sys first) then try to figure out if the car needs a new head gasket (I hope that is not the case). However, I don't want to be stupid and make the problem worse. I also do not want to go through the pain of changing out the head gaskets if I don't have to. Does this seem like a good plan of attack? I think I will also change out the thermostat... Also my car is equiped with an in-line lower radiator hose heater which I think may have made it easy for my radiator to clog. I will also, take that out.

IMO there is oil mixing with anti freeze.a rad shop is a good idea.hows it running ck compression look at spark plugs are they fouling??if these are ok
sounds like possible rad tank bad.you will need to replace cooling system hoses as they are also contaminated with oil

Have you pulled the tranny dipstick yet?

Wow, like they said oil mixing with the coolant is what causes the pasty white fluid. if there was no heat then its possible that your radiator is clogged which would not allow proper cooling causing the engine to overheat and possibly blow a headgasket wich would be were the oil is coming from....How long did you drive it? did it overheat that you know of?

Hey,,, i flushed the radiator last night and got as much of that gunk out as I could... The oil and tranny fluid both look as they should. However, when I started the car.. the heater worked but the top rad. hose will not fill with fluid. So I am going to change the thermostat and reflush the sys. before I put the new rad. in. That white goo in the radiator likes to grab onto things and coat them. I have a feeling that the head gasket needs to be replaced. But I am going to make sure everything is cleaned out, new radiator put in, and then look for other clues to indicate the HG is blown.


I caught it on the highway... I drove it about 15 miles on the interstate... I never got a idiot light warning or steam billowing up from the car... I did take the rad. cap off at the gas station that I stopped at (which I know is a nono) and the white goo sprayed out, but it was not very hot at all. I think the thermostate is stuck shut... so it makes me think that the motor got very hot and most likely blew the gasket. Both tranny fluid and oil look normal and are at their proper levels.

Does anyone have any suggestions for the type of heas gasket to use for the 4.3L v-6. Autozone sells a Head gasket for 9.99 ea. is that sufficient? has anyone had any problems experience with this repair?

Fel-Pro Blue Stripe gaskets are the best. If you suspect a blown head gasket due to overheating, it isn't enough to replace the gaskets. The gaskets typically blow due to head warpage from heat - have the heads checked and milled if necessary. The lightweight style heads used on these engines tend to warp fairly easily.

What about the composite vs. steel vs. copper head gaskets. In terms of material what are among the best to use?

Blue Stripes are Teflon-coated composite gaskets. Copper is overkill on anything but a race engine. Steel is factory (steel shim).

Back to the radiator issue my radiator would do the same thing. Eventually it would just build up pressure and blow out water. I have yet to replace it which is actually what i plan to do in a few minutes but i have changed the head gaskets as well as the thermostat thinking one would solve the problem but neither did so now for the new radiator. i should have it on by this afternoon i'll let u know how it goes.

Not 2 b a jacker but topic related. I just pulled off my radiator and put a water hose to the inlet and seemed as if everything flowed fine and yet while the car is running it will build up pressure in the lines and shoot (very violently) water out when the cap is removed, even after only running for 5 minutes. Could this be my water pump?

ok i just went ahead and replaced the water pump and fan clutch now everything is working fine. dont know if that is your problem or Kevn but i guess it wouldnt hurt to check on it. by the way i have an 86 305 civi.

Thanks for the advice. I pulled the rad. and most of the acc. off the car... I will be replacing the water pump. and maybe the alt. , all belts, hoses, and rad. The gasket you mention from fel-pro... is this the part number? 9354PT-1 I got that number from autozone. I just want to make sure I get a good quality one. (plus that one is only $9.99 for one. The description is not good enough on the site to confirm that is the one you are talking about). If thats not the part does autozone have it listed on their site/do you have the correct part numer? once I get the heads off I will be taking them to a local auto machine shop.


I just want to start getting all the gaskets together so I can put it all back together without having to make numerous trips to the parts store/waiting for parts if they have to be ordered. Thank You very much.

I just pulled off my radiator and put a water hose to the inlet and seemed as if everything flowed fine and yet while the car is running it will build up pressure in the lines and shoot (very violently) water out when the cap is removed, even after only running for 5 minutes.
I know this is kind of late in the posting here, but a radiator is supposed to build up pressure. That's what the overflow is for, and that's also why the radiator cap says not to open when the engine's hot because it will spray violently at you. The engine should normally be somewhat warmed up after five full minutes of running even at idle. Lets say you idle at 600 RMP for 5 minutes. Thats 600 revolutions per minute, 1 detonation in each cylinder for each revolution. So 600 revs x 5 minutes is 3,000 revolutions. Then multiply 3,000 by 8 for all 8 cylinders firing and you get 24,000. Thats 24,000 firey explosions happening inside your engine within a 5 minute period of idling. Thats why it seems to heat up so quick. Plus your thermostat only lets a small amount of coolant to flow until the engine reaches it's set temerature (normally 195 degrees Farenheit). If you drive for that 5 minutes, then the engine will most likely reach it's peak temerature by the end of those 5 minutes depending on the outside temperature, thus fully pressurizing the radiator.

This i know but this is a much higher pressure than normal. Also after replacing everything it ran fine for a about 50 miles then my oil light comes on and it overheats. Now after this i fill it with oil and run it about ten miles and the oil light comes on and overheats again. It seems as if oil is leaking out somwhere around the front passenger side of the engine but i cant really tell, the valve covers are new so its not from those.....any body got any ideas? More on why its overheating i believe i know the problem with the oil situation. Also my heat is not working but im suspecting that this is the heater valve, i say this because the vaccum line wich comes from it was disconnected but also it seems as if there is another line disconnected behind the dash because i can hear air sucking

IMO your putting off what needs to be done!!you got water in the oil
you got low oil pressure.you got too much pressure build up in radiator
what more info do you need?? how about a compression test.do that &
when you find that its low start pulling the HEADS off.you got plenty
of good input here stop putting off the inevitable.IMO

Engine bearings and antifreeze do not mix well. By now they must be etched up and on their way out. Time to pull out your fattest credit card and grab a crate engine for it, or put the whole works out of its misery.

Bob

very true bob!! trying to flush a system thats not fixed yet is just making it
worse & he may have waited too long already

well I hope thats not the case. I have most of the car apart. I am going to be taking the intake off today and hopefully get the the head off soon (this weekend). It still does not look like there was water in the oil. At this point thought I am sure that must be some in there. The car has not been run for about 2 weeks (since the problem was first discovered.)

But at least now I know. it would have been nice to know that piece of info sooner. When I flushed the sys. I was still not sure that the heads were blown. I should have though. Rookie mistake. I am prepared to yank the motor if need be. I am trying to take this problem and learn as much from it as I can.

I am still pretty new to doing major repairs on cars. So I am learning as I go. the last big project I did was a engine replacement in a buick.

I hope there are no problems with the bearings, at this point I will take my chances, and in the future I know not to flush the sys. and to drain the oil sooner. and also to replace the radiator as soon as a problem is detected. any other info on this repair would also be appreciated.

hey kevn did you do a compression test

It seems as if oil is leaking out somwhere around the front passenger side of the engine but i cant really tell, the valve covers are new so its not from those.....any body got any ideas?
The engine I blew did that exact same thing after I wrecked it... never did figure out why.

Well, I'm DONE with this thread, looks like there are two problems being discussed and I'm not into sorting out what is what.

Moderator, could you lock this topic and have the two members start two SEPARATE new ones?

Bob

To the "blown engine" guys......there is no water in the oil and the oil light was just doing its job, there was low pressure because the oil was simply low due to human error of not refilling after changing valve cover gaskets and re-adjusting valves...stupid yes...but human.....anyways i started a new thread any help is much appreciated

I started a new thread "88 caprice head replacement"