Agreed the overflow is lookin pretty bad. I'm gonna go grab a pic with the rad cap off in a bit, just for comparison.. Any thoughts on why there would be such a difference in coolant quality between the overflow and rad itself?

 

Maybe when they flushed the system they didn't clean out the bottle.

 

Ya mean like flushing the hose into the overflow? Very possible..
Ok, I said I would get a pic of the rad, but I haven't moved.. Haha, CF, you did it again. Ok.. Coffee. Picture. Brb.

 

There's def more sludge than should be..

 

What level of coolant is in the bottle? The minimum level in the bottle should be about 1/3 when the motor is COLD. If the bottle ever gets empty, air is drawn into the rad. The key to the whole coolant recovery system is a properly functioning rad cap (it has 2 valves in it) and never letting the bottle go empty.

 

The bottle has about a third in it as of this am. But, I topped off to the full line about a week ago as it had run dry. So the air in the system is likely.. All I know is I've seen a couple different approaches to burping. Guess I'm gonna search around a bit, but any suggestions?

 

Let it idle with the rad cap off, keeping the rad full. When coolant burps out the rad, install a new rad cap. Keep close tabs on coolant level in both the rad and bottle, motor COLD.

 

Let it run for a few seconds w/o cap last night, just to prove it wouldn't shoot out coolant to my roommate, and it was topped off and didn't burp. How long does it (usually) take? Also, rad cap was new this summer, should I swap it out?

 

Motor must be hot.......t-stat open.

 

Gettin more fluid now so I can do this, but your saying its gotta be done when I'm up to operating temps, can I take cap off when it's already hot? (Obviously with a rag..) Or is this a from cold start? Thanks a bunch for the continued help man! Really appreciated!

 

Don't remove the cap when the system is hot. Remove it cold, then let the engine idle til the stat opens.

 

Very cool. Thanks!

 

Did you ever resolve this?

 

the dude is probably in a home for the elderly & infirm now as the thread is nearly 10yrs old

 

DANE, post up what issue you're having. We'll go from there.