alloutperform

ok this is not an over heat thread or a bad head sludge...i actually found dirt/sedement in my radiator...

ok so my waterpump crapped out (started pissing) last night so i changed it but in the radiator fill i had sand alot of it, and some came out of the bottom of the radiator so i flushed the hell out of everything and put it back together....i can't figure out how it got there unless it's sucking it in the overflow..any thoughts?

91 limited owner

Your overflow should be sealed, except a small vent hole. Maybe it's been there for long time. Although my XJ was keep mostly in northern Wis. (Sand country) And I was finding sand everywhere, in the glove box, Under the headliner, every nuck and cranny in the engine bay. So maybe after years of trails, It did suck some in!

jcwclm

I think it's kinda normal, well not normal but common. That's how mine was when I bought it. Like a rusty looking gritty dirt?

cpnwrench

FYI,

all radiators over many many years of use, unless religously flushed per miles to service guidelines fill up with crap and eventually lose efficicncy due to breakdown of the materials internally and begin settling in the nooks and crevices withing the radiator and engine block.....

i have swapped out rads on my BMW and my Jeep and friends hondas etc etc etc..... and everyone of them weighed signifigantly more than a new one, due to sediment build up....

soooo maybe its time for a new rad install?

just my two cents folks,


cpnwrench

Sideways99

did the coolant smell kinda like poo
bars leak or silversolder could be your gunk you found as thats what it'll look like after it runs through your system for a year or two
also makes the brownish crap in the overflow

Bustedback

Could be rust, casting sand, or actual dirt. Flush the system best you can and run a 50/50 mix, maybe add some water wetter with conditioner in it.

HCCAFan

I was inside a Lexus engine that looked like it had mud in it yesterday.

Rock Toy

The engine block is sand cast, it could be some dirt that didn't get cleaned out of the coolant passages.

alloutperform

no...it was sand..new radiator 6 months ago i have been all through this thing the coolant was still bright green smelled, felt , looked great no foaming nothing just about 1/4 deep in sand at the fill and some same out when i drained it i got very little when flushing the system out with the hose (i strained everything as i flush to inspect)