Stuck my finger in my radiator today and there is a black oily substance in my coolant. Blown head gasket???? any body else ever face this???? No overheating, jeep runs good.....no evidence of coolant in oil or smell of gas in radiator....

 

Could be head gasket, are tranny fluid from the cooler (if you have an auto)

 

Is it an auto? If so, check your transmission fluid. The "cooler" for the trans is in the radiator

^ he beat me.

 

Wouldnt it be red/bergundy if it were tranny fluid. If its not your head gasket, have block pressure checked. Could be cracked.

 

Yes auto tranny...I was also wondering about the color, this stuff is black looking. Cracked block... don't even put that thought in my head.....Guess I could run the engine with the radiator open, and check for bubbles to see if it's a head gasket.. I'd like to know whats going on before I try putting in a new radiator.

 

when was the last time the trans was flushed? fluids don't always stay the same colors....especially when they are past due for changing could explain the color also try pulling ur tranny dipstick and look for coolant in there

 

No coolant in oil or tranny fluid, just a small amount of oil that sits on top of the coolant. Did the bubble test and some bubbles did pop up, but how do I know that's not air that was already in the system? Guess I just need it tested at a shop.. wonder how many arms and legs a head gasket job would be????

 

Just got my jeep back from the shop, having it checked for leaking head gasket. The mechanic said a small film of oil in the coolant is common on older high mileage vehicles. They did all the routine checks and everything checked out ok.....

 

How old are the rad hoses? They can dissolve from the inside out.

 

if you are not the original owner then perhaps the PO had an issue and din't get it all cleaned out. we do this at work when an engine cooling system gets contaminated. drain and fill with water and one small bottle of dawn dish soap. run it to temp and let that circulate for a while. flush, flush, flush. fill with new coolant and keep an eye on it.

 

Unless the tranny fluid is burnt black it would be milky pinkish looking.

 

[QUOTE=89Laredo;663813]Is it an auto? If so, check your transmission fluid. The "cooler" for the trans is in the radiator
my transmission fluid is leaking. do I need a new radiator or it can be fixed.

 

[QUOTE=Faddah;2807413]When you post always put year model and engine of you vehicle.
It depends where exactly is it leaking?

 

could be remnants of attempted stop leak use. I'd flush the cooling system thoroughly, including the heater core. breaking it up into 3 separate flushes. block, rad, heater core. flush both ways until it's clean. refill with 50/50 mix and monitor coolant condition.

 

E346K has a good point. I used Bars-leak in one of my old cars one time and it did indeed leave a black, oily film. If you look at a bottle of it, it looks as if it is suspended in oil. I believe it even tells you that on lable. I got to tell you, oily or not, that stuff works. Good enough for a short term fix. The newer aluminum-based stop leaks don't leave a film. As someone suggested, flush the hell out of the radiator and just keep checking.