I have some commitments this morning, so don't have time until this afternoon to drain the fluids. I did check the oil again, however, and it is up about a quarter of an inch on the stick and still looks good. The oil cap/breather also looks good. I took a sample of antifreeze off the top with a turkey baster. It's dirty, but maybe ok. What do you think?

 

Looks good to me, but the bigger question is how does the wife's turkey baster look?

I used my wife's once and now it is in my garage permantly. I don't know why she wanted a new one for the kitchen?

 

That's definitely old juice there, a good flush will be in order.

 

What Ross said.
A thorough chemical flush and back flush rinse.

 

Abe, you are so right! I "borrowed" the baster years ago, and it has been in the garage ever since. It must be a genetic thing. In certain circumstances, all women seem to react in the same way--I guess maybe men do too. We should do a little poll to find out the average number of turkey basters in FTE households; then compare our data to the general population. I'm guessing FTE member households will have more turkey basters.

 

Mixer Man & Ross, I'll give your suggestion a try and hope for the best. The antifreeze is less than 6 months old with less than a 100 miles on it, but I carelessly made no attempt to flush the block before installing it.

 

Turkey basters morph into fluid handlers. I know this to be fact.

 

While you are changing the coolant and flushing it out, I would also get a new radiator cap, that one looks toasty and the spring is probably not fully functional and corroded.

 

This is what I did, but not everyone is as **** about this as I am.

Coolant recovery.



Coolant filter.

 

Is there a chance there was still a lot of old antifreeze (or acid flush solution) hiding in the block and heater core? I've never seen antifreeze go bad that quickly.

 

The guy that worked on my wiring has a machine for flushing cooling systems. I made an appointment for Thursday. I'll take care of the water pump at the same time. Good idea, Mixer Man for capturing your radiator's overflow. A coolant filter is something I've never considered before.

I guess the jury is still out reguarding wether or not oil is getting into my antifreeze. I'm hoping though that a good flush of my system and a different radiator cap will be all that is needed.

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful analysis of my problem. I'll be sure to let you know if a cooling system flush was the answer.

 

I don't think you are getting oil in that coolant. It is usually much more milk chocolate looking. I bet a good flush will take care of you.

 

Ross, I understand what you are saying. The "stuff" on my radiator cap is pretty nasty, and it is a bit of a stretch to attribute it to just some old residue left in the block. There would not have been any acid or chemicals--just what my Dad put in for antifreeze sometime in the 1960"s. And as I mentioned--the old antifreeze didn't look too bad when it was drained out. I guess we'll see after Thursday.

 

Coolant will breakdown & have a reaction to the metals in your engine & cooling system over time. It can def build a sludge. Google it & click the images. It is quite surprising how bad it can get.

 

One of the benefits of a coolant recovery system is that it prevents air from being introduced into the cooling system. The coolant filter captures casting sand, debris, and sludge. And we all know that casting sand is ever present because these small engine castings aren't sealed. One of the largest causes of coolant pump seal failure, and impeller erosion.