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As I’d mentioned in a previous post, my truck had a head gasket leak. Rather than sending the heads off to be machined, for 90 bucks more I had new ones put on (re-man, I’m sure).
The truck itself is running well, but there’s something strange about the appearance of the coolant.
It looks thick, rather viscous, and has a brownish oily appearance to it.
When I asked the mechanic about it, he said that the odd appearance is normal, as there’s a small bottle of additives that mechanics put in after the gasket job that helps the gaskets seal up.
This is the very first I’ve heard of it, and honestly.. I’m dubious.
Anyway, here’s a picture of a piece of paper that was dunked into the goo in the bottle. Tried to get a pic of the fluid IN the bottle, but couldn’t get anything decent.
Any ideas if this is a problem or not? I can’t imagine the water pump (or anything else..) is too happy about pushing this sludgy stuff around.
-Hinoki
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Oh ! You have oil mix whit coolant. Normally This happens when you have a leak in your head gasket. If the garage did not use properly gasket sealant(see the video) You will have gasket leak again. If you have a recipe, you must return to the garage. The job is guarantied. You must know how long this seal It’s going to be effective. Normally, seal liquid in the radiator to seal the gasket have a flush radiator after. See the procedure.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDtjlT6LsD4[/video]
Car seal procedure for a liquid sealant in the radiator link below.
http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-a-Head-Gasket-With-Engine-Block-Sealer
I’m not sure I do. I checked the oil, and the oil is clean. There’s no milkshake on the dipstick, nor under the oil fill cap.
If the new gaskets were bad, wouldn’t it be in the oil pan too?
This sludge is just in the coolant bottle, and the mechanic SAID it was an additive. Me, I’m not so sure.
-Hinoki
Yes, you should have white smoke in the exhaust, oil and coolant mix up in the pan too. You might need to change the coolant in the radiator to really find out It’s a leak or not. You might need to take picture and video to prove to the mechanic they need to do the job again if the coolant is contaminated after you change the coolant.
Don’t forget to extract the air from the engine head after you flush It out.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUpXgAJ1gjU[/video]
Hi. If you had much oil in your coolant before replacing headgasket, there may still be some oil in cooling system. My friend once had to wash his expansion tank few times to get rid of the oil. So if you did have alot of oil in your coolant before, try changing coolant and see if it gets better (it might not be perfect still).
Here’s the thing…
I never had oil in the coolant. I was burning coolant in cylinders 2 and 6, but the oil never mixed in with the coolant.
The heads were replaced about a week ago with new gaskets, heads and the like.
It may be leaking oil NOW, but it wasn’t when I took it to him.
Heh. Good thing I love this old truck.
-Hinoki
I don’t know about any additive after putting on
new heads and gaskets. Why would you need some sealing
additive for new gaskets? Flush your entire cooling system.A head gasket job done right doesn’t involve any “additive” to seal the gaskets. I would be very leary if they added anything to your cooling system. I would be wondering if they charged you for the new heads and gasket kit and tried to just use a stop leak product to seal up your old blown gaskets. I would take it to another mechanic for a second opinion. He can test the cooling system with a pressure tester and do a leak down test on the engine to tell you if there is a blown gasket or not. I believe a block tester would pick up the blown gasket also depending on where it’s blown. I know Eric has videos on coolant pressure test and leak down test and might even have one on block tests. But what you have is not normal.
Update:
I drove the truck to the Ford dealership on the way home.
1) He heard of Eric the Car Guy. You’re famous, Eric!
2) The Ford Mechanic, 20 years career, called BS. Agreed with everyone here that the whole point of a head gasket job is to not NEED any additives.
3) We tested the goop. It’s Stop-Leak. A whole HELL of a lot of it.
4) He cringed when he heard that this goop, in this quantity, had been in the truck for 300 miles (So far).
Then I called the Mechanic that did the work.
1) He admitted that he added the Stop-Leak.
2) Said that he does it to all the heads he replaces because it ‘Seals them faster’ and was ‘trying to get me as much life out of the engine as he could’.
3) Said that if I brought it by, that he’d be happy to flush the radiator because ‘It’s been in there long enough to do the job it needed to’.
Now I’m not sure WHAT to do. The Ford dealership IS a dealership… but they said that Stop-Leak in the quantity they saw in the overflow bottle, could easily damage things in the engine. Namely, it could plug up the water pump, thermostat, heater core, and radiator.
I’ve seen the video where Eric tears down the head gasket and points out that it doesn’t actually do anything useful.
What I desperately need to know is this:
1) IS the situation still salvageable? Can a flush get this crap out of my engine?
2) The mechanic that did the work says that it needs to be left in there, but that he’ll take it out if I want. If I leave it in there, what CAN it break, if anything?
3) If it could damage my engine, what is the best way to diplomatically resolve the situation?
Eric? You were in a shop. What would YOU do, in this case? .. ok, unfair question. You’d have fixed it yourself.
Anyone? Anyone at all have any ideas how to deal with a disreputable shop for as amicable resolution as possible?
-Hinoki
Remove that junk from your cooling system immediately. If there’s any chance it will mess up that water pump/ thermostat it is if you leave it in there. Now, the guy should have never used the stuff in the first place.. Does Honda/Chevrolet/Dodge put stop leak in the coolant when they install their new cylinder heads at the factory? Hell No. So he shouldn’t be either.
If he will do it for free, let him do it. ( If you still trust him). Or if you are capable of doing it, flush the cooling system completely. And use the proper coolant for the vehicle and bleed the system.
[quote=”Hinoki” post=51044]Update:
I drove the truck to the Ford dealership on the way home.
1) He heard of Eric the Car Guy. You’re famous, Eric!
2) The Ford Mechanic, 20 years career, called BS. Agreed with everyone here that the whole point of a head gasket job is to not NEED any additives.
3) We tested the goop. It’s Stop-Leak. A whole HELL of a lot of it.
4) He cringed when he heard that this goop, in this quantity, had been in the truck for 300 miles (So far).
Then I called the Mechanic that did the work.
1) He admitted that he added the Stop-Leak.
2) Said that he does it to all the heads he replaces because it ‘Seals them faster’ and was ‘trying to get me as much life out of the engine as he could’.
3) Said that if I brought it by, that he’d be happy to flush the radiator because ‘It’s been in there long enough to do the job it needed to’.
Now I’m not sure WHAT to do. The Ford dealership IS a dealership… but they said that Stop-Leak in the quantity they saw in the overflow bottle, could easily damage things in the engine. Namely, it could plug up the water pump, thermostat, heater core, and radiator.
I’ve seen the video where Eric tears down the head gasket and points out that it doesn’t actually do anything useful.
What I desperately need to know is this:
1) IS the situation still salvageable? Can a flush get this crap out of my engine?
2) The mechanic that did the work says that it needs to be left in there, but that he’ll take it out if I want. If I leave it in there, what CAN it break, if anything?
3) If it could damage my engine, what is the best way to diplomatically resolve the situation?
Eric? You were in a shop. What would YOU do, in this case? .. ok, unfair question. You’d have fixed it yourself.
Anyone? Anyone at all have any ideas how to deal with a disreputable shop for as amicable resolution as possible?
-Hinoki[/quote]
First, are you 100% sure he actually put new gaskets and new heads in the truck? Any decent mechanic, even a DIYer that does a head gasket job wouldn’t put that crap in the coolant. You have a BRAND NEW gasket that shouldn’t leak so why would you need stop leak? This mechanic sounds like a real hack. It sure sounds like he took your money, threw in a ton of stop leak and called it a head gasket job. I would be looking to make sure he actually did put a new head gasket and heads in like he charged you for.
Second, personally I wouldn’t take your truck back to him. He is a hack, no question about it. I would flush the coolant yourself. Go buy a dozen gallons of distilled water from walmart, under a buck a gallon. Drain the coolant, fill with straight water, run up to operating temp, let cool, drain, repeat until it comes out clean. Then fill wit correct mix of coolant and water.
Ask him for receipts for the gasket set and the heads. Unless he can prove he actually did the work I would bet he screwed you big time.
Scott37300, thanks for the suggestion. I might just do that, but I’m also considering doing this:
1) Go back to the mechanic that hacked on my truck. I’m going to be all nice and apologetic for being worried and ask him to put what he did down on paper (That he added the stop-leak, and the rest of it).
2) Go to the Ford dealer and ask them to go over the truck. See if they think that the engine and/or components might be damaged by what the guy did. Get a repair estimate from the dealer on what it would take to repair it… my guess? ANYTHING that touches the coolant. In this truck, the tranny is, too.
I like to think I don’t ask a lot. I dealt with this guy honestly and in good faith… and he does this. I’m not a litigious person by nature, but man oh MAN, I’m strongly considering suing him for a new engine and everything that the coolant touches.
Sure, I can flush it out any number of dozens of times. But is it gonna get it all out? What about the stuff that’s been in there for this long… and that could gum up the radiator, thermostat, water pump, and at least in theory… even the transmission as it shares the coolant?
I dunno. I just don’t know how to make this right.
-Hinoki
I would pull the bottom radiator hose off.flush
the radiator clean.reinstall lower hose.remove
the thermostat for flushing.remove heater core
hoses.flush clean.hook all hoses back up.
disconnect top radiator hose from radiator.
put garden hose in radiator.start engine and
flush until clean.stop engine. drain radiator.
install new thermostat. reinstall top radiator hose.
remove and flush over flow bottle.reinstall.
replace radiator cap. Most important.Keep butcher
away from vehicle.If you need a butcher go to the meat
department at your local super market. A big shout out
from ETCG to the Ford guys. 🙂 you could also try clr or
white vinegar after the flush. pour it in and fill with
water.run the car for half hour.Then flush again.[quote=”Hinoki” post=51053]Scott37300, thanks for the suggestion. I might just do that, but I’m also considering doing this:
1) Go back to the mechanic that hacked on my truck. I’m going to be all nice and apologetic for being worried and ask him to put what he did down on paper (That he added the stop-leak, and the rest of it).
2) Go to the Ford dealer and ask them to go over the truck. See if they think that the engine and/or components might be damaged by what the guy did. Get a repair estimate from the dealer on what it would take to repair it… my guess? ANYTHING that touches the coolant. In this truck, the tranny is, too.
I like to think I don’t ask a lot. I dealt with this guy honestly and in good faith… and he does this. I’m not a litigious person by nature, but man oh MAN, I’m strongly considering suing him for a new engine and everything that the coolant touches.
Sure, I can flush it out any number of dozens of times. But is it gonna get it all out? What about the stuff that’s been in there for this long… and that could gum up the radiator, thermostat, water pump, and at least in theory… even the transmission as it shares the coolant?
I dunno. I just don’t know how to make this right.
-Hinoki[/quote]
A lot of cars have transmission lines that go into the radiator to cool the fluid but that stop leak gunk wont affect that because it does not mix with the transmission fluid.
That’s a great idea to get down on paper what he did and bring the truck to Ford to see if any damage has been done and have them access the truck. Good luck!
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