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brown coolant/internal rusting

T

tyspier

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Fleetwood
what would cause engine interanls to rust? my coolant is constantly brown colored, even after a flush and fill with new coolant. i noticed before when i did the water pump that it looked pretty rusty inside. no overheating problems, only did once, last summer, but i flushed the system and it was fine since.

this is a constant problem...today i noticed a wet spot under the jeep, looking like it was coming from the radiator area, so i opened it up and found some, slushy black shit inside, OH NO! me and a friend decided it was just a buildup of rust and not enough antifreeze to coolant. i flushed it out real good and filled it back up with antifreeze, but its right back to the brown color.

not really sure what im asking here, but should i worry about the brown-ness? any ideas how to fix it without tearing the engine apart?
 
Last edited:
dipstick looks fine, no real oil loss problem, i think just from a valve cover gasket if anything [the engine is oily]

i THOUGHT the slushy stuff might be kinda oily, but after running it, and flushing it, theres no sign/smell of oil whatsoever
 
You need to take it to a shop that has a flush machine. It cleans out the whole system.
 
I have a 2001 and I've flushed it a dozen times over the years and it still turns brown. Beats me what it is. I've never had a coolant problem and it always reads that it's good. Seems to be just a weird XJ thing. :dunno:
 
Find one of the Prestone flush kits,one of the 5-7 hr jobs,follow instructions.After doing that fill with proper mix 50/50.Use distilled water in the mix for a longer lasting-rust free period.

In the end your system may be too bad to clean up -replacement radiator may be only option.

Wayne
 
i was actually thinking about a replacement radiator, but who knows if it would help with the internal rust going on.

any oponions on vinegar flush?
 
Have you installed a back flush tee and then run an extended period (6-10 hours comes to mind but whatever is on the bottle) chemical flush such as Prestone?
 
Pelican said:
Have you installed a back flush tee and then run an extended period (6-10 hours comes to mind but whatever is on the bottle) chemical flush such as Prestone?
Click to expand...

no, just used some generic flush
 
tyspier said:
i was actually thinking about a replacement radiator, but who knows if it would help with the internal rust going on.

any oponions on vinegar flush?
Click to expand...

I did it,but my system had been maintained and a new radiator installed.Fluid still has a brownish trace,I,m using the yellow/green anti-freeze.Getting hard to find the green stuff.
Wayne
 
Okay if you're sure it's not oil...

Your radiator is probably shot. I would plan on an aluminum replacement regardless. You should also replace your housing, and maybe your pump. You want to clean your system before replacing this stuff or else you'll just move the crap around. You might want to just find a radiator shop and have them flush and replace.

Distilled vinegar works better than water but it won't work better than the Prestone flush kit stuff. I would do multiple batches with multiple heat cycles on each batch, and dump everything out the lower hose so that clumpy nastiness could escape. If the rust comes back after that start replacing stuff, starting with the radiator.
 
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