rusty colored water

Hi,
I have a 98 4ltr auto with 29,000 and she runs like a dream (now ive got the a/c fixed.) I looked at the coolant today and the water in the rad looks rusty. It doesnt leak any fluids and the temperature is always bang in the middle of the gauge (after the initial 5 minutes of driving.)
The local garage stated that the overflow bottle should be empty as its just an overflow? I questioned this but he assured me that he was correct?
I'd have to wait to get it booked into this gargae so After doing some searching on here (and taking into account my limited ability) im thinking of taking it on myself.
i was going to pull the bottom hose, stick a garden hose in the radiator and flush it out for some time or until it runs clear/clearish. Then fill it up with water and some vinegar. drive couple hundred miles or so. Then flush again and again (with tap water)if required before filling it with 50/50.
But i have also read posts about if it aint broke dont fix it. As mentioned it doesnt overheat at all but this rather basic flush should be within my ability. Is the rusty coloured water something to worry about
thanks

Local garage is wrong.

The overflow bottle has a 'hot' and 'cold' marking (or something similar) molded into it; and should have fluid to that mark. Do you have enough fluid in the radiator??

Tap water is okay for flushing, but will leave mineral traces. Distilled water is better.

You seriously only have 29,000 on a 98? Dang....it's a bit young. My '96 is about to hit 219,000, and I would so love to have a younger vehicle.

Jim www.yuccaman.com

Yeah mine has marks on the plastic bottle (mine says "add" and something else) I pointed this out to him but he said its just a standard bottle, and was adamant it should be empty.
The level is good, from a cold engine i can see water in the rad itself and the level is good on the overflow bottle hot or cold.

And yes i was very lucky with the car. (27,000 miles when i bought it) with one registered disabled owner from new and he had 13 services at the jeep main dealer and all the paperwork that goes with it. No clunks, no leaks, no sounds, just very, very smooth.

I was wondering about that is it 129,000 but it's actually 29,000 good pick up

dunbad said:

Hi,
I have a 98 4ltr auto with 29,000 and she runs like a dream (now ive got the a/c fixed.) I looked at the coolant today and the water in the rad looks rusty. It doesnt leak any fluids and the temperature is always bang in the middle of the gauge (after the initial 5 minutes of driving.)
The local garage stated that the overflow bottle should be empty as its just an overflow? I questioned this but he assured me that he was correct?
I'd have to wait to get it booked into this gargae so After doing some searching on here (and taking into account my limited ability) im thinking of taking it on myself.
i was going to pull the bottom hose, stick a garden hose in the radiator and flush it out for some time or until it runs clear/clearish. Then fill it up with water and some vinegar. drive couple hundred miles or so. Then flush again and again (with tap water)if required before filling it with 50/50.
But i have also read posts about if it aint broke dont fix it. As mentioned it doesnt overheat at all but this rather basic flush should be within my ability. Is the rusty coloured water something to worry about
thanks

Click to expand...

Dang... I thought I was doing well with 95K on a '98 which I have owned since new in '97.

The mechanic is feeding you a line.... HE IS WRONG...

As others have stated... the bottle has Cold and Hot molded into the bottle for a reason...
When the engine is cold the cooling system should be full and as it warms up and the water expands; the excess water goes into the expansion/reservoir bottle... As the engine cools after being shut off... coolant is drawn back into the system from the bottle...
IF there is not enough coolant in the bottle to refill the system; you vehicle will have air pockets which will cause the cooling system not to remove heat from the engine properly....

Would suggest a thorough flush of the cooling system, replace the hoses, thermostat and radiator cap and add 50/50 distilled water/coolant of your choice....

Ive been reading on thorough coolant flush, would you suggest that i do anything with the heater core, or should i just flush it out in the way thats been mentioned. (i couldnt even tell you where the heater core is let alone flush that out aswell!!)

When you flush your radiator use a kit that puts a hose fitting on the heater return line & turn the heater on when you flush it. The kits have simple instructions, you don't have to mess with the heater core. That said, I've repeatedly flushed my 87 over the years but my coolant still turns rusty after a year or so. I guess it's my rigs way of letting me know it's time to change the coolant.

I believe the bottle says "add" and "full". You need to have it at least to the "add" mark to prevent air from getting sucked into your cooling system.

The hose running from just below your radiator cap to the overflow bottle allows for the thermal expansion/contraction of your coolant. The hose is attached to a tube molded into the rear of the bottle which enters the bottle near the base. Any air that gets trapped in your system (after flushing or removing your radiator cap for example) eventually rises to the top of your radiator and gets purged out through this line as your coolant expands. As the coolant contracts, the system replaces the lost volume by sucking coolant out of the overflow bottle and back into the radiator. It may take a few warm up / cool down cycles to complete this process so keep an eye on the coolant level in the bottle after flushing your system. If your bottle was kept empty (as your mechanic suggested) your system would have nothing but air to pull back into the radiator as it cooled down. Not a good idea...

...always avoiding the obvious...

Are you sure your coolant is not the orange variety...or a mixture thereof.

I'd do the flush n' fill, put in your own coolant/distilled water mix (50/50) and start fresh. The flush n' fill is just about the simplest thing you can do. Just get the Prestone kit at AZone.

...and get a 16# cap WITHOUT the pressure lever, then your cap will allow the passage of coolant to and fro from your radiatior to the o-flow bottle.

Get a bottle of radiator super flush, the kind you leave in for a few days. Then flush the snot out of it as described above, hose water is fine for flushing. When you refill, be sure to use distilled water and mix 50/50 with coolant/antifreeze. Don't run straight water, it's boiling point is too low and it does nothing to prevent corrosion. Before you fill, pour in a bottle of super radiator corrosion preventer, and half a bottle of water wetter (that stuff works!). You should do this annually BTW. And get a new cap. And change your hoses.

If you aren't having any overheating problems, I wouldn't bother touching the pump or tstat.

The mechanic IS wrong, there should always be some fluid in the bottle. As the engine warms up the coolant expands and flows into the bottle. As the engine cools it draws coolant out of the bottle. If the bottle is empty, it will draw air into the system, and that is bad.

It may have nothing to do with it, but my 98 had that muddy brown liquid called coolant. It was horrible. I left it alone and eventually the impeller on the OEM water pump (being made of plastic) rotted away.

$950 later I had my XJ back. I'd guess it had about that many miles on it at the time.

About two months later the plastic end caps on the OEM radiator failed.

Total cost because of crappy ass cooling system? Priceless.

I've been fighting the cooling system for years now. Finally put in a 3 core radiator, and it seems to have fixed it. Well radiator, water pump (5th one), hoses, radiator cap, thermostat, thermostat housing, temp sensor, belt, fan clutch. My coolant is and stays a nice florescent green now.

Personally I'd check that water pump (replace it) and flush it really good before or after you do that.

It it over heats, stop where you are! The gage will jump from 230 to the next to last hash mark and drop down again, then back again.

That shop is retarded if they are telling you that the overflow bottle is supposed to be empty. I'd run away from them hard and fast!

Don't most Jeeps run green radiator fluid, as opposed to the orange fluid??

Correct me if i'm wrong, chances are I am, but from what i know orange radiator fluid is designed to work best with aluminum radiators due to the chemical additives in the orange fluid. The traditional green fluids are used for brass and copper radiators. So fill up appropriately...

Good luck with your not so honest mechanic and rusty water.

Blaine B. said:

That shop is retarded if they are telling you that the overflow bottle is supposed to be empty. I'd run away from them hard and fast!

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Well don't forget a shop is like a veterinarian. The mechanics have to know things about a lot of different vehicles. It could just be an honest mistake.

Hi and thanks for all your replys.
first of all it was definatley rusty water, stupid though i am, there is no question, it was rust. Also the garage guy i think was just stupid.
But anyway ive been working on it all day so heres the update.
I pulled the bottom hose, stuck a garden hose in the radiator and "gently" flushed it out for about half an hour. Then i reconnected the bottom hose and filled her up with tap water and then pulled the bottom hose again. Rusty water still came out! but i could see that it was perhaps slightly better than before. So i repeated this about 4 times. Then i started her up and left it running for about half hour. Pulled the bottom hose and still the water was rusty looking! Dont get me wrong, i wasnt expecting crystal clear water but i didnt want browny/redy water. I must have repeated this process about ten times in all. I emptied the overflow bottle (yuk) that had horrid gunge in the bottom about an inch think! and i gave it a decent clean.
Ive then filled her with 50/50 and replaced the thermostat and cap, taken her out on a 50 mile drive, opened the radiator cap and guess what color i see. RUSTY. rarrrrrrr.
So i pulled the bottom hose again and "BRIGHT" green fluid flowed out with no hint of any brown or red,
again filled with 50/50 and now im just waiting for her to cool down before i get her open again.
PLEASE LORD, LET ME SEE BRIGHT GREEN!

About 3 years ago now, I saw coolant leaking around one of the freeze plugs. I took it to a shop and all 5 were replaced. The freeze plug that had the heater in it was fine, but the rest were bad, with one leaking.

Maybe this is where your rust is coming from.

No its ok were green now. I think it was just abit of gunk made its way to the top last time. I know i went about it the long way round probably but my rad is defintley flushed now and i think it needed it after sitting around for most of its life. I looked at buying some new hoses but almost fell over when he told me the price and mine still look like new so ill leave that one for a while.
thanks for all your help guys

dunbad said:

No its ok were green now. I think it was just abit of gunk made its way to the top last time. I know i went about it the long way round probably but my rad is defintley flushed now and i think it needed it after sitting around for most of its life. I looked at buying some new hoses but almost fell over when he told me the price and mine still look like new so ill leave that one for a while.
thanks for all your help guys

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I'd check the coolant for rust again after two weeks, then a month. I don't think it is gone. :shiver:

NOOOOOO, What makes you say that? For me not changing the hoses? Or not using radflush. Or something else. Please reveal more. And what are the freeze plugs/where are they?
thanks

dunbad said:

NOOOOOO, What makes you say that? For me not changing the hoses? Or not using radflush. Or something else. Please reveal more. And what are the freeze plugs/where are they?
thanks

Click to expand...

Well it's just a feeling. I had big problems with mine and it turned out the be the water pump. I've only had one 1998 XJ so maybe it was just mine, but like I said I'd still check it in a couple of weeks just to be sure.

Those freeze plugs were crap! Hard to imagin that someone would go cheap on an item that is already cheap. Oh, and I bought my 98 from the dealer room floor, like 19 miles on it.