Brown Coolant

[napkinthief]

Ok my car leaked some coolant yesterday, started overheating, so I threw in water and drove for about 2 hours on and off while working (delivery). After work, I leaked out everything from my radiator with the valve underneath, and it looked like chocolate milk was coming out.

I thought it would be head gasket, but Ive been reading around and it may just be rust? When I changed my oil about a week ago, it was just black oil, no water or coolant... so I was thinking maybe not a hg.

What else can it be? How can I see if my thermostat is working properly?

 

[BobPell]

My Toyota came from the factory with the ugliest brown coolant I had ever seen. I guess it might be available for sale somewhere. Doesn't Warren or somebody sell a recycled coolant? I seem to remember seeing it somewhere.
Did you do the last flush or did the last owner?

 

[Sinner]

Have you filled up your coolant recently? I ask this because I wonder If you mistakingly filled it with the red GM coolant because this would make it brown like a chocolate milk shake and is nearly impossible to fix no matter how many times you flush out the system.

 

[94Jettameowpsst]

Take a look at your spark plugs, if they're brown too, you need a hg. The only time my car ever had brown coolant is when that went, and when i boosted it, it bogged out and such, causing the plugs to foul so....good luck

 

[napkinthief]

ok my plugs have been in for about a month, they are still clean like new

i filled my car with coolant when i changed my radiator about 3 months ago, it was green

when i put in my radiator, i got it from the junkyard and there was red liquid coming out of it when i picked it up...I thought it was tranny fluid, but maybe the car I got it from had used the GM fluid and now that I put it into my car it turns brown??

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Flush out the radiator completely... as a matter of fact, do it several times. Then fill it up again and see what happens.

I think it would be hard to mistake DexCool for regular coolant with such a large price difference. But either way, with enough flushes, you can get your cooling system back to the way its supposed to be.

 

[oldman]

Does a 420a come with a water cooled oil cooler? If so, I would check there as well as a compression test.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

No, they don't have oil coolers.