What's in my radiator?

[Rustyshackelford]

I found this in my radiator. It looks oily. Any ideas?

 

[sweetk30]

that is not your radiator . its the overflow jug .

lots of times there junk holders . I have seen some nasty ones over the years .

check the actual radiator its self . might be clean .

but if there also that color combo looks like little oil mix possible.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

There is this same stuff floating on top of my radiator. The rad fluid seems green and clean but I assumed that (whatever this is) floats to the top and gets pulled into the overflow jug. Hence the pic of the overflow jug, it is easier to see.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Or maybe its pulling from the jug to the radiator....

 

[rsh4364]

Looks like engine oil but minor,could be remnants from a previous headgasket failure.I would do a compression check.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

how do you do a compresson check?

 

[rsh4364]

Just like a gasser motor but comp.gauge screws into glowplug hole.I have a gauge and fittings but you are to far away.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Could the cdr valve failing cause a oil leak in this manner?

 

[cucvrus]

Head gaskets failing or cracked heads cause this condition. CDR valve has nothing to do with the cooling. Fixing it is fairly easy but a time consuming job. Get the heads checked for flatness and cracks and replace the gaskets. That easy.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Is it my understanding that the oil cooler lines can leak into the coolant?

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Is it my understanding that the oil cooler lines can leak into the coolant?

I don't know. Is that your understanding?

 

[cucvrus]

Yes you were asking for ideas. That is possible to. I also know a man that had his wife add oil to the radiator from an unmarked container that was an old antifreeze container with bar oil in it. Not her fault. She called him and he said just fill the overflow with antifreeze from the garage. See did. Wrong container. Ha.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

I don't know. Is that your understanding?

You post this type of grammar correction a lot so I'm going to do you a favor and let you know that it doesn't make you look smart. It makes you look like a butthole.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Yes you were asking for ideas. That is possible to. I also know a man that had his wife add oil to the radiator from an unmarked container that was an old antifreeze container with bar oil in it. Not her fault. She called him and he said just fill the overflow with antifreeze from the garage. See did. Wrong container. Ha.

I am suspicious as to whether or not this is coming from my radiator. There seems to be much more of this in the overflow jug then in the radiator itself. I think I'm going to empty and clean the overflow jug then drive it for a bit and see if it returns.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

You post this type of grammar correction a lot so I'm going to do you a favor and let you know that it doesn't make you look smart. It makes you look like a butthole.

You could have taken that in good fun. It reads like something in a Groucho Marx script.

The book of Proverbs talks a lot about the kind of person who doesn't like to be corrected. You might want to look it up. It's good stuff.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

It doesn't bother me that you pointed out my error but you do it a lot here on the forum, and not in a good way. It's condescending and rude, and you do it in a way that's obviously intended to make people feel inferior. Just like your last post here, using the book of proverbs As a way to make me feel like a bad person because I don't like you correcting me. It's basically bullying and I see right though it.

 

[ODFever]

Rustyshackleford: I had a bunch of gunk in the overflow tank of my M1009; none of it was oil though. I was unable to easily remove the tank to wash it out while the radiator was installed, so I shoved a high pressure garden hose in the tank and flushed the crud out for about 5 minutes. When the plastic tanks cracked on the radiator, I obviously had to replace it. I took the overflow tank out and gave it a proper cleaning and reinstalled it before installing a new 4 core brass Modine radiator. I'm not sure if my experience helps you at all, but I figured I'd let you know what I did.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Rustyshackleford: I had a bunch of gunk in the overflow tank of my M1009; none of it was oil though. I was unable to easily remove the tank to wash it out while the radiator was installed, so I shoved a high pressure garden hose in the tank and flushed the crud out for about 5 minutes. When the plastic tanks cracked on the radiator, I obviously had to replace it. I took the overflow tank out and gave it a proper cleaning and reinstalled it before installing a new 4 core brass Modine radiator. I'm not sure if my experience helps you at all, but I figured I'd let you know what I did.

Thank you. I took out the jug last night and cleaned it out and I'll update once I've had a chance to drive it for a bit.

 

[ODFever]

Here's another few thoughts: drain the radiator into a bucket. Check the surface for oil. Pull the top radiator hose off of the radiator, point the hose towards the ground, and run a hose to the top of the radiator. Put an empty bucket under the truck to catch the water coming out of the engine. When the bucket has some water in it (1/4 full), stop running the hose and check to see if there are drops of oil bubbling to the surface. Run the hose until the water comes out clean. It won't hurt the truck, and you'll find out if there's any crud inside your engine.

 

[67caprice427]

Rusty- Yes, the oil cooler inside the radiator can crack. My 1028 had about an inch of oil sitting on top of the antifreeze, when I bought it. Just for $%^& and giggles, I removed the oil cooler lines completely, drained, flushed and refilled the radiator ( and oil cooler) and guess what- no more oil in the radiator. ymmv