I went ahead and put a new thermostat gasket in and found that the hose coming out of my thermostat housing and into my manifold was plug with the brown sluge I cleaned that out and then also saw that the opening coming from my thermostat iinto my manifold was also plugged with that same sluge. Curious to see if the sluge went all the way through the manifold. I opened up the opposite end of the manifold where the coolant comes out. I took my my air hose and blew through the manifold. Nothing no air came through the manifold. Does this mean that the manifold is plugged with this same sluge?

Let me know.

Frankenstein Z

If the sludge is a light brown it probably is oil in the coolant. This is the same engine that was forcing coolant out of the radiator right?

I'd say that pretty much confirms my suspicions that you either have a blown head gasket or cracked head.:disappoin

Before you do anything to the engine you should try to get as much of that out as you can. Using an old garden hose, cut off one end and put it on the transfer tube on the passengers side of the engine and block off the end you unhooked and flush out the block and head as well as you can. You could use the "Y" where the line goes to the intake and just turn on the water pressure and let it run for a while until the water looks fairly clean.

Then I'd say it is time to pull the head and find out if it's a head gasket blown, or if the head might be cracked or warped. I'd have the head checked for straightness at a machine shop and if it is OK, and the gasket looks good, then have the head checked for a crack.

Either way, I think you will need to do at least a top end rebuild.

When you get the engine back together, I would use a commercial engine flush to make sure the block and radiator are clean. The sludge you found is probably clogging the tubes in the radiator and will cause a lot of problems later....

Well aren't you full of good news. I was going to try the garden hose myself. I will try that next. Are you sure that the brownish color wouldn't be from rust in the engine or in the radiator? Will give the hose a shot. Thanks for the help.

Frankenstein Z

What dose the oil look like?

Originally posted by frankensteinZ

Are you sure that the brownish color wouldn't be from rust in the engine or in the radiator?

If it is just "brown water (i.e. not THICK brown water) it could be rust. Rust is corroded metal, it will color the water, but will not combine with the water to form "sludge" If what you are finding is "gooey", "sticky", "slimey" thick gunk; you have found water and oil emulsified. Probably a head gasket or cracked head situation as mentioned by 2Many.

Yeah it definitely looks more slugish then a liquid. The oil is very dirty, hasn't been changed in a long time. I was going to do it as soon as the dash is back in. I talked to a buddy of mine and he said he would help me do the cyclinder test to check for a cracked block. Hope, Hope it comes out okay, but being an optimist I have to look at this from a good perspective at least if I rebuild the engine will be ready for some larger performance parts. :cheeky: So we will see.

Thanks

Frankenstein Z

I hate giving people bad news like that, but with the problem of pushing the coolant out and now the sludge in the engine, it sounds like the problem is fairly serious.

I think a compression test or leakdown test at this point is a waste of time. I'd say there is a definate problem in the head gasket or head itself. It could be the engine has gotten hot to the point the head has warped, and that has caused the head gasket to blow. Is there any coolant leaking around the base of the head on the outside of the block? This is usually an indication of a warped head/blown gasket.

More than likely the damage is confined to the head so the next thing to do is to remove the head and have it checked for straightness and cracks if the head is not warped significantly.

If you are lucky, it might only require a slight shaving of the head and a set of gaskets to re-install it. Of course, you should the valve seats checked out carefully and re-place them if needed while it is off.

Was there stop-leak put in the cooling system? You have said the oil is dirty. Was it dirty or was it cream color?

If there was stop leak put in the cooling system wrong. It could turn into a sludge and plug the system with a brown goo. I have seen it. The other thing I would look at is the motor oil. Is it mixed oil\water or is it just dirty oil?

Without seeing photos of the (sludge) I dont think there is enough info for saying whats wrong.

The oil was just dirty. No creme color. I have had the car for almost ten years and I have never put stop leak in it, or ever completely changed out the antifreeze. I will see what I can do about pictures.

Frankenstein Z

You usually end up with water in your oil if you've got head problems, and it goes brown like coffee with milk. The water in the radiator gets an oily sheen on it, but doesn't really go sludgey or milky like the oil, unless its a big failure of the gasket.

Just sound like a dirty cooling system. Has it ever been properly flushed?

But it you coolant is being forced out the radiator, it sounds like you might have gasket problems.

I had a car which kept forcing the coolant out or the radiator into the collecter tank, oil and water were fine, no contamination. But the head gasket had failed between the cylinder and the water jacket, letting compression into the cooling system.

The coolant looks pretty clean. Where it is tight in the coolant system it has plugged up with a brown clay like substance, it isn't had but it washes away with water. This substance also covers, but doesn't block alot of the rest of the coolant system. I had a question early that I was curious about for trying to flush the coolant system. I went ahead and put a new thermostat gasket in and found that the hose coming out of my thermostat housing and into my manifold was plug with this brown sluge I cleaned that out and then also saw that the opening coming from my thermostat into my manifold was also plugged with that same sluge. Curious to see if the sluge went all the way through the manifold. I opened up the opposite end of the manifold where the coolant comes out. I took my my air hose and blew through the manifold. No air came through the manifold. Does this mean that the manifold is plugged with this same sluge?

I have never flushed the system. I am going to try the flush that 2manyz's recommend and see what I get. The oil just looks dirty but it has not changed color. I am going to change oil and the antifreeze also. I really do want to do some sort of test before I get to the head gasket to make sure. The car has been leaking oil out the valve cover gasket, so I have had to change that gasket already, and it might also becoming out of the head gasket.

Frankenstein Z

When you do the flush should pull your new thermostat out and put the top back on without the thermostat in.

You may want to just use water till you find whats wrong. You will have a clean system after the flush and with clean water any oil mix will be seen easy.