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Maintenance & Repair Got a Quick, Technical Question?
4944 messages, Last post on Oct 31, 2009 at 12:04 PM
You are in the Maintenance & Repair Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
A Place to Post A Question That Doesn't Need a Discussion--Only One Quick Answer!
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Hi everyone I have a question in regard to changing my fluid. I changed the fluid in the rear end of my 1997 jeep yesterday. It was a windy day and I noticed that a few particles of road sand may have splashed up into my differential while I had the case open. I did not see very much if any and I did wipe it clean but Im sure there is some microscopic sand particles in there. My question is..Do I have anything to worry about.? Should I change the fluid again? Or does my logic which believes that if there was any very fine sand pebbles in there it will all get crunched up over time serve me right. Or could even he smallest dust particles ultimately cause any damage? The fluid change with lucas rear differential fluid really did quite the rear down. I had not changed it in 120k and it does sound great. Any help with this question will be greatly appreciated  Mike |
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| My 2003 Pontiac Vibe has been losing around 2 quarts in between 6,000 mile oil changes. I took out a sample of the coolant and it looks like mulch in the coolant. What has happened to allow the mixing of the two, and what kind of damage has been done to the engine? I have no external leaks, and I have not detected any coolant on the dipstick; only brown gunk (oil I presume) in the radiator. | |
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Replying to: maxx4me (Mar 04, 2007 12:34 pm) |
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Replying to: maxx4me (Mar 04, 2007 12:34 pm) Do you mean you lose two quarts of oil in 6000 miles? That's one quart per 3000 which is good from what I've always thought. You don't say how many mile are on the car and if you know the whole history from new or it you bought it used. If you mean the orange coolant is brownish with gunk in it, that may mean the Dexcool coolant has never been changed or someone added green stuff to it. The Dexcool will turn dark and form goop when overheated or run low with air in the radiator (even though the overflow reseroir is full) the air mixes with DexCool while running hot and causes deterioration. If your crankcase has coolant that has gotten into it, the oil looks milky and like chocolate milk is in it. I'm not hearing that to be what you're saying. But the car needs a professional, trustable person checking it.
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Mar 04, 2007 12:58 pm)  Might not have the dreaded Dexcool then....but either a coolant mishap or another idea is a bad radiator tank, which is allowing transmission fluid into the coolant (the radiator cools the transmission fluid). How's the tranny fluid (if it's an AT I mean).
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Mar 04, 2007 1:03 pm) The description of the goopy precipitate sounds like descriptions of other Dexcool stories and the Fords had a similar description years back. One factor is mixing with air in a system that's not been purged. A seep around the radiator cap allowing air into the radiator instead of recalling coolant from the reservoir allows that air. Mix with hot DexCool and they describe it as crud in the reservoir.
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Mar 04, 2007 1:07 pm) I don't know anyone with a Vibe whose hood I can look under 
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Mar 04, 2007 1:10 pm) I change mine every two years. Fill and drain a couple of times with distilled water. And refill with DexCool. I suspect the car above has never been drained and cleaned in 4 years. I hope it's just needing a flush and cleaning chemical for them to be okay. If air's been in the radiator while running hot the mixing with air makes the precipitates or sludge form. That was the Ford problem and I believe some Century/Regals had a crook in the radiator cap making them hard to fill and purge completely. That was one cause my dealer service manager told me. |
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Mar 04, 2007 1:16 pm) I absolutely have no external leaks, and I have not noticed any smoke bellowing from the exhaust. Given the fact that the radiator was drained a little over a year ago, and is now a merky tobacco color, what happened, and more importantly, what is the damage potential to the engine?
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Replying to: maxx4me (Mar 04, 2007 4:04 pm) |
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