Should I be worried?

"Bourbon&JellyBeans" (bourbonandjellybeans) 04/30/2018 at 19:00 • Filed to: None

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I popped the hood on the Mustang today to find that the coolant was a little low. Went to top the reservoir off and found this:

Is this normal for a car with 57,000 miles? Whatever it is doesn’t have much grit to it, just flaky brown stuff. Coolant is not cloudy or discolored.

MM54 > Bourbon&JellyBeans 04/30/2018 at 19:19

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I wouldn’t worry about it unless it becomes a consistent coolant loss or you start noticing a lot of steam from the exhaust.

TahoeSTi > Bourbon&JellyBeans 04/30/2018 at 19:20

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Try a magnet on it, if it’s metal maybe it should get further investigation if not i’d just do a coolant flush and check in regularly.

coqui70 > Bourbon&JellyBeans 04/30/2018 at 20:14

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Does it look oily at all? I would check the hoses themselves, are there any parts of the engine top-end that are made of plastic (or the water pump casing like on BMWs)?

Dogsatemypants > TahoeSTi 04/30/2018 at 23:37

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That system has a factory suggested service interval of 100k miles. There should not be chunks of sediment floating around in it.

TahoeSTi > Dogsatemypants 05/01/2018 at 00:12

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How old is it? It’s not just 100k miles but also time. If the car sat for a while it could be a cause. I also never trust 100k mile coolant, its changing chemically all the time and all the factory is say is it will last that long and that’s well beyond the time anyone could make it their problem.

100k coolant in my sti has been replaced 4 times already and I’m not at 90k yet. The car is 12 years old though.

Dogsatemypants > TahoeSTi 05/01/2018 at 00:18

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5 years or 100k whichever comes first if memory serves correctly.

Dogsatemypants > Dogsatemypants 05/01/2018 at 00:30

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If you want peace of mind, get a glycol test strip and a ph tester. Then flush it and keep an eye on the reservoir. The pressurized plastic reservoir/overflow tanks suck a fat one.

Engineer: “We could make a durable one out of materials that does not weaken when exposed to sunlight or heat and pressure” accountant: “Does it cost less than plastic and generate parts revenue?” Engineer sees where this goes.... “You hate people, don’t you?” Accountant brandishes tazer... “You misunderstand, I love everybody but have a compulsion to cause those I love pain in any way conceivable” ...curb stomps engineer and takes wallet... “This just happens to be the easiest way to keep my job and hurt as many of the people love as I can. See you monday, Bob.”