It's that thick, brown-colored substance you see when you open the cap on your car's radiator. You tend to notice it more after the engine has overheated. Unfortunately, the engine probably overheated because of sludge build-up.
Why is my radiator water dirty?
Mixing of incompatible coolants can cause the additives to “drop out” of the solution and form radiator sludge or slime. Contaminated coolant: A bad head gasket or cracked cylinder head can allow oil and coolant to mix, resulting in sludge. A breach in the system can contaminate coolant with transmission fluid.
How do you flush a clogged radiator?
Is radiator fluid Brown?
Coolant that is still doing its job to protect your engine can be any variety of colors from green to red to orange, but the key is that it will be translucent. When it's past its prime, it will become a brownish color and more opaque. If it's in really bad shape, it will be a sludgy brown. Leaking coolant.
Related Question Why is my car radiator water brown?
How often should radiators be flushed?
Most agree that if you have a new car with less than 10,000 miles on it, there should be no need to do a radiator flush for at least a year. If there are no other signs that you need to flush out your radiator, you should do it at least every 30,000 miles or according to your owner's manual recommended schedule.
How do you check a radiator for a blockage?
What causes bubbles in radiator?
Air pockets in the cooling system usually result from an improper flushing procedure or partial or incomplete radiator fill-up. Air pockets causes a lower coolant volume, often leading to higher than normal operating temperatures. Blown head gaskets produce profuse bubbling inside the radiator and expansion reservoir.
What color should radiator fluid be?
The color of healthy engine coolant is green (for ethylene glycol) or orange (for Dexcool). A rusty color indicates that the rust inhibitor in the coolant has broken down and it can no longer control rust and scale buildup.