2001 windstar coolant ???

[urrlord]

One of my wife's friends is looking at a 2001 windstar van(116k miles,5 grand price).She brought it by on a test drive for me to look over.of course the engine has been steam cleaned so there are no obvious leaking areas.the oil and transmission fluid look okay.
But the coolant resevoir has a coating of orange-brown on the interior.I reached a finger in rubbed some off.Slightly gritty,pastey.I think some one has dumped a heavy load of copper-seal or bars-leak in it.I could not see any obvious leaky areas around the radiator.
i told her to hold off buying it,unless she gets the dealer to warranty the cooling system and head gasket.
Any ideas guys as to what the substance could be?Did I do the right thing .

 

[AdRock]

I've seen a lot of that in vehicles that have not had the coolant flushed at proper intervals, even with nothing added to the coolant. How does the coolant itself look?

 

[SHOPete]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the coolant overflow tank. Any old leak in the radiator will likely show a deposit trail on the fins. Thorough visual and a pressure test. Change the coolant after you buy it. 1999 Windstar saved my son's life in a head-on. 2001 has 168,000 trouble-free miles on QS and solid all around. (Actually if the radiator was the only thing I was concerned about I'd buy the van for $5k and put a radiator in it.)

 

[urrlord]

the lady bought the vehicle after the car dealer flushed the coolant system.i hope she has good luck with it.

 

[Scienceman]

me too.

 

[01rangerxl]

$5K is way too much for an '01 Windstar with that many miles, cooling problems or not.

 

[urrlord]

i agree rangerxl .i think she paid too much.a single mom with a deadbeat ex and lousy credit has limited options though.i just hope it lasts as long as the payments.

 

[JTK]

I've seen some (non GM) overflow bottles with exactly what you describe. It's a pressurized bottle on the Winny. For what ever reason, they get that brownish looking schmutz on the innards. I also owned a 2001 Windstar. We had excellent luck and enjoyed the vehicle.

Joel