Brown Coolant: Ma'am, we buy it that way.

[2002 Maxima SE]

I know there is green, red, blue and yellow coolants...but brown!?!?!

Sent my Mom to have her coolant flushed by a place she has been going to for years. She called me later and said the guy told her "We buy it brown, its fine."

I'm calling BS.
1)Who would make coolant the color of the thing it is trying to prevent (rust).
2)What mechanic would use this, not being able to tell if there is a larger problem in the system.

Anyone else heard of brown coolant?

 

[wavinwayne]

I feel the same way you do, until someone can prove otherwise.

 

[Stinky Peterson]

We've processed over 21,000 coolant samples and the only ones that are brown are rustr or they have been overheated severly (not likely in a automobile unless it has a water-cooled turbo).

 

[Ray H]

"Mom" needs to find another radiator shop. (Past history is no guarentee of continued quality work - shops get sold, but retain the old name - and who knows what the business ethics of the new owner are?) I know of NO brand of antifreeze/coolant that's dyed brown*. (Hmmm... Come to think of it, I suppose the shop in question could be buying their antifreeze/coolant in a brown color after all - if they're recycling their and other shops' waste coolant into sweet little old ladies' cars who wouldn't be expected to know S*** from Shinola about coolants. Sounds to me like the shop's proprietor easily qualifies for this decade's "Schmuck of The Year" award. Might wanna contact the local paper to request an investigative reporter (preferably late middle-aged female - maybe take a cane along for good effect

) take a test car in for a cooling system flush and refill - Mr. "Schmuck" just might enjoy the free publicity if independent testing shows the "we-buy-it-that-way" replacement coolant to be recycled waste.

*maybe Barr's Stop Leak added?

 

[Virtuoso]

The only brown anti-freeze I've seen was when my Saturn cracked a head!

I would steer-clear too.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

Mom knows the owner (independent shop) but the guy who runs the front desk can be a bit of an a$$.

I told them if it isn't green in the refill...take it back.

 

[labman]

Try mixing a little red and green food coloring, brown, right? If you mix red and green coolants and recycle them, brown, right? A little yellow or orange won't hurt either. Your owner's manual approves mixing different kinds of coolant, right?

This was preventative care?

iatrogenic problems.

iatrogenic (iatro- + Gr. gennan to produce) resulting from the activity of physicians. Originally applied to disorders induced in the patient by autosuggestion based on the physician's examination, manner, or discussion, the term is now applied to any adverse condition in a patient occurring as the result of treatment by a physician or surgeon, especially to infections acquired by the patient during the course of treatment. Cf. nosocomial.

 

[Curious Kid]

The only brown coolant I've seen is that which came out of my friend's toyota truck, that had been running without any coolant in the expansion tank for an unknown amount of time due to radiator leaks.

I was really surprised about this, because this guy worked as a mechanic some time ago back in CA and has shared some things with me, but I guess a few "trips" back in the the days are showing more evident now, among other things.

Even when I removed the rad. cap on the old unit to not see fluid among the top ends of the verticle tubes, leaves me amazed that this truck even still runs without much if any ill effects. Time shall tell I guess. I suppose it also helps that the truck sees short trip use.

The privite investigator sounds like an interesting method at getting to the bottom of things, as well as having the coolant tested. Good luck.

 

[medic]

quote:

---

Originally posted by 2002 Maxima SE:
"We buy it brown, its fine."

---

What brand is that? Show me the new brown stuff. I have never seen brown antifreeze.

That would be the conversation I would've had.

I can't imagine a not wanting to do a radiator flush. It is simple and cheap, and makes the shop some good easy money.

 

[CoolantChemist]

I've seen brown coolant! Fresh, not used either.

 

[Meistersinger]

Actually dyed that way, intentionally, CoolantChemist? I am curious what brand markets their stuff like that.

 

[bott63]

Yes, Viginia.... There is a brown coolant!

Does it come in a bottle? no...

For a car I no longer have - '88 Caddy Coupe de Ville 4.5L...
Alum. heads... GM factory instructions require that a factory additive, in the form of BROWN pellets, MUST be added after flushing the radiator and adding new coolant. The new coolant is of course the traditional green color.... But after adding the pellets, the coolant looks as if it is 20 years old... Apparently, this additve is necessary as a corrosion inhibitor for the alum. heads... I never had a problem with the engine, or the radiator in the 150,000 miles that I had the car, using those silly little pellets. I often had comments from those who ever removed the radiator cap though...

Pat

 

[JerryS]

How funny is this! I put some "Bar's Leaks Radiator Stop Leak and Conditioner" in my car over the weekend (see UOA), and I was surprised to see that it was brown! Kind of looks like soupy mud or something. This one says "Factory Installed" on the bottle, and some of the other ones had what looked like copper or aluminum flakes in it. I couldn't help but think that the little metal flakes would scoot right through the hole and into my oil, so I ended up buying this one. Compatible with all forms of antifreeze, and it claims to: 1) seal coolant leaks 2) prevent rust and scale, and 3) lubricate the water pump. Magic in a bottle for a couple bucks. Okey dokey. On the back it says you have to run your engine for "15 to 30 minutes" after dumping this stuff in, which I did (about 45 minutes actually). It also says if your cooling system is "dirty or partially clogged" (which mine isn't), you should have your business "flushed before usage".

I had to pump out a bit of my old coolant to make room, and then I added about 2/3 of the bottle to the radiator after shaking it to death ("Shake Vigorously" printed in big words on the back). The only thing I could possibly think of is that this stuff has some form of clay in it (like I said, it's brown, and has soft, mealy little particles in it) that plugs itself into the holes and/or then cures somewhat with heat. Does anybody know what this stuff actually is?

 

[Drew99GT]

I've heard it's something like ginger root and crushed up walnut shells! It goes through the leak and gets exposed to air, then hardens and expands.

 

[JerryS]

Lol, yeah. That'll be the new thing: "organic" car additives. Saw in the store they're making organic Rice Krispies these days. Now me and my car won't pollute the ground when we die...

 

[JustinH]

the new ford stuff is gold not brown, maybe thats what she had?

 

[Tones]

Must have been running some good brake fluid in there!

 

[JavaMan]

Why not go back to the shop and tell them you would like a sealed bottle of this coolant for emergencies? I don't know how hard it would be to find brown coolant if you don't want to mix your products. I don't like to mix products. I use purple oil and only want to put purple oil in my car period. I keep a few extra bottles in inventory.

 

[mechtech2]

Mixing can result in weird colors, but after many years in the business, I've never seen new brown fluid.
The mechanic is full of brown.