Debris in coolant

[HawkeyeScott]

...Just searched two years' worth of posts after searching 'radioator' and didn't find what I was looking for.

What I'm wanting to know is how much "junk" is acceptable in the coolant. I just stuck a tester in the radiator ('01 Jeep Ch. 4.0L) to see what color the coolant was. After a few seconds, some small debris settled into the bottom of the tester. The coolant is about 2.5 years old with about 30K miles on it. FWIW, the coolant LOOKS pretty good. Nice and green, just with some solids in it.

The Jeep is going in for some A/C work on Tuesday and I my have the guy go ahead and drain and refill the radiator.

I don't have much experience with radiators, so any advice would sure be welcome. Thanks guys.

 

[obbop]

Flush. Maybe one of them new-fangled power flushes?

Ain't expensive. Nuthin' a few hours of dumpster diving for aluminum cans won't cover.

Coot cries out to flush. Get the crud outta' there.

A good thorough flush and refilling with purdy brand spanking new coolant and clean water is one way to show the love to your conveyance.

Whatcha' got to lose?

 

[obbop]

Ummmmmmm.............

Re-reading thine post may I, the Mighty Obbop, Old Coot extordinaire..... of bulbous belly and feeble mind, suggest a new search.

"...searching 'radioator' and didn't find what I was looking for."

Perhaps "radiator" vice "radioator" may return a few more threads.

Prior posts have discussed flush, fill, coolant filters, etc.

Also, try a Google search regarding coolant filters. There's some tid bits of info, pics, opinions, suggestions, and a bevy of bodacious bikini babe pics out there in the Interweb thing.

 

[mechtech2]

Old fashioned green coolant OK, but should be changed out every two years with a flush, for the reasons you give.
The silicates and other stuff eventually precipitate out, and will settle in the system, causing flow anomalies.
That one reason why mfrs went with other types of coolants - much longer service life.

 

[RacerE7773]

I have green in my '00 cavalier now because when I bought everything I forgot besides 50/50 on the label to look for Dex Cool also.

Our '03 Impala is going to get a flush and fill probably come July as it has build up in the bottle after with 33,000 miles on it, and we have to take it on a trip a couple states over soon. I may replace the battery also for good measure.

 

[HawkeyeScott]

UPDATE: Had the coolant flushed today. My mechanic charged me a whopping $36 to do it. I thought that was awfully reasonable. Why not do it for $36, especially with the summer coming?

Thanks guys.

 

[Master ACiD]

LoL, my dad says not to change green coolant untill it changes colour to orange.
can you believe tha.

 

[Titan]

Mechtech, my Subaru's manual states to change the coolant every 30,000 miles...which I did...but, it only took me 8 months to drive that far. Was this unnecessary? Should I have waited until at least a year? I did not change the plugs at 30,000, because the one I pulled looks nearly new, and it's getting fantastic MPG...but, I don't know how to evaluate the condition of coolant to tell if it is "warn", and I do it myself, so, it's not the expense. I just don't want to be wasteful.

 

[Merkava_4]

Quote:

---

The coolant is about 2.5 years old with about 30K miles on it.

---

I change my coolant out every 6 months mixing it 50/50 with distilled water.

I also clean out the reservoir tank. Engine always runs cool.

 

[benjamming]

Quote:

---

...but, I don't know how to evaluate the condition of coolant to tell if it is "warn", and I do it myself, so, it's not the expense.

---

You can get a coolant analysis.

 

[Trucku]

I change it out every year for good measure. I use 50/50 green from Strauss Auto Stores. I bought their brand, it was cheap.

 

[Papa Bear]

"LoL, my dad says not to change green coolant untill it changes colour to orange.
can you believe that."

Your Dad must have owned a '51 Ford like I did !!

His words were quite true years ago...