jrhgolf23 Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 Soo lately, my coolant has been getting really low. Then, other times it will fill up by itself. I put green coolant in my car this afternoon, and just now, when i got home, my coolant is kindof red and gross looking, and the level it was at went up about an inch. So whatever is getting in there, there is a decent amount of it getting in there. I have no idea what it is. i drained the tank one time after it did it, and there was some sludgy crap in the bottom of the tank. Probly not a good sign if you ask me. but i have no idea what it is. Can anyone givre me insight as to what it is and what i should do about it?thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobH Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 (edited) is your car manual or auto trans? i dont guess i have ever worked on an auto trans starquest but it could be trans fluid pry wouldnt hurt to check your trans fluid if they have a trans cooler in the radiator it could be broken and leaking atf in the cooling system Edited May 19, 2011 by RobH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrhgolf23 Posted May 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 yeah its manual.never thought of checking the tranny fluid. If it is tranny fluid, would the trans cooler be the problem? or would it be something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobH Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 (edited) well if its a manual then that is not the problem i really dont know what to tell you there really isnt anything that would make it red other than atf but you said it was not an auto trans i stumped sry the only other thing i could reccomend would be to put a pressure tester on there and see if you lose pressure and if so where it goes Edited May 20, 2011 by RobH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrhgolf23 Posted May 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 (edited) alright. i also notcied that sometimes when i pop the hood to check it, the cap will be off of the coolant tank. also probly not a good sign. someone please give me some advice. also, im starting to notice some white smoke coming out my exhaust when i start it. Not even a cold start, just normal start up.and if i rev it kinda slow to about 2400 rpm, well anything higher than that too, but then let off, my revs go down to almost less than 600 and my engine shakes like its about to die and a little puff os smoke comes out of the back of my turbo. not a big cloud, but it definately lets off some smoke. any ideas?im planning on doing the TPS/ISC reset this weekend, so im hoping that will maybe help. Edited May 20, 2011 by jrhgolf23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 alright. i also notcied that sometimes when i pop the hood to check it, the cap will be off of the coolant tank. also probly not a good sign. someone please give me some advice. also, im starting to notice some white smoke coming out my exhaust when i start it. Not even a cold start, just normal start up.and if i rev it kinda slow to about 2400 rpm, well anything higher than that too, but then let off, my revs go down to almost less than 600 and my engine shakes like its about to die and a little puff os smoke comes out of the back of my turbo. not a big cloud, but it definately lets off some smoke. any ideas?im planning on doing the TPS/ISC reset this weekend, so im hoping that will maybe help.Are you sure its white? I had smoke in my tailpipe too, which I thought was white... turned out it was blue. My turbo smokes. In any case, it SOUNDS to me like you may have a hole in your head gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobH Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 sounds to me like head gasket is blown it helps if you tell us all this at the start of a thread the cap is blowing off the overflow because it is over flowing the bottle to fast and it blows the cap off the white smoke out the tail pipe is burning coolant find someone with a pressure tester and pressure test the cooling system it will prob fail this you could prob also stand to do what is called a block test on the cooling system it is a blue chemical that goes in a tube and is put in the radiator opening then vacuum is pulled on it if it changes fom blue to yellow you have exhaust gasses in the cooling system and that means head gasket or cracked head you still have me puzzled on the red stuff though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighterpilot Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 (edited) First of all the auto tranny ATF does NOT go through the radiator lower pan. Starquest's have a separate auto tranny ATF cooler located by the radiator. Once again, as has been stated many, many times here on SQC, do not post a reply in the VM or AVM forums unless you are at least 90 to 100% sure that what you are suggesting is correct for a Starquest problem resolution!!! Before you reply to a stated post problem, check it out in the FSM just to make sure it's correct. I do it all of the time - some times the SQC old timers spend hours doing this. The red color sludge that you are seeing is most probably from rusty sediment in the cooling system. Somebody probably used tap water w/o antifreeze sometime in the past and what you are seeing now are the results of doing this. Another thing the red stuff could be is someone added water pump lube additive to the coolant system sometime in the past. What temp is your engine running at with the AC on and both the rad fans are on as measured on the dash temp guage? Jack your 'Quest up, put her on jack stands, and look for evidence of coolant leaks everywhere in and under the engine house including the radiator. If you cannot find any leakage have a cooling system pressure test performed and also take a set of hot cylinder compression readings IAW http://www.starquestclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=119704&pid=1170541&st=20entry1170541 reply #28. Then post what cylinder pressure you got. Let us know what you found and then we can go onwards and upwards getting your problem resolved. jrhgolf23 and RobH, I strongly recommend that you both down load the Starquest Field Service Manual (FSM) at http://www.starquestgarage.com/manuals/service/conquest/1988/88_conquest_service_nav.html and START READING IT. For What It's Worth. KEN Edited May 20, 2011 by Starfighterpilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobH Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 (edited) starfighter Do you not read posts all the way threw I clearly stated in my post I dont guess I have ever worked on an auto trans starquest but it could be trans fluid pry wouldnt hurt to check your trans fluid if they have a trans cooler in the radiator it could be broken and leaking atf in the cooling Sorry for trying to help this guy out Your so much better ill just leave it to you Edited May 20, 2011 by RobH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 Our auto trans cooler are not connected to the radiator at all. Anyway, try compression test and you may want to use a leak down tester and pressure up a cylinder to look for bubbles in the radiator- that can help you pinpoint which cylinder it is. Sometimes you can get traces of engine oil in the coolant from a bad gasket but I doubt your oil is red. You descriptions are leading to a possible head gasket failure. Dad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 This could be a bad radiator cap too. Its supposed to hold 13ish lbs and if the cap is old or torn that lets out coolant and good sized tear does send about that much out that little overflow hose and it could blow that plastic cap off the overflow tank. It does sound like some rust too and that can lay in the block or under the intake and clog that passage and the one up through the throttlebody and the heater core. I'd consider taking some hoses off and flushing it good. There's a waterjacket drain plug near the back below the exhaust manifold so if there's any in there it will show up back there when you remove that plug. If someone didn't use coolant in it that could cause it then it settled and didn't get stirred back up until it started blowing out like it could with a bad cap. That doesn't cause white smoke out the tail pipe. You might try a new radiator cap if that has an old mashed gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighterpilot Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 starfighter Do you not read posts all the way threw I clearly stated in my post I dont guess I have ever worked on an auto trans starquest but it could be trans fluid pry wouldnt hurt to check your trans fluid if they have a trans cooler in the radiator it could be broken and leaking atf in the cooling Sorry for trying to help this guy out Your so much better ill just leave it to you Rob I apologize. Your last reply was not posted when I started writing my reply and posted it. For What It's Worth KEN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 Rob I apologize. Your last reply was not posted when I started writing my reply and posted it. For What It's Worth KENKen, I'm assuming then that you directed that at me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarksideDSM Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 Im going to have to say head gasket also. Some old school mechanics used to put atf in the oil to 'liven up' the seals and gaskets. If thats the case then that is the red going through the gasket into the cooling system. If the thing is blown and your getting stuff from the crankcase to the cooling system then its happening the other way around too. Check for water/coolant in the oil. If the gasket is blown enough, wich is not very much, then if you start it with the rad cap off it will erupt like a volcano because your cylinder compression is forced into the cooling system wich has plenty of pressure to blow the overflow tank lid off. If its blown a little then youll get alot of air bubbles comming up through the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrhgolf23 Posted May 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 Well it hasnt made the white smoke in a while now. Only sometimes on the very first start, but that just cus its cold. almost all cars do that ya know. My rad cap is fine. well it looks fine at least. i did notice when i took it off like 2 weeks ago that there was some rust/nasty s*** around the hole the cap goes on. If i just did a rad flush and put all new fluid in it and did a coolant flush, would that help?How hard is a headgasket on these engines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider 2.6 Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 As mentioned before, pressure check the cooling system, I think you can rent a tester for $30, which you get back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts