Expansion tank cap full of gunk

mcapinha · Jul 16, 2011

Decided to check levels after doing some maintenance work on the beast and this is what I found after opening the expansion tank cap

:wtf:

About a week a go I overfilled the tank: had the P38 parked in an incline and checked the coolant level to find the tank almost empty. Moved it to a flat surface (about 5m away) and it was still empty so filled it up to the mark. Next day, after some driving, found that the tank was almost overflowing. Could this have something to do with the gunk that's now flowing in my cooling system ?

fanatic · Jul 16, 2011

Trying another cap the first choice, then if it doesn't stop water loss the cooling system wants pressure testing.

The gunk doesn't look too special and possible HGF

mcapinha · Jul 16, 2011

Ok, just to clarify, I'm not loosing any coolant (just did a 400km trip) and the system is not overheating. I'm going to flush the rad tomorrow, see if it helps.

Datatek · Jul 16, 2011

Looks like boiled red antifreeze.

gtland · Jul 16, 2011

From your first post: if your system was empty (on level ground) you`ve prob got a problem. How long since last checked before?
No coolant loss on a long run makes me a bit more optimistic, but some leaks show at intermediate temperatures when warming/cooling.

mcapinha · Jul 16, 2011

I check it regularly, since I'm always servicing the bloody thing

Last time couldn't have been more than 2 weeks before.

But what do you think about the tank being over filled the next time I checked ?
When that happened I assumed that since I was parked in an incline, in a position that the tank was the highest point of the system, that maybe the coolant had travelled down and didn't have time to return back, since I only started it and moved it a couple of meters to a level area, before topping up again.

Datatek · Jul 16, 2011

mcapinha said:
I check it regularly, since I'm always servicing the bloody thing
Last time couldn't have been more than 2 weeks before.

But what do you think about the tank being over filled the next time I checked ?
When that happened I assumed that since I was parked in an incline, in a position that the tank was the highest point of the system, that maybe the coolant had travelled down and didn't have time to return back, since I only started it and moved it a couple of meters to a level area, before topping up again.

Should always have liquid visible whatever the angle with or without the engine running. Maybe the cap was not down tight and it blew some out of the overflow. The cap can be very tight to screw right down

mcapinha · Jul 16, 2011

Datatek said:
Should always have liquid visible whatever the angle with or without the engine running. Maybe the cap was not down tight and it blew some out of the overflow. The cap can be very tight to screw right down

But if some water had indeed overflown than it wouldn't be way over the top the next time I checked... Quite a mystery.
I've cleaned the cap and will take it for a drive tomorrow, followed by a flush of the radiator. I'm going to buy a new cap, just in case.

wammers · Jul 17, 2011

mcapinha said:
But if some water had indeed overflown than it wouldn't be way over the top the next time I checked... Quite a mystery.
I've cleaned the cap and will take it for a drive tomorrow, followed by a flush of the radiator. I'm going to buy a new cap, just in case.

It would be if next time you checked it the engine was hot. Coolant level will rise above max mark when engine is hot that's why it's called an expansion tank. It should fall back to normal when engine cools.

Expansion tank cap full of gunk

mcapinha

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fanatic

RESPECT IS EARNED, BEATINGS ARE FREE ;-)

mcapinha

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Datatek

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gtland

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mcapinha

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Datatek

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mcapinha

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wammers

No longer with us, RIP

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