Messy Coolant

[Ron Davis]

We are on our last 600 miles to homebase,   Coolant looks terrible, yeah the typical mix of white n brown yukkieness.....  We had some leaks recently fixed by new hoses and tighter clamps and refilled antifreeze n water.  This series of events has caused me to inadvertently mix coolants

Note before all these events I rarely saw the coolant because each time other than topping off 2000 miles ago was when she dropped some from leaks..

Unknown original coolant and water with couple gallons regular probably auto antifreeze from o’reilly then a gallon of heavy duty from NAPA.  Plus there is the chance something is still wrong internally... but considering we have run 900 miles since CAT gave us clean bill of health... I added the heavy duty coolant 200 miles ago...   thinking incompatible with existing coolants more is the issue than further internals.... thought?

My question is am I safe for making it homebase and system flush it then or do I need to find a shop here on a Friday to try n get them to flush her out today.

This trip has been messy, just trying to get to family so we can get some work done.

[Eric Maclean]

Ron
Check your fuel water separator for signs of antifreeze .( Possible injector cup O ring leaks) putting fuel into your antifreeze while running and antifreeze in the fuel when not running

Also look at the oil fill cap for signs of white sludge .    ( Possible oil cooler leak) allowing oil in antifreeze while running and possibly antifreeze into oil when not running.

It is possible you have an antifreeze compatibility issue as well
The best way to diagnose your problem is with an antifreeze and oil analysis any truck shop should have a kit you can use but you have to send it off and wait for results.

If you have to keep moving
Keep an eye on the fuel separator for antifreeze and drain it frequently( engines won't run on water and injector will be damaged by water )

If you have white sludge at the oil fill  have the oil changed and have them look at what comes out with the  first quart looking for antifreeze. Also a good time for that oil and antifreeze analysis.
Remember antifreeze is a lousy lubricant and will damage or destroy the engines bearings very quickly.

As always it's best to deal with the problem as soon as you find it . Like the old adage says "pay me now or pay me later"
Later is always more expensive.

In the end the choose is yours
Hope this helps
Eric

[Fred Brooks]

   Ron,
I agree with Eric, You need to give this some immediate attention. From your discription of the color of the coolant, it almost sounds like oil mixed with coolant. Possibly transmission cooler compromise or as Eric stated in his post. Hope it is something you can correct without hurting the engine. Fred

[Ron Davis]

Thanks Eric,

We / CAT bypassed the failing Winn Fuel Water Separator system.....  So thats not as easy to check at the moment. But CAT believed everything internal was solid around 1000 miles ago.

The dip stick oil is black, the oil fill cap (while located far from the engine) is also clean.... although the timing cover leaks so I have to add oil frequently anyways...(it’s gasket is on the replacement list.). Making this a bit harder to diagnose.   Fixing that smaller coolant hose on top of the engine was my first notice of coolant looking bad coming from that hose as I repaired it...drove 200 or so miles since then.  Ran smooth, checking all levels this morning caught my attention that the reservoir is cloudy now.... it was empty when I did that work 200 miles ago so, just don’t know when it started before or after introducing the Heavy Duty coolant.

If it is literally oil seeping into the coolant internally, I feel like it is one way ...oil into coolant, vs alternatives.  The fuel seems clean at this time.  Starts right up and runs with no codes.

Ron
Check your fuel water separator for signs of antifreeze .( Possible injector cup O ring leaks) putting fuel into your antifreeze while running and antifreeze in the fuel when not running

Also look at the oil fill cap for signs of white sludge .    ( Possible oil cooler leak) allowing oil in antifreeze while running and possibly antifreeze into oil when not running.

It is possible you have an antifreeze compatibility issue as well
The best way to diagnose your problem is with an antifreeze and oil analysis any truck shop should have a kit you can use but you have to send it off and wait for results.

If you have to keep moving
Keep an eye on the fuel separator for antifreeze and drain it frequently( engines won't run on water and injector will be damaged by water )

If you have white sludge at the oil fill  have the oil changed and have them look at what comes out with the  first quart looking for antifreeze. Also a good time for that oil and antifreeze analysis.
Remember antifreeze is a lousy lubricant and will damage or destroy the engines bearings very quickly.

As always it's best to deal with the problem as soon as you find it . Like the old adage says "pay me now or pay me later"
Later is always more expensive.

In the end the choose is yours
Hope this helps
Eric

[Eric Maclean]

Ron
Sounds good but for the price of the oil and antifreeze analysis if it were me I do it just for the piece off mind.

Your right because of pressure differentials the oil is more likely to migrate into antifreeze than the other way around untill the leak gets worse then Durning cool down when the coolant is still pressurized to to 12 or 14 PSI and there is no oil pressure it will migrate the other way.

If your oil seems ok no sludge or signs of antifreeze like I said before just keep an eye on the fuel for signs of coolant in the fuel seporator ( you said you by passed the old Raycor seporator does that mean you have no fuel seporator or did you install something different)

Eric

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Ron,
If you mixed standard (green) with extended life (red) coolant the resulting color would probably a brown. If so, I wouldn't be worried about oil in the coolant. That said, you have some other concerns. Mixing equal amounts can cause the resulting fluid to gel, clogging the small coolant passages in the system. Also a small amount mixture can cause foaming of the coolant, resulting in decreased cooling capability. My advice would be to get a coolant analysis done and if recommended, have the system drained, well flushed, and refilled with the coolant of choice. Also write the coolant type near the fill point so this doesn't occur in the future. If you want to try to make it home first, watch your temperature and add water (distilled) but no more coolant. You may also want to drain some coolant and replace with water. This assumes you don't have any mountain driving ahead that will put a strain on the cooling system.
Steve

[Ron Davis]

Yep, no more mountains and so far has stayed under 195.  Also keeping speed down to just 6o-65....
Keeping close eyes on everything.

Thanks
Ron

Ron,
If you mixed standard (green) with extended life (red) coolant the resulting color would probably a brown. If so, I wouldn't be worried about oil in the coolant. That said, you have some other concerns. Mixing equal amounts can cause the resulting fluid to gel, clogging the small coolant passages in the system. Also a small amount mixture can cause foaming of the coolant, resulting in decreased cooling capability. My advice would be to get a coolant analysis done and if recommended, have the system drained, well flushed, and refilled with the coolant of choice. Also write the coolant type near the fill point so this doesn't occur in the future. If you want to try to make it home first, watch your temperature and add water (distilled) but no more coolant. You may also want to drain some coolant and replace with water. This assumes you don't have any mountain driving ahead that will put a strain on the cooling system.
Steve