My friend and I were working on our cars today... we found a squeaky pulley or belt on my car (started a separate thread on this) and on his car (90 teg) the coolant was sticky and kind of thick in texture.. not liquid/water like how coolant/water is supposed to be.... to graphically describe it.. i would say it has the consistency of Mucus or ***....

you guys (the regulars and the mods) should know me well enough to know that I am serious w/ the post and description of the coolant and not trying to make a joke, be a jack *** or anything.. this is honestly how the coolant is... it is sticky and kind of sludgy/thick....

in the back of my mind I am thinking its a blown head gasket where the oil has mixed w/ the coolant... but I am just looking for a second opinion.. or input/diagnosis from you guys..

him and I personally changed the coolant last year (in like june or july I think.. sumtime in the summer) as he was saying the car was starting to get hotter than normal w/ the A/C on... so I know the change was done correctly and also that the fluid is not old....

I am thinking its either a blown head gasket OR maybe something w/ the rubber hoses breaking down? please help.. thank you in advance for any help/input/replies on this matter.. your help is appreciated....

 

i have heard of coolant becoming sticky after a long time, but if u said u changed last year then i dont know. u should definatly flush the system and put new coolant in there asap

 

thanks for the reply....

yeah him and I did the coolant flush/change last year (2002) in like June or July it wasn't that long ago.. like 6-7 months... so it shouldn't be old...

don't know if this is a factor.. we used the Prestone Super Flush (small yellow bottle) and flushed it and then drained everything out from the radiator bottom bolt, engine block, etc... then we even ran water through it (in addition to the flush) and flushed it until it was clear and let everything drain then we put in new 50/50 (coolant/water) in there.. if it matters.. the brand used was Prestone also for the coolant mixed w/ water... I made sure the container we mixed it in was clean (I use this container specifically to mix coolant..

the funnel we used was also specifically for coolant (I have separate funnels for oil, coolant, a separate pump for tranny fluid, etc.. funnels are cheap... I made sure it was clean when we did the change/flush too...

in a matter of 6 months or so.. the coolant went from green/liquid like to a thickish/sticky substance.... I know its only been a few months cuz I was there to personally do the coolant change/flush...

so you think its the coolant itself? maybe it sat too long on Kragens shelves before we bought it.. dunnoz.. I'll tell him to go buy a brand new bottle of coolant tomorrow (its dark out now) and come over so that we can re-flush and re-replace the coolant... and we'll see what happens

so you guys don't think its the plastic inside the hoses breaking down or a blown head gasket...oil mixing w/ coolant? its a thick, sludgy, sticky substance..

any additional help on this is appreciated... I guess if the re-flush and coolant change doesn't help he'll have to take his car to a shop to get it pressure and leak down tested and what not and have a professional opinion..

btw its a 90 teg w/ like 170K or so on the odo...

 

Blown head gasket on my accord made the antifreeze looks sluggy like you described it. Take the valve cover off and look to see if you can see milky colored oil, if yes I would suspect a blown head gasket.

 

I'll try and take a look at it today if I have time before it gets dark... I have to take my sisters car to get new tires mounted, balanced and alignement cuz she has no idea what to get/what to ask for and I don't want her to get ripped off...

anyway if they get done early enough my friend and I are going to try and flush out the cooling system again and try to see if we can find out whats wrong w/ his car...

thanks for those who replied.. any other input/suggestions/help/expertise is appreciated... thanks in advance..