Friday, September 23, 2011

Dirty coolant in reservoir, but clean in radiator?

This doesn't make sense to me (or I don't fully understand how the cooling system works). The coolant in my engine and radiator looks like new, nice and green. However, the coolant in the reservoir is dark and brown. This is a Jeep Cherokee with a inline six, Automatic Transmission. I have to add coolant to the reservoir every few weeks because it gets low. I was going to change the water pump, but stopped because I noticed the difference in color between the reservoir and the radiator. Anybody have any advice?Dirty coolant in reservoir, but clean in radiator?getting low coolant without leaks could be due to a blown head. have it checked just in case. also, when temperature is cold , stick your finger inside radiator and wipe around inside. you will get thesame dirt yousee in the reservoir.. time to have a system flushing. the dirt you see in the reservoir could be oil contaminants due to a blown head.Dirty coolant in reservoir, but clean in radiator?that is fine you find that alot... the coolant in the radiator is contained not open to air and other contaminants where the coolant in the jug is open to air and containment's not to mention may even react a bit to the plastic bottle itself..



hope this helps

simon