help with radiator

[jackp0t]

hope you guys can help me or point me to the light
the car is 92 h23 270 000km
the problem is the coolant looks like a coffee w/ the whitener or mud
i think the oil and coolant are mixing
and i figured it might be a blown head gasket
but the car doesnt over heat
the oil is fine
the outside reaks of smell(coolant)
and randomly the idle goes back n forth from 1 to 2 rpm bu it goes back to normal after
also in the resevoir the coffee like substance was just floating in i think water
coolant suppose to be color green, blue etc
here are some picture;
http://img138.imageshack.us/g/img0043l.jpg/

thanks in advance

[FN-2199]

When's the last time you changed your coolant?
Get it flushed.

[jackp0t]

last spring

[FN-2199]

Have you changed your water pump at all? Sometimes that's what causes the random surging. Also, does your rad lose any coolant from time to time?

From your description, you definitely might have a blown head gasket. Get it checked up before it gets worse. The best way to check is with a leak down test.

[jackp0t]

the last owner drove the car w/this problem for a year
he just didnt wanna bother fixing it so he sold it for cheap
the upper hose was replace
weird thing the car still pulls and drives fine
as for a leak down test etc i will have access to a school shop in in a couple of months
best thing i can do right now is probably to just flush the coolant, oil and little things

[godwin]

the longer you drive.. the sooner the cat will be toast (which you won't be able to pass aircare etc).. that will coast more money than the car is worth.

Originally Posted by jackp0t

the last owner drove the car w/this problem for a year
he just didnt wanna bother fixing it so he sold it for cheap
the upper hose was replace
weird thing the car still pulls and drives fine
as for a leak down test etc i will have access to a school shop in in a couple of months
best thing i can do right now is probably to just flush the coolant, oil and little things

[jackp0t]

daym i forgot about the aircare

[subordinate]

damn, that is some nasty looking coolant.

Definitely flush that stuff out. Remember to dispose properly.

And, Are you sure it could be oil/coolant mixing? Check the Coolant reservoir and see if there is an oily film on top of the coolant.

Edit: Found some information on the internet, seems to relate to your problem:

When you pull the rad cap off and shine a flashlight inside, the coolant should be transparent (plus whatever color it was when put in), and the fins should be clearly visible.

If the fluid is murky, brown, smells like rubber, goopy, or if the fins have white, crusty deposits on them, you've got circulation problems, and likely corrosion problems inside the engine.

Old coolant gets acidic and corrosive, and will eat all sorts of internal parts, from your head gasket to the water pump impeller. It also cannot carry heat as effectively as fresh coolant.

So, hopefully, your old coolant has not done anything too damaging, like eat your head gaskets... so change the coolant ASAP.

[jackp0t]

in the radaitor it looks like coffee with whitener as u can see in the picture
but in the resevoir the coffee like substance is floating in i think water
i took some sample from the resevoir it smells like oil i think
coolant suppose to have green or blue etc

all i can do for now is to flush the coolant
and run water ones or twice before filling it again

Originally Posted by subordinate

damn, that is some nasty looking coolant.

Definitely flush that stuff out. Remember to dispose properly.

And, Are you sure it could be oil/coolant mixing? Check the Coolant reservoir and see if there is an oily film on top of the coolant.

Edit: Found some information on the internet, seems to relate to your problem:

When you pull the rad cap off and shine a flashlight inside, the coolant should be transparent (plus whatever color it was when put in), and the fins should be clearly visible.

If the fluid is murky, brown, smells like rubber, goopy, or if the fins have white, crusty deposits on them, you've got circulation problems, and likely corrosion problems inside the engine.

Old coolant gets acidic and corrosive, and will eat all sorts of internal parts, from your head gasket to the water pump impeller. It also cannot carry heat as effectively as fresh coolant.

So, hopefully, your old coolant has not done anything too damaging, like eat your head gaskets... so change the coolant ASAP.

[Phil@rise]

you have a bad head gasket or cracked head for certain.
Most commonly both fluids exchange it's rare that only oil gets into the coolant tho so check your oil as well if coolant gets in your oil it will ruin your bearings

[valent|n0]

the RPM Jumps up and down goes from 2000 to 1000 , then it goes normal could be the throttle pressure sensor.
If you have a pic of the engine bay I can show you what you can do to remedy it
it is literally 2 mins job and free, worth to try