[Atari.fan3000]

Has any body had this problem before? I saw that my coolant reserve tank was all brown and I thought it was rust at first but it is like a brown algae growing in there, and i just drained all my coolant and it was all brown

any suggestions on how to get rid of this crap

[Benny2Times]

Do you think you could add a cup of bleach to you system?

[jetwrench]

get a flush kit and flush the system out

[HeepToJeep]

Ethylene glycol (antifreeze) is a toxin that will kill every living thing so it's unlikely what's in your overflow bottle is algae (the 210° OT would support this as well), it's more likely of being the residue of a coolant system leak sealer mixed with rust and scale. Elimination should be little more than flushing your cooling system and a good soaking/scrubbing/shaking/rinsing of the overflow bottle.

Wm

[Atari.fan3000]

Originally Posted by HeepToJeep

Ethylene glycol (antifreeze) is a toxin that will kill every living thing so it's unlikely what's in your overflow bottle is algae (the 210° OT would support this as well), it's more likely of being the residue of a coolant system leak sealer mixed with rust and scale. Elimination should be little more than flushing your cooling system and a good soaking/scrubbing/shaking/rinsing of the overflow bottle.

Wm

Since I have owned the jeep I have only put 50/50 mix antifreeze in the coolant system, and it is not rust, it looks like a thick brown muck. and the overflow bottle is stained brown I tried bleach, degeeser, soap, and tons of hot water to get that brown **** off the walls of the bottle and it did not help at all.

[HeepToJeep]

It sounds like someone's used that Bars Leak stuff in it, once added to your radiator it turns into a blackish/brown sludge and stains everything like oil does. I bet Castrol Superclean would work for ya, I've never seen anything that stuff wont remove and I've had good luck running it through a H2s cooling system to remove contaminants. I drained the system then added one gallon of CSC and filled it the rest of the way up with water and let the engine run at idle speed long enough for it to reach operating temperature and for the thermostat to open and close a few times then drained/rinsed and refilled with clean water and antifreeze. I'd let the overflow bottle sit for a while with straight CSC in it then rinse, I'm sure it will take it out.

Wm

[cajunbull61]

CSC is great stuff for removing grease and oil but, it does not like aluminum. A main ingredient is bleach which discolors aluminum and leaves a white powdery residue.

[HeepToJeep]

Originally Posted by cajunbull61

CSC is great stuff for removing grease and oil but, it does not like aluminum. A main ingredient is bleach which discolors aluminum and leaves a white powdery residue.

Agreed but when used with hot water in a 33-50% mix and rinsed afterwards it causes no problems and leaves no residue, leaving it on aluminum until dry will most definately cause corrosion though.

Wm

[severous01]

just take the bottle off and scrub it while you're doing the flush...my bottle i thought was brown was just stained with rust. it's actually white...and i know it came that way but i was surprised to find that with it being near the 15yr mark it was still almost white.

plus with all the mud i hit and clay i drive through...you know that red clay would stain chrome...

[That1guy]

Its some sort of stop leak stuff. That stuff is nasty. I wouldnt use it unless that was my last option

[troberts0034]

The brown growth you speak of is generally a result of combustion gasses leaking into the coolant passageways, bringing with it fuel, oil, and carbon. Generally a sign of a cracked head or head gasket that is beginning to leak a little. This is a super common problem on 90's model engines, especally those with aluminum heads(yes, I know a 4.0L has an iron head). You can take it to a good shop and they'll have a machine that hooks to the radiator and identifies if the combustion gas is leaking into the coolant system.

[Atari.fan3000]

Originally Posted by troberts0034

The brown growth you speak of is generally a result of combustion gasses leaking into the coolant passageways, bringing with it fuel, oil, and carbon. Generally a sign of a cracked head or head gasket that is beginning to leak a little. This is a super common problem on 90's model engines, especally those with aluminum heads(yes, I know a 4.0L has an iron head). You can take it to a good shop and they'll have a machine that hooks to the radiator and identifies if the combustion gas is leaking into the coolant system.

ok....I just left the radiator cap off my jeep and let it get to running temps. and it started to bubble a bit, does that mean i have a cracked head or broken seal? some one at work told me that was one way to test and see

[Atari.fan3000]

update: upon further inspection of the coolant(and use of a stronger magnet ) that the brown color is partly caused by rust. and that my head and or head gasket is broken/cracked