Engine Cleaning?

[450Dan]

Hi all,

having had to remove the radiator from Bob over the weekend i could not help but get inquisitive, as the pipes looked to be coated along the inside with a white gloopy substance. upon further inspection and removing the thermostat cover (i think that's what it is anyways... complete novice here) the whole thing was bunged up with this gloop, only here it was pretty solid, and the cover appears to be very corroded on the inside and worse where it connects to the radiator pipe. i have yet to take off the water pump to check that out, but as the engine didn't seem to be receiving any cooling whatsoever when i started her the other day (needle hits the red in less than a minute, steam/smoke pouring off) i am assuming that the coolant isnt getting around the system.

not knowing much about engines, i turn to you guys for advice! is it possible to clean the inside of the engine out, mainly the coolant areas, without taking it out of the car or having the strip the whole thing down? because i do not have any sort of hoist, or engine stand... or anywhere to put an engine outside of the car... i suppose i could rig up a tarp and stand out of... something but no amount of weetbix will help me lift an engine lol.

also, if the thermostat cover is corroded, what are the chances that the rest of the insides are too? i am really hoping this is not a dead engine scenario, but best to find out now befor ei get too far into trying to fix the rest of it!

Thanks in advance
~Dan

[harry]

white gloopy-
does it have an oily feel to it?
methinks you may have a leak somewhere letting the engine oil contaminate the coolant system.
drain some of the white gloopy into a clear container and let it stand for a while, I think after a while you will see it separating and the water will be at the bottom of the container and the oil above.


most likely head gasket, but there could be something else allowing the two to mix.


just reread your post, another problem could just be the product of corrosion of the alloy, and hopefully a good flush with water should fix that, and retreat with coolant as most coolant contains a corrosion inhibitor.

[450Dan]

Yea, to clarify the white gloopy was kinda like a wallpaper paste in the pipe, but at the thermostat cover more a cross between silicone sealant and scrambled egg...

[67hardtop]

Thick white "gloopy" stuff is what coolant turns into (cheap sh*t stuff) when its been sitting way too long without circulation. Remove hoses and thermostat and flush out cooling system with water and get radiator flushed or cleaned out. Should be ok after that. I see a lot of that stuff working in a wrecking yard sometimes. The stuff can even go hard like concrete sometimes on top of thermostats and in the outlets and water pumps. Hope this helps.

Cheers Rod:wasntme:

[450Dan]

Well I have scraped the thermostat housing clean and there does not appear to be much in the rad, but as it has a hole and no water it didn't get much time to sit and congeal I guess. Just have to do the pump end and hope she's not badly bunged up inside, glad to hear that it's hopefully not too major, was starting to question my sanity about buying her in the first place! I shall happily attack her with a hose and leave questions about my state of mind to the wife.

[isuzurover]

I am assuming you have a 2.25? Remove the thermostat housing and bottom radiator hose and you should be able to flush it out. There should be a drain on the LHS of the block also.

However it sounds as if it could be emulsified engine oil and if it was me I would be pulling the head off.

[450Dan]

I am assuming you have a 2.25? Remove the thermostat housing and bottom radiator hose and you should be able to flush it out. There should be a drain on the LHS of the block also.

However it sounds as if it could be emulsified engine oil and if it was me I would be pulling the head off.

Not a 2.25, Holden 186, but they are probably set up in a similar fashion.
If pulling the head doesn't require the engine to leave the car I may well do it as well, can't hurt to have a look in there... Though I dread what issues I may uncover, the oil was smoking from the filler cap when she first started so that can't be a good sign, but it does appear to have far too much in there if the dipstick is to be believed

[harry]

[so that can't be a good sign, but it does appear to have far too much in there if the dipstick is to be believed[/QUOTE]


so it may have a sump full of water and oil, drain it into a container and see what you get

[450Dan]

Ok, moment of truth for the oil, drained the sump and although the oil looks horrible I can't see any sign of water in there.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/06/1050.jpg (http://s.photobucket.com/user/gunfielddan/media/F2497A41-FDB5-4EB9-AFB0-FD25FBD22633.jpg.html)

Any rate, changed the oil and flushed the coolant system out with a hose, not a lot of gunk in there that came out so that's good I guess and she doesn't run so hot any more, but the radiator steams as soon as I turn the engine off from the cap at the top, a fair bit of steam too.

Silly question of the day, is the fan supposed to suck air through the rad from outside or blow it through from inside?

[harry]

no water in that oil, good.
the radiator steams from the top- try running it without a radiator cap, when you rev it the water level will rise and fall a bit but if it bubbles like a billy, you have a problem, pull the head off as it most likely has done a head gasket which is the best result.