milky substance in overflow
March 29th, 2012, 6:00 AM
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milky substance in overflow
hey guys, i have a 99 suburban with 243,000 miles and last week i checked my antifreeze, and topped it off and it was also nice and green...checked my fluids the other day, when i went to check out my coolant thats when i noticed it...its not mixed in with the coolant, it just sits on top of it....i'm not overheating, my oil is clean despite being due for an oil change, tranny fluid was a bit low but shifts fine...could it be from cheap coolant that i used or is something leaking internally...any info would be great...thanks
Last edited by tommyxj2000; March 29th, 2012 at 6:03 AM.
March 29th, 2012, 10:08 AM
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Might be transmission fluid leaking from internal cooler in radiator for transmission. I've seen it before only looked like plum pudding.(red antifreeze, don't know what green would look like.)
March 29th, 2012, 10:58 AM
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Should have it checked out ASAP. It could be transmission fluid or engine oil. If it is trans fluid it likely would be from the radiator as stated. And if the coolant eventually gets into the trans it will ruin the trans.
March 29th, 2012, 6:31 PM
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If its the trans cooler leaking into the radiator... I would suspect so...you could try taking the end cap off and fixing the leak but for the time and trouble you could pop in a new radiator in 45minutes or less...
March 30th, 2012, 6:17 AM
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i only wanna do it once the right way....which one would you recommend and also i have to do the plugs and wires, what brands would you recommend with that also, i'm really a jeep cherokee guy and i know that the cherokees are temperamental with the kinds of plugs and wires that you use
Last edited by tommyxj2000; March 30th, 2012 at 6:28 AM.
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March 30th, 2012, 7:31 PM
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before you jump to conclusions when did you change out the coolant? a 99 would be running dexcool unless it was changed out, if coolants get mixed they can become a sludge type substance. Personally I'd start out by flushing the cooling system really good and keep an eye on it, of course double check no other fluids are low first.
March 30th, 2012, 11:24 PM
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its been green since i got it in sept and it was flushed around november when the intake gasket was changed....for now i took the reservoir out, drained, and cleaned it....drove around for awhile and gonna check it in morning to see if theres more then will flush it and see where that takes me
April 1st, 2012, 11:13 AM
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so after a day or 2 of driving it around now just have bit of residue in the overflow...so just gonna keep and eye on it...when i cleaned out the overflow the other day, i put the antifreeze in a clear plastic bottle and it separated into 3 parts....antifreeze/mysterious white milky stuff/ and mysterious oily stuff...will try to post a pic later