Dark coolant, but no coolant in the oil.
#1
Dark coolant, but no coolant in the oil.
Hi everyone -
I have a Mazda Tribute 2002, 4cyl, manual trans. 146,000 miles.
Got a bit of a pressing problem. A couple days ago I noticed that my coolant reservoir was dark. As in brown dark. No leaks under the car. No coolant in the oil. Oil looks great. Smells a bit oily, but I can't be sure if it's different than what it smells like normally. Car runs well, no issues with overheating. At least yet. and I did quite a bit of driving this month. I did 4. 5 hour drives Friday and Saturday, so 9 hours on the road with the coolant that color.
I know I need to get it looked at ASAP. I just wanted to know what you guys thought this issue might be. I have a check engine light on for my catalytic converter, but that's been on for a while (over a year, failing but not plugging). I have a manual transmission, so there would be no trans cooler in my radiator, right? Would it be a cracked head/head gasket if there was no coolant in the oil?
Other thought: back in February/March I had a coolant leak, and it turned out to be a cracked temperature casing, or something like that, positioned behind the water pump. What I did notice was that they mixed orange coolant in with my blue/green, or at least it sure seemed that way. Could this be a chemical reaction to these two types of coolant? I know it's been months, but I don't think I have even looked at it since they replaced it. I know that theory is highly unlikely. Maybe just rusty/dirty system?
However, another theory I have is that the mechanic at Firestone (where I got my oil changed last) put oil in that reservoir on accident when I had my oil changed a few months back. That is more likely, knowing how they do things at that particular store.
Any thoughts would be great. Weirdly enough this morning when I turned on my car, my radiator fan turned on right away on the cold engine. It went off a minute or so later. I thought that was strange.
Thanks again!
Jennifer
I have a Mazda Tribute 2002, 4cyl, manual trans. 146,000 miles.
Got a bit of a pressing problem. A couple days ago I noticed that my coolant reservoir was dark. As in brown dark. No leaks under the car. No coolant in the oil. Oil looks great. Smells a bit oily, but I can't be sure if it's different than what it smells like normally. Car runs well, no issues with overheating. At least yet. and I did quite a bit of driving this month. I did 4. 5 hour drives Friday and Saturday, so 9 hours on the road with the coolant that color.
I know I need to get it looked at ASAP. I just wanted to know what you guys thought this issue might be. I have a check engine light on for my catalytic converter, but that's been on for a while (over a year, failing but not plugging). I have a manual transmission, so there would be no trans cooler in my radiator, right? Would it be a cracked head/head gasket if there was no coolant in the oil?
Other thought: back in February/March I had a coolant leak, and it turned out to be a cracked temperature casing, or something like that, positioned behind the water pump. What I did notice was that they mixed orange coolant in with my blue/green, or at least it sure seemed that way. Could this be a chemical reaction to these two types of coolant? I know it's been months, but I don't think I have even looked at it since they replaced it. I know that theory is highly unlikely. Maybe just rusty/dirty system?
However, another theory I have is that the mechanic at Firestone (where I got my oil changed last) put oil in that reservoir on accident when I had my oil changed a few months back. That is more likely, knowing how they do things at that particular store.
Any thoughts would be great. Weirdly enough this morning when I turned on my car, my radiator fan turned on right away on the cold engine. It went off a minute or so later. I thought that was strange.
Thanks again!
Jennifer
#2
Jennifer: when you mix a few colors you end up with brown very quickly. Since everything seems a bit murky I would have a trustworthy shop look at the coolant. Maybe have the whole system flushed and replaced with a coolant of one color. Then see if the color changes in the next few days/weeks.
Don't jump to conclusions just because that color is weird. You know, for some time Japanese manufacturers used a brown colored coolant. How the heck would anyone notice rust if the original color is brown?
But l would jump to one conclusion: avoid that Firestone place like the bubonic plague!
Don't jump to conclusions just because that color is weird. You know, for some time Japanese manufacturers used a brown colored coolant. How the heck would anyone notice rust if the original color is brown?
But l would jump to one conclusion: avoid that Firestone place like the bubonic plague!
#3
Hi Tan-
Thanks for the feedback. I feel better about this now. I am taking it in tomorrow to have the system flushed. I've asked for a pressure check also, but not sure I need that. I really hope it's just a mix of the two types of coolant. I will post an update when I know something.
J
Jennifer
Thanks for the feedback. I feel better about this now. I am taking it in tomorrow to have the system flushed. I've asked for a pressure check also, but not sure I need that. I really hope it's just a mix of the two types of coolant. I will post an update when I know something.
J
Jennifer
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