brown goo in coolant?

Heads, valves, pistons, rods, crankshaft, etc...

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djcripsen
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brown goo in coolant?

Post by djcripsen »

Hi, I just got a 91 legacy sport.

I checked what I think is the coolant. I checked the little box next to the engine with the silver cap to the right of the engine. You can see which one it is in the picture...picture is not my car.

Image
thx to brat4x4 for the pic

Can anyone tell me why the hell this crap is in there? Wtf? I checked the coolant resevoir and theres nothing wrong. I think something is seriously wrong.

And can anyone tell me what the black thing is on top of the engine in that picture. I dont have one of those in my car...
THAWA
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Post by THAWA »

That black thing is just a cover, I don't think it has anything mechanically to do with the car.
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Brat4by4
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Post by Brat4by4 »

Well, if there is oil in your coolant, then that is a sign of a blown headgasket.

Why'd you have to use an old dirty picture of my engine :wink:
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entirelyturbo
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Post by entirelyturbo »

The tank next to the "silver cap" in Brat's engine bay is the windshield washer tank, has nothing to do with your coolant. Any crap in there simply needs to be emptied out...

The coolant tank is to the right, attached to the radiator... :?

I think I'm confused as to what exactly you're talking about...
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vrg3
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Post by vrg3 »

subyluvr2212, he's talking about the tank that looks kind of like an upside-down "1" with the silver cap. It's only on turbo models, and it is the coolant filler tank.

djcripsen, did you stick your finger in and feel the brown goo? If it feels like oil you may have a head gasket problem. It's not uncommon for the coolant in the overflow tank (the white one by the radiator) to be clean while the rest is dirty or vice versa, since coolant only moves to and from it in vapor form.

You may want to flush the cooling system... it may have just been a long time since it was last done. Also, if it doesn't have the right kind of coolant it could have some kind of corrosion or something in it. I recommend using Subaru factory fill coolant.

Like THAWA said, the black thing that says "Subaru multi point fuel injection TURBO 16 VALVE" on it is just a cover. Arguably it protects the ignition coil pack from water. But, I think there are probably more of us without that cover than with it.
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