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Orange coolant with thick layer ferrari 308

Discussion in '308/328' started by fredbrbr, May 21, 2025 at 8:43 AM.

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  1. fredbrbr

    fredbrbr Rookie

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    #1 fredbrbr, May 21, 2025 at 8:43 AM
  2. yelcab

    yelcab F1 World Champ
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    #2 yelcab, May 21, 2025 at 9:05 AM
    Sign of extreme neglect. Has this always been your car?
     
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  3. Glassman

    Glassman F1 World Champ
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    #3 Glassman, May 21, 2025 at 9:10 AM
    Well I would start with several coolant flushes............followed by several more!!!!
     
  4. fredbrbr

    fredbrbr Rookie

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    #4 fredbrbr, May 21, 2025 at 9:12 AM
    It has been my car for a little over a year. The car had some extensive work done (new valves, machined heads, new head gasket, etc...). The specialist who performed this had told me that they had overhauled the cooling system. The car being stored indoors, only driven 1000km since, would bring me to believe he didn't have a look at the coolant I suppose..?
     
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  5. flash32

    flash32 F1 Veteran

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    #5 flash32, May 21, 2025 at 9:15 AM
    Sounds like plain water was used instead of coolant on last overhaul
     
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  6. yelcab

    yelcab F1 World Champ
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    #6 yelcab, May 21, 2025 at 9:32 AM
    Flush it with clean water. Fill it up, drive it for 30 minutes. Drain it. Fill it up. Drive it, drain it again. Then fill it up with 50/50 proper coolant.
     
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  7. johnk...

    johnk... F1 World Champ
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    #7 johnk..., May 21, 2025 at 9:45 AM
    That didn't happen in a year.
     
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  8. fredbrbr

    fredbrbr Rookie

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    #8 fredbrbr, May 21, 2025 at 9:48 AM
    Thanks for the instructions! Indeed, just looks like regular plain water that was used as @flash32 pointed out.

    My common sense didn’t make me double check the coolant after a 20.000€ complete engine overhaul at a specialist… You’d think they would have the courtesy to at least let me know about this….
     
  9. Glassman

    Glassman F1 World Champ
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    #9 Glassman, May 21, 2025 at 10:08 AM
    I wouldn't call that a specialist!!!! The work you listed would have required draining the old coolant.
     
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  10. Freddie328

    Freddie328 Formula Junior

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    #10 Freddie328, May 21, 2025 at 10:12 AM
    IF the system is mixed with OAT and IAT glycol, the two are not compatible and could turn into an Orange sludge. As mentioned above, flush it several times and fill with your preferred type of glycol/ distilled water mix.
    It's very possible that your car had IAT glycol, the system was partially drained down to carry out the repair work, and then topped up with OAT glycol, or visa versa.
     
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  11. fredbrbr

    fredbrbr Rookie

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    #11 fredbrbr, May 21, 2025 at 11:27 AM
    makes sense yes, after discussing this with the so called « specialist » who carried out the big engine overhaul, he insists he changed the coolant, and that most probably this is residue from the radiator that made its way back to the tank… although your diagnostic sounds more plausible!
     
  12. Portofino

    Portofino Formula Junior

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    #12 Portofino, May 21, 2025 at 11:43 AM
    Flush the rad as well .
    To see if the orange is a rusty rad internals .
     
  13. yelcab

    yelcab F1 World Champ
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    #13 yelcab, May 21, 2025 at 12:24 PM
    For a head gasket job where the block is visible, I always drain the block. Failure to do so is ... border on negligence.
     
  14. mike996

    mike996 F1 Veteran

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    #14 mike996, May 21, 2025 at 12:31 PM
    Very poor work. I've worked on a LOT of engines and can't imagine that much gunk being the result of "residue" from the radiator. IF it is, the radiator must have been almost totally blocked up with rust and I'm not sure even that could produce those results. If I had done an engine overhaul in the shop and the customer brought a car back with the coolant looking like that, I'd have been looking for a job later that day...and wouldn't find one because the shop owner's recommendation to anyone asking would be, DON"T hire that guy! ;)
     
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  15. Portofino

    Portofino Formula Junior

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    #15 Portofino, May 21, 2025 at 12:38 PM
    Did you see the heads off in person or images ?
     
  16. yelcab

    yelcab F1 World Champ
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    #16 yelcab, May 21, 2025 at 12:38 PM
    Don't forget to drain the block this time.
     
  17. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #17 Rifledriver, May 21, 2025 at 12:47 PM
    Last edited: May 21, 2025 at 12:57 PM
    It for sure is not rust. How does rust form in an aluminum motor? I have seen many run pure water and not once seen that outcome.
     
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  18. mike996

    mike996 F1 Veteran

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    #18 mike996, May 21, 2025 at 12:54 PM
    Uh...good point! AL doesn't rust...and neither does copper (rad core)!

    It doesn't look like what I've seen from mixed coolants but I haven't seen every possibility so that could be the issue. Either way, very bad mech work.
     
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  19. fredbrbr

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    #19 fredbrbr, May 21, 2025 at 12:57 PM
    Agreed. The issue is, these « specialists » will never admit any wrongdoing and always play the « you’re not a mechanic, how would you know better than me? » card… The supporting argument always being « I’ve worked on hundreds of Colombo V12s, I know what I’m talking about! »…
    Shame that finding a trustworthy person to work on these cars who doesn’t reason in pure $ is hard to find these days…
     
  20. fredbrbr

    fredbrbr Rookie

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    #20 fredbrbr, May 21, 2025 at 12:59 PM
    Makes sense, also it’s hard to believe this much rust would have accumulated in the rad, with the rad looking fine and functioning…

    What’s the other guess aside from mixed coolants? Doesn’t really look like engine oil no?(please say no ! :rolleyes:) !
     
  21. fredbrbr

    fredbrbr Rookie

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    #21 fredbrbr, May 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
    To clarify, you mean draining both the pipes and the bleeding screw in the wheel well?
     
  22. fredbrbr

    fredbrbr Rookie

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    #22 fredbrbr, May 21, 2025 at 1:03 PM
    Fortunately yes! I also saw them go off to the machining guy and come back resurfaced. So that at least, has been done! Still have a hard time imagining someone would just forget to change the coolant… as mentioned by many people here, doesn’t get much more negligent than this.
     
  23. SAFE4NOW

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    #23 SAFE4NOW, May 21, 2025 at 1:03 PM
    Agreed, more like oil n water residue... IMHO

    S
     
  24. johnk...

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    #24 johnk..., May 21, 2025 at 1:27 PM
    I believe the car is a '76 308. Didn't they have cast iron liners? But OAT/IAT mixing sound more pleasurable.
     
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  25. 308 milano

    308 milano F1 Veteran

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    #25 308 milano, May 21, 2025 at 1:32 PM
    Last edited: May 21, 2025 at 1:39 PM
    I’m no mechanic but oil and water shouldn’t mix like that. You could drain a bit out of the system and oil and water should separate. That would verify/deny oil in Coolant system shouldn’t it?. I agree with the statement in previous post that it looks like incompatible coolant products.

    could this be a stop leak product that’s not compatible with aluminum engine blocks?
     
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