Thank God this didn't happen to one of my cars. This is exactly why I like to do my own maintenance to my own cars.
One of my co-workers asked me a question yesterday morning. She said her son took his 97 Ford F-150 to some repair shop to have the oil changed. They topped off the coolant with something that was NOT already in it. His truck started to overheat. She says now the cooling system is full of this brown sludge like in this photo:
Apparently when you mix two different types of coolant they react and create a brown sludge. This is the first I've ever heard of this happening. I mean, logic would say if the coolant is green, use EG, if it's orange use Dex-Cool.
How many times of coolant are there on the market? I only know of two , well three.
1) The "green stuff" which is ethylene glycol. Been around for ages. True and tested.
2) Then there is propylene glycol. This stuff was introduced as Sierra back in the 1980s. I had not seen it in years but apparently Peak still makes it. It's supposed to be 10 times less deadly than EG. I have no idea if this stuff can be mixed with ethylene glycol. Did you know it's found in food such as ice cream and those sauce packs that you mix separately in frozen dinners? I guess to prevent ice cream from freezing rock solid. The EPA says it's safe in small quantities. You know if you can believe what the government says...
3) Dex-Cool. This is the orange stuff that has been used in GM vehicles for quite some time. Some know-it-all I used to work with says it's corrosive to aluminum. My 98 Chevy van has it in it. I've never had any cooling issues with it and it's got about 150,000 miles on it. Is this stuff supposed to be better? Or is it something GM came up with like those stupid side battery terminals.
So are there any other types of coolants besides EG, PG and Dex-Cool?
I always thought Fords used EG (the green stuff). The question is, why would someone add Dex-Cool on top of EG or vice versa?
Once this sludge develops how do you flush it out?
She told me they have already changed out 4 thermostats and the truck has no heat so the heater core is clogged up. She asked me what would I do.
I suggested taking the heater hoses loose from the engine and stick a water hose into each hose, turn it on and kink it back and fourth to see if it breaks loose. I've done this before on older cars like my 68 Ford. The heater core would occasionally clog up with rust scale. I guess from where the car has the original engine which is almost 50 years old.
Install a flush tee in the heater hose and backwash the system for about 30 minutes
Then add a couple of cups of Tide detergent and water and let the engine get hot, drain and backwash it again and repeat if necessary.
I told her I hate to give advice on something I've never tried myself but if I had a car like this I might try filling the cooling system with something like diesel fuel or kerosene. But since the flash point is between 100 and 150F, I don't know if it would be safe to actually start the vehicle and let it get hot.
I choice would be Tide detergent.
If it were me, I'd be finding a lawyer or file a suite for small claims court and make the shop fix it or flush it out.
Anybody ever had this happen?
One of my co-workers asked me a question yesterday morning. She said her son took his 97 Ford F-150 to some repair shop to have the oil changed. They topped off the coolant with something that was NOT already in it. His truck started to overheat. She says now the cooling system is full of this brown sludge like in this photo:
Apparently when you mix two different types of coolant they react and create a brown sludge. This is the first I've ever heard of this happening. I mean, logic would say if the coolant is green, use EG, if it's orange use Dex-Cool.
How many times of coolant are there on the market? I only know of two , well three.
1) The "green stuff" which is ethylene glycol. Been around for ages. True and tested.
2) Then there is propylene glycol. This stuff was introduced as Sierra back in the 1980s. I had not seen it in years but apparently Peak still makes it. It's supposed to be 10 times less deadly than EG. I have no idea if this stuff can be mixed with ethylene glycol. Did you know it's found in food such as ice cream and those sauce packs that you mix separately in frozen dinners? I guess to prevent ice cream from freezing rock solid. The EPA says it's safe in small quantities. You know if you can believe what the government says...
3) Dex-Cool. This is the orange stuff that has been used in GM vehicles for quite some time. Some know-it-all I used to work with says it's corrosive to aluminum. My 98 Chevy van has it in it. I've never had any cooling issues with it and it's got about 150,000 miles on it. Is this stuff supposed to be better? Or is it something GM came up with like those stupid side battery terminals.
So are there any other types of coolants besides EG, PG and Dex-Cool?
I always thought Fords used EG (the green stuff). The question is, why would someone add Dex-Cool on top of EG or vice versa?
Once this sludge develops how do you flush it out?
She told me they have already changed out 4 thermostats and the truck has no heat so the heater core is clogged up. She asked me what would I do.
I suggested taking the heater hoses loose from the engine and stick a water hose into each hose, turn it on and kink it back and fourth to see if it breaks loose. I've done this before on older cars like my 68 Ford. The heater core would occasionally clog up with rust scale. I guess from where the car has the original engine which is almost 50 years old.
Install a flush tee in the heater hose and backwash the system for about 30 minutes
Then add a couple of cups of Tide detergent and water and let the engine get hot, drain and backwash it again and repeat if necessary.
I told her I hate to give advice on something I've never tried myself but if I had a car like this I might try filling the cooling system with something like diesel fuel or kerosene. But since the flash point is between 100 and 150F, I don't know if it would be safe to actually start the vehicle and let it get hot.
I choice would be Tide detergent.
If it were me, I'd be finding a lawyer or file a suite for small claims court and make the shop fix it or flush it out.
Anybody ever had this happen?