I was helping my friend put a 3rd set of plugs in his 2006 Ford Explorer 4.6L 3 valve. Never had a coolant flush, or any added to his knowledge. I noticed the reservoir was almost empty, and what was in there seemed to be two elements separated, one grey, one clear. (see photo). The reservoir is not air tight, it has a pop top like you would find on a washer fluid tank. Really cheap.
I opened the radiator cap and it had a gel built around it. The coolant was low, but there. This explorer has no leaks or even a whiff of Coolant under the hood when hot. I changed all the plugs, it's not burning any coolant. The cores in the radiator look great. What is up with this? Coolant reacting and evaporating from the Res not sealing? Then this gunk sifts down onto the cap and sticks there too?
Or maybe a top off at some point with a non compatible coolant from a garage?
It is hard to get a cell phone to focus aimed inside like this, you'll notice some dried white inside the tank. It almost looks like dried salt.
I opened the radiator cap and it had a gel built around it. The coolant was low, but there. This explorer has no leaks or even a whiff of Coolant under the hood when hot. I changed all the plugs, it's not burning any coolant. The cores in the radiator look great. What is up with this? Coolant reacting and evaporating from the Res not sealing? Then this gunk sifts down onto the cap and sticks there too?
Or maybe a top off at some point with a non compatible coolant from a garage?
It is hard to get a cell phone to focus aimed inside like this, you'll notice some dried white inside the tank. It almost looks like dried salt.