As you may or may not know,the lad i got my new Z off had a problem with oil in the radiator,rewind to august last year,he is in slow moving traffic,middle of London,aircon on,car starts to lose water/steams,he stops,lets it cool down,tops up continues home,garage looks at it,they fit new rad and cap(defo new rad+cap have checked),he then drives normaly next few weeks,then top rad pipe bursts,gets that replaced,was while in garage that they notice brown sludge like oil in rad,and in header tank,so they say headgasket etc,but looking at it its not ice creamy stuff more like light brown sludge,have been all over the net looking for info and it seems 99% of the time its the ATF oil getting into the water from the auto box cooler,could also be,but not sure on a Z the engine oil cooler(not sure if this is also water cooled)the car does not use oil,plenty of power,no visible signs of sludge in sump,but one thing,when i was leaving he gave me a 4ltr can of ATF with about a third used as he said it was getting low,now i'm thinking autobox oil into water rad,if so this will be a big result in my favour,so i intend to change the auto cooler,drop out all water and oil from car,get it all flushed out,and start off from there,(is it worth changing the engine oil cooler too)any ideas or comments welcome :) Tony

(light) brown is usually a sign of rust (caused by filling the rad with plain water instead of coolant).

 

In stock configuration, the only place where the ATF can come into the coolant is in the rad itself, and only if the heat exchanger in te rad is leaking.

 

if the car has an external ATF cooler then it's probably not ATF you see in the coolant

As Lymon says. The standard Auto rad has an intergrated Heat exchanger in the N/S Flow chamber. The engine oil cooler is at the front of the aircon fan in the nose section. Check to see if the feeds to the heat exchanger are still attached as I have seen an auto Zed with the return from the heat exchanger going to the old engine oil cooler and a new cooler installed for engine oil. If it is connected to the heat exchanger it maybe worth will buying a small oil cooler and bypassing the exchanger. Then flush out the rad and see if that cures it.

 

Hope you understand my ramblings. Good luck and fingers crossed that it is ATF as the above will cure it much cheeper than Head gasket job.

I would say at least half of all Z's I've looked at have had the Brown sludge found in cooling system - rust from poor antifreeze use over long periods.

I would say at least half of all Z's I've looked at have had the Brown sludge found in cooling system - rust from poor antifreeze use over long periods.

 

Yes the problem is though that when you wash it out it often starts to leak afterwards. Well mine did and so did Eggy's

i also have that brown gunge but the cambelts gettin done anyway so it'll get done then.

When my first Z blew a turbo water feed, the water that came out looked practically like Guinness.. rust can make the water look awful dark ;)

 

If it's just that then it's a simple ish fix - although as Mark says, they have a tendency to spring leaks from new places when you flush out all the cr*p that was sealing things up..

When my first Z blew a turbo water feed, the water that came out looked practically like Guinness.. rust can make the water look awful dark ;)

 

If it's just that then it's a simple ish fix - although as Mark says, they have a tendency to spring leaks from new places when you flush out all the cr*p that was sealing things up..

yeah and lets just hope it dont leak from the back of the engine, what a nightmare.

yeah and lets just hope it dont leak from the back of the engine, what a nightmare.

 

Guess where the hoses were that were leaking on my first Z? ;) Well, actually it was the ones down the side..

 

Ended up pulling the plenum, bypassing the plenum coolant lines and the turbo water feeds..

Guess where the hoses were that were leaking on my first Z? ;) Well, actually it was the ones down the side..

 

Ended up pulling the plenum, bypassing the plenum coolant lines and the turbo water feeds..

mine was the 1 right in the middle above the gearbox, it took me 7 hours but i managed without takin anything off (JUST) :rofl:

mine was the 1 right in the middle above the gearbox, it took me 7 hours but i managed without takin anything off (JUST) :rofl:

 

Jeez, what do you have - toothpicks for arms? :rofl:

Thanks all,will keep you informed on outcome.

Jeez, what do you have - toothpicks for arms? :rofl:

Not quite just a LOT of paitents and avery long pair of long nose plyers, i'd do it again for someone else but i'd charge for it cos my arms looked like a joint of beef when i was finished, :rofl: :smash:

I think tony is quite up on the mechanics of how a zed rad works, after all hes had 7 of them.

 

If it is ATF tony you better get it sorted quick as water will be in the autobox too and that cant be good.

 

Id wager that the previous owner will of banged loads of radweld etc in the water system if he was selling it hoping to temporaraly solve the problem, thus the shit in the rad.

 

Cant you get someone to do a sniffer test on it tony? That will tell you if there is exhaust gases in the water.

 

Ive got a mate thats got the kit if the motor will make it to Coventry.

I think tony is quite up on the mechanics of how a zed rad works, after all hes had 7 of them.

True but these cars catch ya out ,you think you know then bang another learning curve :D but being an enthusiast with a mental problem(must be as i have had 7 of the buggers!)i keep going,but age is catching up with me,50 this year and memory like a sieve :D .

 

As for your mate bud,Cov only 20 mins away,so will PM or ring you at weekend if i can,Tony :)

Quick update,defo engine oil in the water,so head gasket naf,but on the up spent all day sunday looking it over,draining water,filling up,running it etc etc.No steam from ehaust when hot,no nasty smoke colours at all, comp check was

5=173 6=170

3=174 4=171

1=179 2=173

am suprised at these figures as was sure the head gasket would cause a big loss but i suppose its where and how its letting in the oil on the head.

 

Cars done 70k with service history to 50k so cam belt prob not done.

 

Boosting excellent(14 on gauge but ya never know with stock :rolleyes: ),excellent negative vacume, no weird noises,very smooth,except when at op temp the rpm rises up a down by around 350-400rpm,only after around 15 mins tickover time.Lights indicator in dash comes on when applying brakes,brakes very good,hand brake a little week,dash indicates door open but its not,not yet had wheels off but defo aftermarket suspension set up,bloody hard,grips and handles ok,on uneven ground its a bit skittish but as i say its very hard,a four or five Sony ICE box's under boot carpet,have no idea what they do!with a mountain of wires,and 2 Sony 10 disc changers that may or may not work(no head unit as yet).Full tool kit,targa bags,no targa shades,wiring under bonnet a little brittle but have seen and had worse,one bolt lost from coil pack and other bolt loose,(sorted now)and someone has tried a DIY paint job on various parts under the bonnet but thats easy to sort.No oil leaks under car,allso no under tray,body at offside front wing needs a little sor,and front bumper needs a little tlc too and its moving about a bit.Leather interior very good,no worries there,steering a little off needs tracking,illegal front number plate(non reflective).All electrics ok,even the seats.So all in all its sound,have been bit picky but just the head gasket thats major.Oh one more thing,no rust anywhere,not even underneath,maybe becouse of having the Strosek body fitted!

 

 

Tony

:)

Bummer about the head gasket, but im sure youll sort it.

 

Isnt it cheaper to get a whole engine?

 

Id offer to get my hands dirty but im a bit busy setting the shop up at the moment!!

Sorry to hear that tony, if there is a leak between oil and water gallery it wouldn't affect the compression/boost bud :(

I am not to dissapointed Mark,as i got it knowing it was prob the fault,but you allways hope :D.At least motors solid. I have someone who may be able to do it,he done an engine for me few years back,at the moment am looking into maybe renting a lock up and doing it all myself as theres no rush,as my garage is too small and my sons 106 in there waiting for him to finish his driving lessons and test.

B19RKS no worries mate,thanks for offer,if i cant get done i will farm it out,will browse the traders section.

 

Tony

those compression figures are very good.

does it actually overheat ?

 

have your changed coolant to see if the oil re-appears ?

those compression figures are very good.

does it actually overheat ?

 

have your changed coolant to see if the oil re-appears ?

 

Well thats the thing,drove all the way back from Newham,London,about 70miles,when i got back i left running and to my suprise it was not even stressed,put my hands on intake and block and it was only mild hot to touch,rad was only warm to touch,,engine running sweet,but i could smell a hint of engine oil when heater on in car,but this could be the fact its a bit oily and grubby under the hood,and the car had not been run for any length of time over last few months,i have done coolant 3 times,but to be honest i think its going to take a few more to get it a lot clearer in the system.Have taken a pic,the green stuff is more like thick antifreeze+oil mix,then it does get thicker when the rest finaly came out and darker,i took a sample in a container and let it settle,its thick and not much seperation(was the worst of the liquid that came out)if you smell it it defo smells of engine oil.God knows how it has not over heated as the oil to water ratio must be way to high to cool the block,but there again strange things happen when you think otherwise.

 

Tony