BROWN STUFF & BLACK PARTICLE FLECKS IN RADIATOR COOLANT ? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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BROWN STUFF & BLACK PARTICLE FLECKS IN RADIATOR COOLANT ?

BUXTER

Elite Explorer
Joined
January 13, 2019
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City, State
SUMMERVILLE
Year, Model & Trim Level
2001 MERC MOUNTY 5.0 AWD
I AM NOT A HAPPY CAMPER... bought 2001 5.0 Mounty with bad Water Pump - 76K miles - Coolant was funky brown so pulled old Thermostat which looked awful with Brown yuck & little Black particles - Flushed OLD components with Prestone Flush - Petcock wd clog with black flecks, I wd have to jiggle it to unclog... blew system down w/ compressed air, flushed some more till it ran clean - Installed new Water Pump, new Hoses, new Thermostat - Ran fine for a week or 2 then Overflow Bottle turned brown again & it runs Hot when idling with AC on OR running 70+ with AC Off or On - Flushed some more, got more Black particles & more brown sticky glueish stuff in Coolant overflow Bottle - STILL Overflow Bottle turned brown again & it runs Hot when idling with AC on OR running 70+ with AC Off or On - My guess is Brown Sticky stuff is some leak fix the PO used... like that's gonna fix a water pump... WHAT are the black particles____?

Do I just buy a new Radiator or will I just contaminate it with brown sticky stuff & black particle flecks ?

Do I use a "mo better" Flush ? - CLR or ?

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The black particles might be black pepper, black pepper grounds/flakes have been used for eons to slow coolant leaks.
I am actually a big fan of using pepper because it is quite easy to get it out of the engine when its fixed and it works very well at plugging slow leaks
The brown sludge is likely some sort of leak stop used by PO
How many miles on the 5.0?
When you say it runs "hot" what does that mean? Is it to the top of the stock gauge or?

It sounds like you did not get all of the coolant out of the engine/ heater core, etc and may just need to flush it some more.
It is a good idea to BACK flush the heater cores on these trucks, they are aluminum and should last the life of the truck but all kinds of crap gets stuck in them especially when the PO uses some coolant sealer, it will stay in there unless you reverse the flow
You may have to pull/replace the thermostat again.
You can remove the overflow tank, add some CLR and some pea gravel and shake the crap out of it....this will remove all that hard to get sludge from the top edges

Once the system is running clear then you can start to monitor the coolant level and start watching for any external leaks.
Running hot can be caused by a few things, the 5.0 is not known for this. Usually it is a plugged radiator, defective thermostat, or weak water pump....sounds like you already took care of two of those.
The 5.0L trucks are all automatic transmission and should all have a dual core radiator, many shops will replace the unit with a single core to save money...not a good idea on a 5.0
 












Yeah, keep trying to clean the system out, and keep an eye on the level, more leaks, and changes to the engine oil.

Be sure the front of the radiator, and AC condenser, or clear of debris. Use distilled water and get it very clean if you can, before the final anti-freeze etc. I like an additive that improves cooling, like Water Weter, those also provide lubrication for WP bearings.
 






THANX GUYS~! - Bought late Dec 2018 for $3500 + Tax & Tags w/ 76K miles - 77K miles now - Runs, drives & brakes great - Original Coolant fm PO was SO funky I Prestone chemical flushed (so not the Prestone acid based flush) & backflushed & blew down w/compressed air the heck out of motor, heater core, rad, etc... before during & after installing new components but quite obviously that was not enuff … So yes if u have what I got it takes MORE than that ~! (which THAT was more than I have ever flushed anything in the last 50 years of car work) - And yes I always clean Condenser Core & Rad core when I have access like a Water Pump or Rad job - Although as I said after that first round of flushing temps were fine in all modes for a couple weeks at ambient Temps up to 80 degrees (Feb in SC had a few weirdly warm days) THEN it re-clogged & ran Hot -- The Brown stuff is sticky so yes probably some Stop leak of some type... I took the 'new' drained Coolant & filtered it thru a paper towel in a funnel & it leaves brown stain & eventually plugs the paper towel to the extent it takes about 4 towels & a good while to Filter 1 gallon of contaminated coolant - At the bottom of the contaminated coolant jug is a LOT of black flecks of varying sizes - temp gage got to a little right of straight up but its never vented any coolant via rad Cap -- I have 2 quarts of CLR & some Blue Devil Acid based Flush - Radiator may be hopelessly contaminated w/ pepper & sticky stuff but of course I want to flush entire system w/ water & then acid flush & then more water prior to installing new Rad so as not to clog the new Rad ~! - I have some distilled water for final filling & yes I already blew $9 on Water Wetter that's trashed now - Shopping all Aluminum Rads on Ebay I take it the V6 Rads are single Row & the V8 Rads are 2 Row ? - IF I have to replace Rad I'm not gonna put a 3 Row Rad in the Mounty (like the 3 Row Rad upgrade I put in my 96 MKVIII being its Stock electric Fan has no probs w/3 row Rad Air Flow) as I run aftermaket Electric Fan in Mounty & want to maintain best AC Condenser Flow (although I do have Aux AC triggered electric Fans too in addition to Rad Fan ) AND its so damn tight in Mounty 3 Row Rad may not fit IMO - I deleted Tranny Cooler in Mounty Rad also - BTW the under Rad Deflector / Scoop is in place with edge of Air Dam set where it puts flow to lower Rad & leaves gap between Condenser & Rad open at bottom of them.... there are several sets of holes in Deflector so I cd change that position if warranted - Fresh Mobil 1 5w20 & NAPA gold Filter in place.
 






The flush products at the auto parts store are about as strong as mouthwash. Vinegar, CLR work slowly. I use oxalic acid crystals to remove the rust from the engine. The prestone 2 part heavy duty engine cleaner sold years ago was oxalic acid crystals and washing soda.
 






I'm sure some of that brown stuff is rust - PO drove it very little & may have let it sit with diluted Coolant fm Water Pump leak, who knows how long that went on … New Goodyear Wranglers only had 20 lbs of air in them when I bought it - Drained & Flushed twice w/ water going in Rad inlet & out Petcock … then drove around with 1 qt of CLR & Water for an hour, let it sit a few hours - Ambient only 65 here Sunday but ran perfectly cool in all modes at all speeds, never over midway on temp gage (200 Coolant temp) & mostly at the spot on gage where Coolant temps are 185 - Of course it did this before & reclogged in a couple weeks - Gonna run the Red Devil Flush thru it when I have a couple hours of running around to do.

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I wonder what they put in it, that's a lot of odd material after flushing a few times.

That fan and shroud doesn't look strong enough for the large radiator. That is limiting the heat transfer somewhat.

I'd remove the petcock if you haven't yet, that should release the most debris. It's a simple o-ring sealed part, and a new one isn't expensive($3-$5).

If the coolant isn't clear by now then the debris is stuck and not going to come out completely by flushing. If that's the case now, I think a new radiator is the best next step. It's hell to change the V8 unit, I'd consider buying the V6 condenser mounting bracket, and then the V6 radiator is easy to install. But the clearance to the WP might change, be careful with that.
 






10 Amp 14 INCH Pro Air 30290 mounted on Galvanized Steel Shroud... its solid to Rad - I got my "inspiration" fm Aftermarket that use Aluminum Shroud (pic attached) - W1209WK digital Controller that I REALLY like & 40 Amp relay... the Mechanical thermostats were crap - 2 more 4 Inch Spals on twin tranny Coolers triggered fm AC Clutch by a 2nd new 40 Amp Relay - I rationalized that I have no "air flow' probs as it only heated up at 65-85 w/ AC on & plenty of Air flow at that speed - SO>> given the FUNK in rad I think what I have is coolant flow prob - I wd think V6 Rad wd be 1 row so that cd actually help clearance BUT I hv no clearance prob with the Stock 2 row... note that Rad fan is mounted on FRONT of Shroud so it uses that dead space between Rad Ends & Core.

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Yeah that fan shroud blocks about half of the air, so far the excess cooling of the OEM System is doing fine. My comment is based on possible future Summers, it might be an issue at times.

I have an OEM Volvo fan in my 99 V6 truck. It barely fits the thickness space, but it's a factory Volvo shroud cut down and epoxied to the stock shroud. So I have good airflow, but I worry about the epoxy attachment. My V8 truck I plan to install a Flexlite 190 which others have made fit also.

The V6 trucks also had both single and double core radiators, Ford changed both to single around 1998. So you can find all four variants if you need to. The V8 radiators is hell to install, once you know exactly what the trick is, then it's only very hard. The V6 radiators do not have the condenser mounted to it, so the radiator just slips up and down to R&R it. To skip the V8 unit condenser issue, acquiring the V6 mounting bracket is a nice upgrade.

I'm not sure but it may be possible also to use the V8 radiator still, with the V6 bracket holding the condenser in place. I haven't test fitted any of that myself, just read and understand it. I had my V6 truck completely apart, with the AC system lifted off of the engine.

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I’d be suspect of the cooling capacity of 120watt fan.

I’d do another flush of just the rad, but by disconnecting the lower hose, and not using the petcock. Then I’d do a long flush of just the block. That looks like an incredible amount of sediment.
 






I’d be suspect of the cooling capacity of 120watt fan.

I’d do another flush of just the rad, but by disconnecting the lower hose, and not using the petcock. Then I’d do a long flush of just the block. That looks like an incredible amount of sediment.

Ditto, I bet there's quite a bit of small debris inside the cooling fins of the radiator. Back flushing it might dislodge some more. The very large size of these radiators is great. In normal use with no neglect, they can last forever. Mustangs often have trouble with old age and any neglect, they barely cool enough in ideal conditions. These can have a lot of neglect and still do okay at cooling enough. Off road guys really appreciate it given how they have to add large bumpers etc, up front, blocking a lot of air flow.
 






THANX AGAIN GUYS - 14 inch Rad Fan is 10 Amp, said to pull 1600 CFM - That DOES look like a 16 inch in the "Cooling Master" Pic I posted - I had the 14 Inch fan & the 14 Inch AC Duct flange laying around fm previous projects, as well as a 9005 Halogen Relay Harness that was perfect - I will drop lower Hose again ( I did that when it last ran Hot) when I remove the Blue Devil Flush that's been in a couple days now - & Yes I'll whip up fitting to backflush Rad w/ Lower Hose off - While down there I'm going to mod the lower air dam setup to be more like the setup on my 2005 Expy Limited AWD for better Hi Speed Air flow - Expy is enclosed fm back of Bumper to back of Rad... so no gap like the Mounty setup - Running right at 195-200 in all modes but ambients only 60-65 this week, I need at least some 80's & yes this Summer will be the true test - Overflow is still clear, it turned brown when I had Hot probs on Interstate w/ AC on - It was fine in all modes at 80 degree ambient before overflow turned brown again - BUT... if (or when) I have Hot probs w/ clear coolant then yeah I hv Air Flow prob & I'm going to try 2 Flaps on the Shroud like on a 7 series BMW Shroud I have laying around (see pix) - Now I will just use a hole saw in Shroud & a simple pop riveted hinge with a LIGHT flap in upper rt & left corners of Shroud - Of course Flaps open at highway speeds.

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UPDATE - For a couple days I ran 2 QUARTS OF THERMOCURE... $17 a Qt at Walmart in it - Debris & God awful smelling very blackish fluid came out - Did copious amounts of flushing of course - Running cool w/ 50/50 Anti Freeze mix but only a few days in the low 80's so no real test.

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UPDATE - Much better but still some blacks Flecks filtered from the 2 gallons or so of Anti freeze readily drained via Petcock - I'm getting the feeling my 5.0 CREATES these Flecks for a living ~! - Running cool w/ AC on in traffic but ambient temps still only 80 tops so___?

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It’s just a really rusty block. You’ll likely always have them.
 






It’s just a really rusty block. You’ll likely always have them.

Yup I agree - 2 Qts of CLR for a couple days - 1 Qt of Red Devil Flush for a couple days - Then a couple days w/ 2Qts of Thermocure FINALLY got its 'attention" - That was some God awful smelling Black fluid that came out after 5 days of running it in system - Only after unplugging Petcock receptacle of what it "freed up" did I finally get a big solid stream with Petcock removed - Lesson is if ur Petcock 'trickles' & u don't have big fat stream of Fluid when u pull Petcock u have a LOT of Flushing to do~!
 






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