Antifreeze/Radiator Question

[Clemsonfan15]

I'm pretty sure you mean you see oil around the valve cover gaskets. I don't think you'd see much oil around the head gaskets on the outside of the engine....if you do that's REALLY bad. And you'd have to see it from the underside of the engine probably....you can't see the head/block joint from up top.


If you have a head gasket leaking, it can mean a couple things. If the gasket it blown out by an oil passage, then it's lets oil go where it's not supposed to. If the gasket is blown out by a coolant passage, then it lets coolant go where it's not supposed to. Neither one are supposed to go: into the combustion chambers....or into other passages. If coolant is going into your combustion chamber, then you might get a little white smoke in your exhaust, and you'd slowly lose coolant without seeing a leak. If coolant is going into an oil passage....that's actually worse. It's killing your engine by ruining the oil....and the babbitt of the bearings is getting hurt pretty bad.

You are absolutely correct. I meant to say valve cover.

I don't have any smoke and the oil always looks good when I check it.

 

[quicksilvr]

Your head gaskets are probably fine. However, if you feel like you're losing coolant still in a couple weeks after doing your recent top-off.....I'd get your oil analyzed by Blackstone Labs. Then you can eliminate head-gasket issues. Also, if you ARE losing coolant...you could have a slow leak at your water pump. Usually those don't drip either...so you don't see it.

side note - I use Prestone "new-tech" green coolant in my 4runner. I drain and refill it every 20-25K miles. It's cheap enough, I just like keeping clean coolant in there. If I paid out the butt for Toyota red stuff...I'd still want to change it....and then it would cost me alot.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Cool man. Thanks for your help.

It's still at the same level it was when I topped it off so either I'm fine or it's a really slow leak.

Good to hear someone else using Prestone too.

 

[quicksilvr]

I looked up exactly what is in Prestone's new universal coolant:

Prestone® Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant (AF-2000)

-Ethylene Glycol
-2-Ethyl Hexanoic Acid Sodium Salt
-Water
-Sodium Hydroxide
-Neodecanoic Acid Sodium Salt
-Sodium Tolytriazole
-Dye
-n-Propanol
-Polypropylene Glycol


Here's is something else I found:

Here's the ingredient label from a Toyota Long Life red coolant (not diluted) gallon container in my garage:

Ethylene Glycol (107-21-1), Diethylene Glycol (111-46-6), Water (7732-18-5), Organic Acid Salt (532-32-1), Hydrated Inorganic Salt (1310-58-3). the mix contains no silicates or borates. Note that both organic and inorganic salts are included in the mix.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Interesting stuff. Now we just need a chemistry major to tell us what everything is and does. Ha.

I wonder if any of the salts are the same.

 

[bak3rme]

Interesting stuff. Now we just need a chemistry major to tell us what everything is and does. Ha.

I wonder if any of the salts are the same.

i reconize half of those compounds and could draw them out..but i donno how they relate.