Check Your Thermostat Housing....

[Daily 86 SVO]

I noticed some coolant drops on the garage floor, only to find this when I pulled the uppper radiator hose to the themostat housing:

svothermohousing.jpg

Grant it, I remember looking at it a while back and it only had a small rust hole in it, but I've completely forgotten about it and can't believe how much its discentegrated (sp?). Anyway, just an FYI, take a look at it.....

[RFranklin]

Yikes !!

[JTurbo]

I wonder what the rest of the cooling system that the T-stat housing was attached to looks like....

[kiwi]

straight water???

[svono50]

Holy cow, that is the worst corroded housing I have ever seen! I agree with Joe, wonder what your head and block look like. Was your car running warmer than normal lately?? Corrosion is a great insulator in the coolant channels.

[Daily 86 SVO]

I've had some small battles with the coolant system over the years. I think the fact that it sat for approx 13 years (1987-2000) sort of contributed to it (along with dead shocks, dried up oil seals, flat spotted tires, ect). I've flushed and treated the coolant several times (distilled water and coolant mix, not tap water), along with different radiators. It's been running fine for the past ten years with no visible rust in the coolant, but it was creeping up faster than normal the past month, and this was the cause since it wasn't sealing.

[svono50]

I am sure the 13 year nap didn't help any. If you use a coolant system flush chemical, I would suggest bypassing your heater core as they usually become the weak point or get clogged with residue from the system. If the system can't come up to pressure, the coolant will boil at a lower temp and that leak took care of that. Thanx for sharing your discovery, good thing to add to the yearly or bi-yearly checklist.

[kiwi]

Cant believe this happened with a 50/50 mix they rate at 100k miles these days....I even test several of my cars coolant and havent had to flush any system due to "weak" coolant yet....Even sitting....

[Daily 86 SVO]

I'm not sure what kind of mix was in there for those 13yrs (in Salt Lake City, Utah of all places), I didn't own it then.

[SVOeric]

actually, here in KY, I've seen a couple corrode like that,

probably our limestone (READ LIME, and not the kind that goes in Corona) in the water.

[svono50]

If tap water was used, the right kind/amount of sediment chemicals in the table water certainly could accelerate the corrosion. I know there are nice roadside mineral hot springs on the way up to the Pineview Reservoir, so certainly possible.