Failed water pump gaskets

[joecar]

Trying out my camera...

Can clearly see gasket deformed.

What do you suppose the orange deposit on the plugs is...?

1, 5, 7 look interesting, they have grey deposit.

[joecar]

Some squeaky pulleys.

What's with the corrosion on the heater return, is this Dex-Cool related...?

[Chuck L.]

Just my $.02...
The orange plug "stuff" is what I've seen on turbo Buick plugs that have had "octane booster" run in the fuel. [IE: 104, etc]
The gaskets and the heater nipple crud.. Could be that "wonderful" DEX doing it's work on gaskets..
I've seen many GM intakes eaten up at gasket surfaces w/ that crap.
[Daughter just got rid of an 02 grand Am w/ the intake gaskets eaten out...]
Does this engine have alot of miles on it? [Hers was @ 120K]. Her Subby did the same thing!

Seems to be considerable "chatter" about that stuff....
http://www.google.com/search?q=Dex+cool+gasket+failures&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7ADBR_en

[Chevy366]

Nice pics , seems macro mode is a little blurry on second set of pics . $.02
Use to they use to color the fuels , guess which color .

[joecar]

Just my $.02...
The orange plug "stuff" is what I've seen on turbo Buick plugs that have had "octane booster" run in the fuel. [IE: 104, etc]
The gaskets and the heater nipple crud.. Could be that "wonderful" DEX doing it's work on gaskets..
I've seen many GM intakes eaten up at gasket surfaces w/ that crap.
[Daughter just got rid of an 02 grand Am w/ the intake gaskets eaten out...]
Does this engine have alot of miles on it? [Hers was @ 120K]. Her Subby did the same thing!

Seems to be considerable "chatter" about that stuff....
http://www.google.com/search?q=Dex+cool+gasket+failures&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7ADBR_enHi Chuck,

I occasionally put in a bottle of Techron...
See how the orange stuff is very localised, it's on the same location on plugs 2,3,4,6... what causes it to be localised...?

Yes, my Mrs took her 02 GA in for LIM gasket repair under warranty.

Subaru use Dex also...?

[joecar]

Nice pics , seems macro mode is a little blurry on second set of pics . $.02
Use to they use to color the fuels , guess which color .Yes, I have to figure out how to hold it steady and get it to focus properly.

[mr.prick]

From what I've read (high ECT+DethCool) = corrosion

I've not seen this (yet) but I've flushed a few times in the past & keep ECT around 200*F. :nixweiss:

[Chuck L.]

The location of the orange crud is likely due to the orientation of the plug in the exhaust gas flow pattern...
I'm dropping the Deathcool out of my 07 @ 50K miles, and 3 yrs of use. No point in tempting a visit from Murphy!! We all know he's alive and well!

[joecar]

...
I'm dropping the Deathcool out of my 07 @ 50K miles, and 3 yrs of use. No point in tempting a visit from Murphy!! We all know he's alive and well!
A few months ago I noticed the hose on the steam crossover tube had orange gel on the edge of it, and I found the screw clamp was loose.

Then a few weeks ago the water pump gaskets let go, major coolant leakage (pump weep hole could never leak that much)... so I removed pump, hoses and crossover tube... I didn't see any gel build up anywhere, just a very thin coating of orange scum on edges of where hoses fitted... end of crossover tube was slightly corroded/gooped... rest of radiator and block passages appeared clean... made me think of the hoses/clamps only being 99.9999% air sealed (i.e. microscopic air leak)... Dex-Cool turned to goop at the hose interfaces in response to amount of air... does that sound plausible...??

The corrosion on heater return is scary/weird... did that have an air leak [pump suction was pulling air in] (I didn't see any coolant leaking)...?
If that continued corroding then pretty soon the hose would not have been able to seal.

Yes, this was a door knock by Murphy but he didn't stay long enough for me to open the door... I replaced with Prestone All...

I just don't believe the statements "Dex-Cool will not corrode/goop if..."... the if part just isn't reasonable in the real world...

Hmmm, some people are still defending Dex-Cool in the face of complaint history... (did you see the youtube vid of the mud under the V6 IM...?)

[joecar]

The location of the orange crud is likely due to the orientation of the plug in the exhaust gas flow pattern...
I see, that makes sense.

[Chevy366]

Yes, I have to figure out how to hold it steady and get it to focus properly.
Tripod. :-)
We have a Nikon D40x, kind of cheating.

[5.7ute]

A few months ago I noticed the hose on the steam crossover tube had orange gel on the edge of it, and I found the screw clamp was loose.

Then a few weeks ago the water pump gaskets let go, major coolant leakage (pump weep hole could never leak that much)... so I removed pump, hoses and crossover tube... I didn't see any gel build up anywhere, just a very thin coating of orange scum on edges of where hoses fitted... end of crossover tube was slightly corroded/gooped... rest of radiator and block passages appeared clean... made me think of the hoses/clamps only being 99.9999% air sealed (i.e. microscopic air leak)... Dex-Cool turned to goop at the hose interfaces in response to amount of air... does that sound plausible...??

The corrosion on heater return is scary/weird... did that have an air leak [pump suction was pulling air in] (I didn't see any coolant leaking)...?
If that continued corroding then pretty soon the hose would not have been able to seal.

Yes, this was a door knock by Murphy but he didn't stay long enough for me to open the door... I replaced with Prestone All...

I just don't believe the statements "Dex-Cool will not corrode/goop if..."... the if part just isn't reasonable in the real world...

Hmmm, some people are still defending Dex-Cool in the face of complaint history... (did you see the youtube vid of the mud under the V6 IM...?)

Mr Murphy must not like the weather here. My 5yr old ls1 looks brand new internally with no sign of gloop. So I continue to use it with my new LS3.

[Chevy366]

When I did the cam install thought about flushing the orange junk out then, wonder if it got into a cylender it would leave orange residue on a plug when burnt?


Sent using a Droid.

[joecar]

From what I have been reading, the advice given is: if you're not experiencing problems then carry on, otherwise flush and replace coolant.

My LS1's history:
- 37K miles: water pump gaskets softened/failed (I kept the gaskets); replaced gaskets/pump/hoses, installed 180°F thermostat, flushed/refilled with Dex-Cool.
- 67K miles: heater core started failing, windscreen fog in seconds, smelt/tasted like Dex-Cool; replaced heater core, flushed/refilled with Dex-Cool.
- 121K miles: water pump gaskets softened/failed; replaced gaskets/pump/hoses, heater tubes/hoses, crossover tube, flushed/refilled with Prestone Extended Life All.

[ Chuck, that answers your question (which I had forgot to answer :doh2:), 121K miles ]

I don't like the pattern...

[joecar]

When I did he cam install thought about flushing the orange junk out then, wonder if it got into a cylender it would leave orange residue on a plug when burnt?I pressure tested the cooling system to 20 psi and it didn't leak...

I have a block test kit (detects combustion gases in coolant), I can test for this.

My leakdown tester is loaned out to I forgot who :doh2:... I'll have to get another, I see some on ebay for $49.

I'm not losing any coolant, I have been monitoring the overflow bottle before (cold) and after (hot) each trip (all cold checks are the same, all the hot checks are the same).

I think the orange stuff on the plugs is something else, it's very localized... I don't know if this is valid, I have a pair of 243 heads sitting in my garage, I can screw those plugs into those heads and see which way the orange spot is pointing... Chuck says it might be pointing at exhaust gases as they exit.

[5.7ute]

Joe. You will need to mark the outside of the plug with a sharpie & stick them back in the hole they come out of.

[joecar]

I knew that would have been too easy otherwise... :hihi:

[joecar]

More pics (practicing macro focus)...