2001 Oldsmobile Silhouette New Radiator 1 month old filled

RIEFLIN

MEMBER
2001 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
143,000 MILES

1 month ago our mechanic replaced our radiator with a supposedly new radiator.

Last night 1 minute after my wife parked the car, we heard a loud pop, lots of steam noise, and gallons (pints?) Of brown liquid fly out of car from under the hood. I don't see any loose hoses so I think it came out of a relief valve close to the thermostat.

After a cool down, I removed the radiator cap and it was filled with brown gunk - the consistency of Chocolate Mousse. I have also removed a good amount of brown gunk from the mouth of the radiator.

Is this possible with a recently changed radiator - 1 month old? Or is it more likely the mechanic put a used radiator in and didn't think to tell us?

Any thoughts?

1 Reply

DGK

MEMBER
10 POSTS

GM had problems on many model years with the brown stuff in the cooling system. GM will tell you that someone put unapproved antifreeze in the vehicle and the gook is result of that. I have seen many a GM with untouched cooling systems with the same thing. Unfortunately the only way to truly eliminate the brown gook is to remove the engine and boil it. As far as the radiator being or not being replaced you need to find out where your leak is. Was the car overheated when the first radiator blew? You may have a bad headgasket that allowed compression to pass into the cooling system. You could also just have a defective radiator or it could be leaking at the nex weakest point if other weak spots weren't checked. The quality of the aftermarket radiators varies and there is some real junk out there. Hope this is helpful.