Rust in coolant

Are new sleeves readily available?

JT




Earle Horton wrote:
>
> I don't know where you read this, but there isn't that much iron in a Civic
> engine, not where the coolant can get to it. Maybe the cylinder walls, but
> if they are rusted up you have serious problems.
>
> I would flush the system. Use the owner's manual instructions, if you still
> have it. Fill it with Honda Genuine Coolant. It only takes a gallon of
> pre-mix, and there are too many different types of coolant out there, to
> take chances.
>
> Earle
>
> > wrote in message
> ups.com...
> >
> > Very sharp, Earle But I was asking about a 94 Civic 1.5 liter.
> >
> > Curly, yes indeed, it was filled with cheap "Whiz" coolant (and
> > distilled water). But I was nervous because I read a post that said
> > that rust is a classic sign of past overheating. AFAIK this car has
> > never overheated on me, the temp needle never event went up halfway. So
> > it's definitely the Whiz, and not overheating?
> >
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

No, and they're not water jacket sleeves either. That's why the "rust in
the radiator from overheating" story doesn't make sense.

Earle

"Grumpy AuContraire" > wrote in message
...
> Are new sleeves readily available?
>
> JT
>
>
>
>
> Earle Horton wrote:
> >
> > I don't know where you read this, but there isn't that much iron in a
Civic
> > engine, not where the coolant can get to it. Maybe the cylinder walls,
but
> > if they are rusted up you have serious problems.
> >
> > I would flush the system. Use the owner's manual instructions, if you
still
> > have it. Fill it with Honda Genuine Coolant. It only takes a gallon of
> > pre-mix, and there are too many different types of coolant out there, to
> > take chances.
> >
> > Earle
> >
> > > wrote in message
> > ups.com...
> > >
> > > Very sharp, Earle But I was asking about a 94 Civic 1.5 liter.
> > >
> > > Curly, yes indeed, it was filled with cheap "Whiz" coolant (and
> > > distilled water). But I was nervous because I read a post that said
> > > that rust is a classic sign of past overheating. AFAIK this car has
> > > never overheated on me, the temp needle never event went up halfway.
So
> > > it's definitely the Whiz, and not overheating?
> > >
> >
> > --
> > Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

jim beam > wrote in
t:

> TeGGeR® wrote:

>>
>> I could have sworn the last Honda 4-cylinder I saw had the iron
>> cylinders sitting bare-naked in the coolant. They were cast as a
>> siamesed block of four, and were fully exposed all the way down until
>> they got buried in the aluminum at the bottom.
>>
> nah, the actual steel liners are real thin - maybe 3mm - and the rest
> of the siamese quintuplets are the alloy casting they sit in. it's an
> unusual arrangement for sure. if you're doing a gasket scrape, it's
> easy enough to test what's where because the soft alloy bit can be
> scratched by the blade, the steel bit not.




This is interesting. Guess the example I saw was dirty engough I couldn't
tell there were two different metals in there. This explains the factory-
specified max bore-out tolerance being a micro-thin .010".


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

"Earle Horton" > wrote in
:

> No, and they're not water jacket sleeves either. That's why the "rust
> in the radiator from overheating" story doesn't make sense.



I don't think it's rust. I think it's discolored coolant.



--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

"TeGGeR®" > wrote in message
...
> "Earle Horton" > wrote in
> :
>
> > No, and they're not water jacket sleeves either. That's why the
> > "rust in the radiator from overheating" story doesn't make sense.
>
>
>
> I don't think it's rust. I think it's discolored coolant.
>
I am sure it is. Use Honda Genuine Coolant, every time the owner's manual
calls for it, and you won't be sorry. It used to be you could leave the
coolant in there for the life of the car, but those days are long gone.
More and more non-ferrous metals are being used every year, and the coolant
formulation changes all the time to make the tree-huggers happy. Some of
them, according to a chemist I know, are downright incompatible.

Earle



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Earle Horton" > wrote in
:

> "TeGGeR®" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Earle Horton" > wrote in
>> :
>>
>> > No, and they're not water jacket sleeves either. That's why the
>> > "rust in the radiator from overheating" story doesn't make sense.
>>
>>
>>
>> I don't think it's rust. I think it's discolored coolant.
>>
> I am sure it is. Use Honda Genuine Coolant, every time the owner's
> manual calls for it, and you won't be sorry.



Ab-so-lootely! OEM all the way, baby. I like OEM (can you tell?).



> It used to be you could
> leave the coolant in there for the life of the car,



Earle, you never could do that. In fact, newer antifreeze formulations
offer longer life than ever before.

The change interval used to be two years. Now you can go as long as five
years (under the right conditions!).

The myth of permanent antifreeze was the source of many a corroded block
in the old days.


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

"Earle Horton" > wrote in news:45428014$0$12050
:

> "TeGGeR®" > wrote in message
> ...
> ...
>> The myth of permanent antifreeze was the source of many a corroded
>> block in the old days.
>>
> I tend to think that it was indiscriminate use of tap water, but who can
> tell? One thing I am sure of, is that aluminum cannot take the sort of
> abuse that cast iron and brass can.
>


Ethylene glycol (and even the ancient propylene and alcohol mixes) turned
corrosive in and of themselves far faster then than now, tap water or
distilled.


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

"TeGGeR®" > wrote in message
...
....
> The myth of permanent antifreeze was the source of many a corroded
> block in the old days.
>
I tend to think that it was indiscriminate use of tap water, but who can
tell? One thing I am sure of, is that aluminum cannot take the sort of
abuse that cast iron and brass can.

Earle



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"TeGGeR®" > wrote in message
...
> "Earle Horton" > wrote in news:45428014$0$12050
> :
>
> > "TeGGeR®" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > ...
> >> The myth of permanent antifreeze was the source of many a
> >> corroded block in the old days.
> >>
> > I tend to think that it was indiscriminate use of tap water, but who
> > can tell? One thing I am sure of, is that aluminum cannot take the
> > sort of abuse that cast iron and brass can.
> >
>
>
> Ethylene glycol (and even the ancient propylene and alcohol mixes)
> turned corrosive in and of themselves far faster then than now, tap
> water or distilled.
>
I met a body shop owner in 1976 who had the original coolant in his 1952 GMC
wrecker. I have the original coolant in my eleven year old Jeep, which I
drive every day. One of these days I will get around to changing it. The
heater core is the first to go, if you wait too long. The Civic gets better
treatment, because the engine block is aluminum and the cooling system takes
less than a gallon to refill. I changed it after seven years. Funny thing,
the original coolant was green, and the new stuff is blue.

If I believed what people in newsgroups tell me, I would be changing the oil
at 3,000 miles without fail and the coolant every two years. There are more
fun things to do.

Earle



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

TeG, I'd like to think it's discolored coolant too, but would
discolored coolant leave a deposit when it dries? I took a "sample" and
looked at it carefully. There seems to be an orange-brownish powder,
which leads me to believe that whatever it is, it's not simply coolant.

I also tested the radiator, block etc with a magnet, and you're right,
none of them were magnetic.

I flushed the coolant four times, as thoroughly as I can, but when I
refilled for the fifth time, there was *still* some "rusty" powder
that's visible in the radiator. For flushing, should I use a "coolant
flush" product, instead of plain water?

Also, the coolant seems to be leaking out somehow; I have to refill the
reservoir every 50 miles or so, which didn't happen before this "rust"
problem. But there's no leak as far as I can see. Will check more
thoroughly and post back..