I tried my luck on Monday and bought a 1999 3.2 (AJ-V8 I believe?) Xj (308 I believe?) sport for cheap, I tried to work out why so cheap before buying and have been trying to work it out since (besides interior falling apart and not the best body repair jobs), and now I think I may have possibly found it today.
Oil and coolant looked fairly fresh when I looked at it, oil still looks that way but the coolant looks brown (almost a rusty color) and looks to possibly have some copper shavings in it.
Could this be the head gasket or is there another explanation for this?
I will be heading out shortly and will check the pressure in the pipes when running at full temperature and check back later.
I have been planning to sniff test the engine just for peace of mind, but had been planning to leave until I had time on Sunday.
I am now considering parking it up until I have this done and want to see if anyone more knowledgeable than myself could give some thoughts.
Hi Mike, Being that the car is a 99, you may be looking at the original factory cooling and poor maintenance by the P.O., I would suggest that you drop the bottom rad hose then drain, flush thoroughly and fill again using water only for the test. With summer weather you wont be at risk if you put a few miles on and monitor the condition of both the oil and the water.
If the situation does not deteriorate back to the brown as before, and the oil is not turning milky white, drain and flush again and add your anti-freeze mix, then buy some lottery tickets, you just dodged a bullet. best regards, Brian / Mytype
This is coolant residue, sure. If you clean that and it comes back you have either a leak or too much pressure in the system. Might be cracked, the plastics don’t hold up forever. About time for that, so I also suggest to drain, test with water as if that is factory coolant it might as well look the way it does. If all turns out fine after 20 miles or so then refill with coolant (or flush) and be happy; if not report back. And there’s probably a lot of debris still in there so best test again and again, watch out for the environment police and make absolutely sure that neither animals nor children can get even a single lick of the sweet-tasting, but highly poisonous antifreeze! In most US states it is legal to flush it down the drain, but do flush the working area with lots of water. But you probably know that, and that it does taste quite sweet.- good luck.
My BMW started to leak at all PA66 fittings after exactly 18 years. They went brittle and cracked.
Once you are happy that there is no further work to do, I.E. you have drained and run with straight water, just make sure that the cooling system is absolutely clear of any old antifreeze, and then fill with your tipple of choice. Mixing colours results in a mess (with a capital M)
Done about 50-60 miles since draining yesterday. Water has gone a little murky but I didn’t flush every last drip of old coolant out (last flush was coming out with a tint of coolant still there).
I am now thinking I actually have found a bargain but am still a little confused and concerned about the bronze sediment left in the pan after draining the system, if anyone could confirm what this could be, hopefully it can set my mind at ease.
Leak stop!
One I tried on the BMW looked like copper shavings with some additional crud.
Sounds good so far!
David
I bet the PO was worried about the leak (you posted), put in leak stop unsuccessfully, and sold the car. Any findings on whether it is the hose, plastic or the cap‘s seal?
True, looks like some detergent but he possibly got that out. Not oil, and can’t see what else - wiper fluid?
Didn’t even notice that.
If detergent then washing machine detergent that doesn’t foam if you need to get any oil out. I know someone who added oil to coolant and that’s what helped a little.
Probably someone had no clue with the cooling system, but it seems Mike does well?
