HELP! rust in my coolent system?

[redsx13]

Well i just picked up my new sr20det from a local importer today and i got straight to work tearing it down. but upon inspection, i noticed that most of the inner coolant system is coated in rust. i am very worried, please tell me this in not serious!



(sorry for the bad pic, i will post more if needed)

Modified by redsx13 at 11:18 PM 6/23/2008
Modified by redsx13 at 12:54 AM 6/24/2008

[T-rev]

I got the same thing with my motor. I replaced the water pump because it looked pretty knarly. Also I rigged up a garden hose to flush out as much of the crud as possible. Aluminum block means it doesnt stick around.

I just purged my coolant system about once a week for the first month (use cheapo antifreeze 50/50 water). Then when I saw no more crumblies in there I filled it up again with the good stuff, honda anti freeze, distilled water, water wetter if you like, etc you know the drill.

[redsx13]

you dont know how good it is to hear that! here are some more pics, it doesnt look like the rust is as bad once you get into the block. its really bad in the temp sensor.



is there any kind of solvent or cleaner i can use to get this rust outa here?also, do i need to replace the water pump?(kinda low on cash, but if its vital to keep my engine from blowin up, i'll do it)
Modified by redsx13 at 11:40 PM 6/23/2008

[T-rev]

no you dont need to replace the water pump. I did because I was replacing the oil pump so I was already in the neighborhood.

I dont know of any solvents to clean that out. You might try a bottle brush or something similar. The first time I started up mine I just has water in the coolant system. The first 5 minutes of running I figure it cleaned out 90% of the crud in there.

[Kalypso]

was this the $3000

one you were looking at?

[redsx13]

was this the $3000

one you were looking at?

ya i went with it, i compression tested it, and the results were all 150-160. i also checked out the cam wear and it was perfect too. so we are sure that this problem with the coolant is not serious?

[ryan15]

When I did my rb swap in my old hatch I flushed it for prob 2hrs with a garden hose, I couldnt believe how much crap came out!!!

[vanquish2]

Check your heater core.....they tend to crude up and then lead you to believe its the engine when it really not.

[nzmoman]

those pics also look like that stop leak stuff they used to sell. It was a rust colored powder that was supposed to help seal minor leaks in the coolant system, but it would dirty the mess out of your lines...and God knows what it might do to a turbo and turbo lines...

[redsx13]

someone must have changed the coolant recently cuz the coolant that came out of it looked brand new! a perfect green, yet the walls of the system are brown and covered in a rust type buildup.what is in that system that would cause rust? other than the water pump, what else isnt aluminum?

[redsx13]

I hav a koyorad aluminum radiator to go along with the swap. do you think i should hold off puting it in until i flush the system a few times? i dont want to gunk it up too bad

[Kalypso]

hold off and wait till its spotless.

[redsx13]

ya, thats what i was thinking. does the sr have to be running to flush the system?

[Kalypso]

no - but you can start the swap and flush it out later.

you could force it through with a hose - its basically a series of passageways in the block - there is nothing stopping you from doing that.

start scraping off whatever you can reach first. ( wire brush ) boiling water and something like drano might do the trick.

be creative and dont be afraid to experiment.