White foamy gunk in coolant reservoir

[94Q45Beast]

white foamy stuff in my coolant reservoir its not milky, it looks like chewed Wrigley's spearmint bubble gum that has sat in the sun......first thought was a blown head gasket but the oil was fine, no sign of coolant, and there was no smoke in the exhaust other than initial start up in the mornings or when the temp drops in the afternoon ( a thick layer of Dew)......now this is leading me to believe I have a bad thermostat.....but I have never over heated....I am leaking coolant from above the crank shaft pulley from the bottom edge of the water pump......just needs a new gasket?.....could the white foamy gum like bits be part of the water pump gasket?

[Q451990]

A picture might help. You should also check to make sure that the water pump leak isn't coming from the weep hole on the bottom of the pump - which would indicate that you need a new water pump.

[Skibane]

first thought was a blown head gasket but the oil was fine,

Check your ATF, too.

A picture might help. You should also check to make sure that the water pump leak isn't coming from the weep hole on the bottom of the pump - which would indicate that you need a new water pump.

Yep - Any leak in that area is a HUGE red flag for a bad water pump.

[94Q45Beast]

I'm still at work since 7 am yesterday....will take pics when I get home and order a new water pump and thermostat while I'm at it.....and who should I buy it from?....duralast is 74 bucks and value craft is 45 bucks.

[94Q45Beast]

atf was also checked with the transmission in neutral with the parking brake and it was normal but the level was 2 whole inches above the Hot level mark....its always been that way....it had a transmission flush from the dealership right before it was parked according to the service records....so when I serviced it when I first got it, I drained out 4 quarts and added 4 quarts and noticed the dip stick going wack.

[qship96]

I'm still at work since 7 am yesterday....will take pics when I get home and order a new water pump and thermostat while I'm at it.....and who should I buy it from?....duralast is 74 bucks and value craft is 45 bucks.

Get a genuine pump and stat from an infiniti dealer online- both have proven to last a loooooong time,unlike a lot of aftermarket parts.I had both the original pump and stat changed as preventative maintenance at 203K with factory parts,and another 112K miles so far and no issues.

[94Q45Beast]

will do....if I ever get to go home

[94Q45Beast]

grand total of $186ish for OEM water pump, OEM thermostat, and OEM thermostat housing. and then a couple more bucks to flush the system with distilled water and then coolant. the job looks straight forward. any complications in this job?

[Q451990]

I'd plan on replacing the cooling hoses around the thermostat. There's also a metal connector pipe in there that serves as a "sacrificial anode" - meaning it's designed to "rot" to keep the cooling system's chemistry correct - that is good to replace too.

[3Q Jay]

the pipe is: WATER PIPE-INF#13048-60U02. I Paid $37.78 10 years ago--who knows if even still avail today.
In a pinch you can clean and reuse--as long as it doesn't leak. key is to get all the gunk off the interior metal so it can react. the t-stat housing is also steel, so somewhat of a sacrificial anode as well. you don't actually need to flush with distilled, but definitely mix with distilled to get your final fill.
make sure you remove the block drain plug(s) and flush the crap out (literally)--no chemicals though.
white or other milky goo usually result of some non-approved junk put into the system, but with some coolant (hOAT in particular) can just be the result of reaction with air. regardless, need to make sure all leaks are fixed. 94's can also have the annoying habit of leaking at the 'welsh' plugs in the backs of the heads.
permatex grey is the approved RTV for '94 (wp and t-stat housing) make sure you get the correct wp--90-93 have different length snout.
PUMP- INF #21010-67U28 is the correct WP for '94

[94Q45Beast]

yeah I hear you loud and clear guys.....still stuck working though...no sleep in 34 hours now....I ordered everything OEM genuine for the 94...except for the hoses...gotta dig for those......is there a functionality difference between the permatex grey and the permatex black?

[3Q Jay]

ultra black prolly ok. wouldn't use anything else as a substitute, though.

http://www.permatex.com/products/our-br ... tra-series

[94Q45Beast]

I'll pick up some permatex grey on my way home if I ever get to go home and take pics of the white stuff so other nico members who experience it can know whats up......one more issue...as you guys know I've done some work on my Q but I'm still not getting proper mpg's....I'm getting 17ish mpg's city and 23ish high way....but soon as the gauge hits the half way mark I start to get 8-11 mpg's city and 13-15 mpg's highway.the fuel pump was changed 40,000 miles ago and the FPCU was still in "excellent condition" according to Infiniti dealership back in 06(40,000 miles ago was back in 06 for my Q) also on every 4th full tank I fill up I add a bottle of 104+ octane booster with fuel system cleaner....as you guys know I don't like to cut corners when it comes to maintaining my Q, I only fuel up from a select few....BP, Shell V-power Nitro, Chevron w/ techron, and Exxon Mobil....so whats going on? I initially suspected my fuel hose to be loose located by the IAC Valve but it check out fine then I presumed that my problem was oxygen sensors?...is that it?...or could it be something else...I don't get any lag in power, its nice and smooth as it should be, but sometimes the VVT kicks in a little too much when I'm trying to pass an idiot on the freeway but that should be normal....all my sensors are fine.....no rough idle......the only thing I cheaped out on was the pcv valve hose which did drop my idle a little. but this random fuel consumption is driving me crazy. you guys know I've cleaned everything that should be cleaned.

[94Q45Beast]

Just got home a few hours ago....surprisingly the white bits went away so I can't take pictures of it but my description of it should give an idea. will do a write up of my experience of changing the water pump....oh and I went ahead and ordered a new fan blade...it was starting to crack. also I'm in the market for another 94 Q.

[94Q45Beast]

I'm also going to change the FPCU and see if that fixes the fuel issue

[94Q45Beast]

parts just came it....thanks Dr. Jay, Q451990, qship96, & Skibane.....will post if any complications occur that the FSM can't diagnose and solve.