wtdash Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Gal called in w/a 2000 Outback. About 4 times inside a year the car would get hot and a white mist would come into the cabin from under the dash; and 4 times the dealer replaced the heater core, which did fix it for a few weeks and up to 3 months one time. After the first or 2nd (?) heater core, the dealer also flushed the radiator and a white powder was discovered in the heater core (I think that's where she said), with a milky substance in the coolant. The dealer has ruled out a HG due to the lack of oily residue in the cooling system, but Click and Clack said that is still the likely culprit. They said the dealer should test for emissions/carbon-related substances again. What say U(SMB)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 I would agree that it's probably a head gasket issue. The EJ25 phase I and II engines have had so many problems in that area that it would be the first place I would suspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 I assume that the "white powder" was discovered after parts dried, and could have been one or more things. If tap water had been used, minerals (particularly, calcium compounds) from it might be a partial explaination. Another possibility is that the wrong type (or insufficient concentration) of antifreeze/coolant was used, leading to corrosion in the cooling system; not getting all the air out, or a HG leak that causes an "air" pocket, can accelerate the problem. The heater core material is thin enough to get eaten away fairly rapidly if the coolant condition is sufficiently bad; if combustion pressure from HG leaks is added to the coolant, that could burst an already-weakened core. The "milky substance", especially if mayonaise-like, was probably an emulsion formed from oil and coolant. If tan-ish in color, it's indeed likely from HG leakage (on cars with auto trans, if pink-ish could be due to leaking trans cooler). Checking for exhaust components (hydrocarbons) in the coolant would seem a reasonable step to take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schlit Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Milky white coolant is a dead giveaway that there is oil in the coolant. When oil gets into the system, it doesnt look like oil anymore. If the mechanic doesnt know this, they're either trying to screw you over or really dont know what they're talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Head Gasket, for all the reasons cited above nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.