Red liquid coming from exhaust?

Sloan · 08-29-09, 04:11 PM

I had a local shop do my oil pan gasket and change out my radiator and as you may or may not know I am chasing an oil pressure problem after that fix. Today as I was again trying to fix the oil pressure I noticed a reddish puddle by the tailpipe. I popped the radiator cap and sure enough it looked like the same reddish liquid. WTF, could he have done to cause this. I have never had any serious problems with this truck and ever since I got it back from him I can't even drive it. Blown head gasket?

Pin_Head · 08-29-09, 04:59 PM

Unless he spilled his cabernet on your tail pipe, it can't be good. Head gasket or cracked casting would be likely candidates. If the gasket was leaking between the coolant and the combustion chanber, you should be getting exhaust gas in the radiator.

Sloan · 08-29-09, 05:24 PM

How do I check for that?

Sloan · 08-29-09, 05:42 PM

I drained the oil for the 5th time in 2 weeks and it isn't over full or milky.

KRC73 · 08-29-09, 05:54 PM

if it cracked on the exhaust side of the water jacket or a blown head gasket, Ive seen this one to many times on my Isuzu trooper and all four times it was a cracked head on the exhaust side of the head.

-kenny

Sloan · 08-29-09, 06:15 PM

Could high oil pressure cause this? By high I mean 60-65 pounds constant.

SouthBostonFJ · 08-29-09, 06:50 PM

That time of the month?

thecrazygreek · 08-29-09, 06:53 PM

You have a Jesus 40 series. Turns water into wine... I suggest you keep it to yourself...

Dieseler · 08-29-09, 09:56 PM

Rad shops have a device they put on the filler neck while the engine is running and it detects exhaust gases in the rad,if detected this will mean a tear down on the head to figure out if it is a crack or just a blown gasket.
Rad change and an oil pan gasket change would not have caused this problem prolly just coinsidence

numby · 08-29-09, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sloan

How do I check for that?

There's a low $$$ device sold at auto stores that will tell you if you have combustion gasses forcing their way into the coolant jacket. Kind of a squeeze bottle with a sponge on the end and filled with a fluid that will change color if combustion gasses are present (or something like that IIRC). You fit the bottle to the radiator fill spout and give it a squeeze. If you problem is bad enough you'll see air bubbles in the radiator fluid. Just remove the cap, start the engine, and keep an eye on the fluid as the truck warm up. The fact that you have the same gunk in both the radiator and the exhaust says that fluids, etc, are migrating around. You'll probably hydraulic a cylinder upon starting pretty soon if you don't solve the issue.