Ardent

Ok, so this morning I was checking fluids and found something interesting. We all know that this is what clean anti-freeze looks like:



Well this is what I found in my '93 4Runner:



I got that sinking feeling that it's the headgasket. I did some searching and every "Oil in radiator" thread I looked at pointed to HG. Would someone please give me some insight? The weird thing is I've been getting better gas mileage than ever- 13.5-14 mpg. Would this explain some of my low idle issues? (500-600 rpm while in drive and stopped)

Also, is there any way to test if it is oil or just dirt? I don't know of any places around here to take a sample.

I found a 3.4L for $900 out of a 2003... but I'm really not sure that's something I can tackle. Starting my search...

Thanks for your help friends.

TNRabbit

It's just old. Drain it, run only water through it for a few miles, then drain & replace with new coolant. If you had the "milkshake" look, then I'd suspect HG. Looks fine from here.

DeathCougar

iTrader: (23)

Looks like perfectly normal mixed antifreeze. You would likely look the same if I ran you through a water pump a few thousand times. Except red *edit so thats what they make Toyota red coolant out of!*

If you are super worried about it, just flush the system and replace the coolant. In fact, do it anyways. Cause I said so.

Ardent

Great! That's very good news. Thanks for the replies and Coug, I'll do it because you said so.

mt_goat

If you think thats bad you should see coolant from a Taurus after about a year of use. It just turns brown like muddy water.