I was topping up oil and water yesterday on my Alfa GTA for my impending holiday, when I noticed a sand coloured deposit at the bottom of the coolant tank. I immediately checked under the oil filler cap, and dipstick, both of which were pristine.
This deposit does not float on the top of the water, so I think its unlikely to be oil. The blue coloured coolant water appears very clean, and also smells normal (antifreeze).
The car is 7months old.
I would normally just keep an eye on this, but Im off on Sun morn to Italy, so I`m a bit paranoid.
Any ideas?
TIA
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Casting sand left in the block from the factory????
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Thanks Aprilia someone else said the same! I hope so. Is this common, has anyone heard of this before?
Th
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Used to be common years ago, but not very common nowadays. The factory should chemically 'scrub' the whole block before final machining and assembly. Maybe yours got 'missed' ?
Eric
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Could it be something in the coolant, like anti corrosion inhibitor or something, thats dropping out? The girlfriend has an Alfa JTD and I looked at hers and there seems to be a sand coloured tinge above the water level in that?
Do you agree it doesnt sound like the head gasket?
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My A4 TDI has the same 'stuff' too. Runs fine with no ill-effects whatsoever.
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Scale. its gets broken down into little bits like grit by being pushed around the engine and settles in the bottom.
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Yes, if the system was filled with hard water then calcium carbonate (scale) can form and settle in the system. What puzzles me is that this is a 7-month-old car and presumably still has the 'factory fill'. The factory will buy-in a premix which is made with de-ionised pure water and so this shouldn't have happened. Could it have been refilled since new, by any chance?
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I'll extract a bit of this 'stuff' later and take a close look at it.
If it were found to be sand, I'd be very worried about my water pump..
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As far as I know the water is the original! Its not oil anyway, Im 99% sure. The car will be due its service when I get back so I`ll get them to sort it then, so touch wood, I`ll leave it for now (not much choice really!) I`ll keep a close eye on it. See you all when I get back, and thanks for all your replies.
PR
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I worked on Ford's production line at Southampton (Transit Vans),EVERY vehicle had sand coloured 'Radwell' type material put in to prevent leaks (before they happened).
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Thats probably the most likely, thanks a lot Tom, you`ve put my mind at rest!
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I always used water from a Brita filter jug these days, as I dont get scale in the kettle with filtered water, I assume it works.
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Years back on the Jag production line they always used to put a stick of a 'Barrs Leaks' type compound in during the factory fill. I'd always assumed that was because of the slightly dodgy assembly quality. I'd be surprised if that is still going on now.
The stuff works after a fashion, but in the long term it is not good for the water pump seals.
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joosisiqu
My local factors sell 5 litres of deionised water for £1.99 - I use that when doing a coolant change.
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Just an update, car ran really well, with no problems from the offending "stuff" (which is still there). Coped with driving over the Alps fully loaded aswell! Its going in for 12000 mile service in the next couple of weeks so I`ll let you know what they say about it. Thanks again.
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I was topping up oil and water yesterday on my Alfa GTA for my impending holiday, .....>> The car is 7months old. I would normally just keep an eye on this,...
You're having to top up the oil & water on a Seven Month old car?
With less than 12000 miles on the clock?
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It was more of a check. It did use a bit of oil at first though, it doesnt seem to anymore!
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It was more of a check. It did use a bit of oil at first though, it doesnt seem to anymore!
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Ah, that makes sense.
I'm no expert but I'm told that its quite normal for new engines to use a little oil while running in, due to the rings bedding in I think.
Regards,
Al.
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