So I replaced my coolant hoses today (kit from AB) and caked on the inside of the hoses nearest the water pump was this crusty white stuff. I have posted pictures below. Normally I wouldn't think too much of it but the Rover is pretty old (2002, 93K miles). Do you think this is anything to worry about?

Also I should mention the cooling system has been pretty neglected. When I flushed it a bunch of rust came out I am curious everyone's opinion about the state of my cooling system and if you think I should look into a new water pump, radiator, etc. I have not tested the radiator but there are a couple bent fins on the inside closest to the fan on the passenger side. I also think it may have been clogged as the system began to run better the more I flushed it; it could have been the placebo effect, though...

Thanks!

 

I would certainly check the temps the coolant is running at when up to temp and driving. Was it green or orange coolant when you changed the hoses? Might want to think about changing out the radiator and new 180 tstat.

 

I will get an ultragauge when i get paid (tomorrow) to check the temps. It was orange... I got all of it out using distilled H2O and added the green.

 

Good move changing to green. If your temps turn out to be high this should be your todo list should be

1. Replace the radiator (cant be rodded out or flushed, ask me how I know )
2. Get a 180 tstat.
3. Check the aux fan behind the front grill that it spins freely and comes on if the coolant temp is over 212.

 

It looks like someone has run hot with the system filled with very hard water and nothing else added, it reminds me of chalky (my lingo = calcaire) deposits. Alternatively someone has maybe put in the 'snake oil' magic leak sealants which maybe seals leaks but blocks up the radiator, heater matrix and waterways in the block. If it were me I wouldn't worry about antifreeze etc but stick in a 500mls of concentrate central heating cleaner/flusher (it dissolves chalk and cr@ap and is designed for a very similar environment to a car cooling system) mixed with DI water for a week or two whilst monitoring the coolant temperature carefully and then drain and pressure backflush the cooling system a few times and then add coolant antifreeze+inhibitor. Defo looks like some calcium build up in the system to me. Scrape some out and put it in a drinking glass with water and test the pH with a quality pH meter. I wouldn't mind a bet that it's way alkali above 7.0 (neutral) and probably around 14.0-15.0.

Rust is a very good indicator of no inhibitor in the coolant for years.

 

What he said. Old coolant and tap water. Might be worth giving a cooling system cleaner a try to see how much crap you can get out.

 

What he said ^ about what he said ^^

Looks like what we Brits call limescale (calcium carbonate deposits from the tap water)

 

Hi Richard, the brains addled and so long here I speak in French and now almost think in bl@@dy French I couldn't think of the word 'limescale' when I wrote my ditty.

 

it looks to uniformed to me, i would guess some kind of sealing product.

 

And just when I thought my Fall maintenance was coming to an end I received the car from my grandpa and I am pretty sure he only ever had it serviced at his local LR dealership. This disappoints me...

I will backflush it this weekend and treat it with a powerful cleaning agent. With respect to the "central heating cleaner/flush", how is something like that different than a radiator flush from an autoparts store? I found an example online: Fernox Central Heating Cleaner F3 500ml | Cleaner | Screwfix.com.

If in fact a stop-leak product was used, does that mean whoever worked on it before found a leak somewhere in my system? That would be just awesome.