Rusty coloured water

[amiers]

I own a 01 AU11 5L LPG Fairlane and have noticed the water in the header tank going a rusty colour. so i dropped the hose's and drained the system and the water was very dirty brown. flushed and flushed until the water was clean. 2 days later it was dirty again, if not worse.! what would cause this all of a sudden?

[HoT-AU]

yea ive got the same prob. im getting the system flushed to see what happens.

[JC]

Originally Posted by amiers

I own a 01 AU11 5L LPG Fairlane and have noticed the water in the header tank going a rusty colour. so i dropped the hose's and drained the system and the water was very dirty brown. flushed and flushed until the water was clean. 2 days later it was dirty again, if not worse.! what would cause this all of a sudden?

Could be rusted impeller on the water pump - most other bits are alloy, but the impeller should be steel and will rust. Only problem is, the water pump is a sh!t of a job to do, and if you get someone to do it for you, it's around $800 worth, I believe. The water pump itself is about 1/2 of that cost, the rest is labour. That's about all I can think of! It's one of the big reasons to use a quality anti freeze/anti boil with corrosion & rust inhibitor - something like Nulon long-life has always worked for me.

[InfernoSR]

Originally Posted by BLUEPRINT

There is also a brilliant way to flush your system, DIY at home and we highly recommend this method:

A normal garden hose isn't enough to do the job, you need a flushing agent. DON'T go buying Rad Flush from a car place, as it can be expensive and not actually work. A cheaper, easier, more effective way to flush the system is to go and buy a bag (or 2) of Washing Soda from your local Supermarket. Its only a couple of $$$, and can be used about 4 times (based on a 500gram bag).

Heres the instructions on how to use:
*Drain radiator via the bottom hose (quickest and easiest)
*Mix about 125grams Washing Soda in a cup of Hot water, and dissolve it.
*Pour mixture into radiator/header tank.
*Fill rad with clean water. And bleed system.
(To bleed system, fill rad, start vehicle, let it get to normal running temperature, and top up radiator until full, too much Air in a rad is bad news.)
*Once bled, run vehicle like normal for a couple of days, drain rad again, and do it all over again until water comes out clean (don't forget to run the heater as well).
*Once clean, use a good Radiator Conditioner (aka Coolant), DON'T use long life coolant, as it has been proven that it causes failures in the radiator and other parts of the system. I suggest Tectaloy Conditioner, Or get yourself down to a Radiator Specialist who sells Natra or Adrad products.
*The amount of Conditioner varies from car to car, the E-Series takes about 15Litres to fill the system from dry, the Conditioner amount is calculated from this figure.

Any further questions please ask.

As posted in another thread about the same thing :

[waggaclint]

Originally Posted by JC

Could be rusted impeller on the water pump - most other bits are alloy, but the impeller should be steel and will rust. Only problem is, the water pump is a sh!t of a job to do, and if you get someone to do it for you, it's around $800 worth, I believe. The water pump itself is about 1/2 of that cost, the rest is labour. That's about all I can think of! It's one of the big reasons to use a quality anti freeze/anti boil with corrosion & rust inhibitor - something like Nulon long-life has always worked for me.

As jc said possible from water pump but as for $800 no way they are pretty easy to replace 1hr max plus the pump which are cheap http://cgi.ebay.com.au/FORD-FALCON-W...QQcmdZViewItem so even if ya buy a pump and get someone to fit it it wont be to bad.... also just my opinion i reakon geniune ford coolant is the best its dearer but it works....

[peterban]

That link is to a 6 cyl pump. The V8 pumps are a lot more expensive and a lot harder to fit than the 6 cyl ones.

[sly]

I thought there might have been some cross-purposes there... that little "5L" makes a big difference...

[Chippar]

The water pumps for the AU 5Lt, series 1,2,& 3 are relatively cheap and are not too hard to fit at all. The tricky part is remembering where all the different size bolts go, so draw a diagram and as you remove each bolt, measure it and mark its position on your diagram, so you can replace it in exactly the same place from where you removed it. Everything else is straight forward really.

Of course the fans, radiator etc all have to be removed to gain access as a matter of course, but this is also not too difficult.

I paid $119.00 for a 5Lt water pump from Cheapa Auto Spares about 12 months ago.

Heres a brand new aftermarket water pump, priced quite reasonably, if you in the market for one.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/FORD-AU-V8-WA...QQcmdZViewItem

[InfernoSR]

my little trick for remembering bolts it to make a basic drawing on a piece of card, and insert the bolts through the cardbard as they are removed... that way you know where the go upon re-installation...

[au2sw]

of course, if your going to remove the radiator yourself, get it down to the radiator shop for a fulll flush as sometimes there are bits of sand left over from when the block was cast and these end up in the radiator blocking it and not allowing the radiator to work properly. its a relativly inexpensive job compared to the cost of rebuilding your engine due to over heating!! then by the time you have the pump in and your ready for the radiator you should be able to go and pick it up. depending if the radiator shop is busy or not.