The top of my coolant bottle has what looks like solidfied coolant.

Been told my a by a garage that my Head Gasket might be gone, apart from this is there any other way i could have got oil into the coolant, it wasn't there about 10 days ago.

I had a coolant leak about 3 weeks back but never found the source, I then topped of the lost coolant. I can now sometimes hear the fan come on when driving.

I have some uprated parts coming now a uprated gasket, radiator cap and thermostat. I asked Honda to quotes me for wrench time to fit the parts and provide a radiator flush. They quoted 8 hours of labour, surely that can't be right can it?

Honda said the problem may lie with the oil cooler, where's that located?

 

With what? Model year 2000 was the only one that did NOT use Type II coolant. If you topped off with Type II coolant, this "may" have had something to do with the scum you see.

It's on the base of where your oil filter screws into. There are rubber coolant lines going to and from that thing. Initially, it's actually an oil "warmer".

 

Hello xviper

Mines a 99 model, not sure what the coolant was, but its pink. I only topped up about 1cm before it got to the full mark.

If the lines are under there I don't think I can get to it without someone with a ramp.

 

The guy at Honda said "in all my years I've never seen a honda blow a gasket" I dunno what's worse now, replacing the gasket or whatever the other item is.

 

Is this INSIDE the reservoir?

Or, does it look like it dripped down the outside reservoir? If so, is it a whiteish/greenish kind of color? If so, I suspect it's just from a little spillage during a refill. My gf's MY03 had this on her reservoir - a simple wipe-down with a wet rag fixed it up.

 

yes inside the reservoir near the top.

It's like a pale green color. That sound kinda right but I'm not sure about the leak I had and and fan coming on.

 

I hope I got this correct.
Even though you have a '99, it's most likely still considered a '00. In any case, the stock fluid should have been green. Is this correct? If I'm understanding this correctly, the stuff you topped off with was pink? That would tell me that it was a "Dexcool" type of long life coolant. If this is what you did, then the crud you see may be the pink coolant reacting with the original green coolant. This could be what created the weird substance.

 

Pop off your oil cap and see if there is the same type of goo on the underside. That would definitely indicate oil and water inside the motor.

 

No the oil cap is clean, stuck my finger in the engine, no Mayo in there.

Xviper, yes the stock fluid was green, the stuff I added appears to be Mobil 1 Advanced Antifreeze. It's got "Glysatin" written on the botton, the back says it suitable for Aluminium engines. You add water to dilute it.

Didn't realise coolant was so technical, looks like I created some kinda Frankenstien Coolant then.

OK how does this sound then? When I say I has a coolant leak I never confirmed the source, maybe it didn't come from my car. I then checked the coolant levels and maybe it was just a little lower than I last saw it, so I use the pink Mobil 1 to topup and this like you said reacted with the green fliud and made the mayo.

The fan was the effect of the mayo which I made, this is now visable from removing the radiator cap.

I also noticed the fluid does not go up to the top of the radiator anymore like it used to, it's about 2 inches from the cap though the reservoir at Max.

 

Sounds like power flush time.