Should I be worried (again)?

So I had an HGF scare last year some time, which turned out to be a false alarm, due more to my inherent paranoia than anything else 

New stainless pipes, and been absolutely fine since. However, I decided to check my coolant level a week or two ago, and saw this bit of mayo around the cap.

Coolant level fine, no mayo in the oil, engine temp fine... somebody said this is likely just a bit of condensation - what do you think?

Thanks as ever 

 

Hi clean the cap and wipe around just inside the tank, then use the car regularly and see what happens. Condensation happens when the cars are not used often, I have been led to believe.

Mine went under a cover in mid to late November last year. It wintered under that cover until MOT time and it was MOT tested in late March.
Grief we had a lot of rain over winter. Some condensation appeared in the oil temp gauge and I did blow hot air around the cab a couple of times to keep condensation at bay.
I had no such trouble in the expansion tank.
Perhaps not what you wanted to hear. But that is the truth.

Was new antifreeze put in when the underfloor pipes were changed or was the old antifreeze used?
I ask because it looks a bit grotty.
You can check it with a multimeter to see if it is still functioning.

TA22GT wrote:

Was new antifreeze put in when the underfloor pipes were changed or was the old antifreeze used?
I ask because it looks a bit grotty.
You can check it with a multimeter to see if it is still functioning.


 

Yes new coolant - I was told - but the inside of the header tank was all filthy from the old corroded pipes (that's one of the reasons I previously thought my gasket had gone), so I think it's just the inside of the tank. But that's given me an idea - I'll suck some of the fluid out with a syringe tomorrow and see what it looks like! Will report back...

Sorry, what should I check with the meter?

If it's new antifreeze you will be fine.
If you have a digital MM or a Fluke you can get an idea if it is still good.
Set it to Voltage, connect to a good earth and stick the positive probe in the header tank.
You are looking for tenths of a volt.
Ov to .2v is good.... .3v is starting to go off.. .4v change it.
Yours will be fine.

On a totally different project I acquired a replacement header tank that was significantly discoloured and slimy inside.
I cleaned it out by putting a small quantity of a coarse sand containing some sand used for mortar. With some water in the tank too I swirled it around until the whole thing became clean. Worked a treat and reached parts that I could not reach otherwise.

Thanks for that.
I removed mine to clean it when I replaced the antifreeze but couldnt get it spotless.
Tried all sorts of chemicals.

Dishwasher tabs are good for that, but you need patience also.

How do you know I don't have much patience?!
😁

OK... stuck the meter in it, and it started off around 80mV, and gradually dropping. I got tired of watching it when it got to maybe 65mV, but still falling.

Despite having a brain the size of a planet (little age giveaway there), I've never been able to count, but I think that's less than 0.1V...?

Collant looks good I think? The glar's on the outside of the syringe.

 

 

Speaking from experience, a pastry brush was very effective at cleaning the ibits you can reach through the filler hole, but next time I would probably avoid carrying out this task whilst the wife was home...