orange skum in header tank

[willowtree1983]

hi I have just got a 1994 wrx and I noticed orange skum in header tank is this ok ? no over heating or loss of power? can u advise

 

many thanks adrian

[Sandals]

Welcome to the club!! 

Fingers crossed your head gasket isn't on it's way out...

When was the coolant last changed? Could just be the header tank deteriorating and making a mess of your coolant 

[willowtree1983]

I honestly don't know just got it today if head has went roughly how much

thanks for reply

[Sandals]

19 minutes ago, willowtree1983 said:

I honestly don't know just got it today if head has went roughly how much

thanks for reply

For an engine rebuild... a lot... few grand...

I would change the coolant, do a few flushes.... new coolant in and see if it scums up again

[stuartie]

Hello and welcome as sandy has said it could just be something as simple as small bits of rust etc in the coolant making it turn that colour if its not been changed in a while my v1 classic was the same when i got it but draining the system and flushing it out a few times with clean water made everything better 

[MJP02]

Sounds like a lack of coolant change, more than likely rust and deposits gathering, people before could just use tap water as coolant, best bet is dont use engine flushes as they take out weak gaskets, but empty system, fill it with water and run for 10 mins, cool it down, drain it and fill with proper coolant, give it a few hundred miles then drain and swap, hopefully this will have cleared any coolant abuse

[willowtree1983]

hi thanks for reply the lad who I got it off has sent pics of the engine rebuild 3 month ago so he says not head , no overheating , no loss of power just skum in tank ?

hey people as we know Colin MCrea's reg on his rally cat was L555 BAT this reg is L555 CMH  close haha

thanks for all help how do I flush ?

[MJP02]

Jack the car up, put on stands, drivers side of the radiator (bottom) there should be a drain plug, get big container to catch old stuff, make sure its cool, take off expansion tank cap then undo the drain plug. once its all out put plug back in and refill.

[Sandals]

 

[stants]

Or jusr remove the bottom rad hose, and pop a hosepipe in the top of rad and run it gor ages

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[GeoffLeggy]

1 hour ago, willowtree1983 said:

hey people as we know Colin MCrea's reg on his rally cat was L555 BAT this reg is L555 CMH  close haha

thanks for all help how do I flush ?

Nearly as close as mine, not bragging lol. 

Only thing I would do is after the refill go for a local run and make sure you don't have any locks in the system. I did with mine recently. Car gets up to temp stays for a short while then jumps up quick. 

Always a bonus to find an easy non expensive solution. Hope it keeps going strong.  Let us know how you go.

[Mr B]

Sounds likely just generals deposits built up as description doesn't sound overly worrying.
Who knows when coolant last done or what junk been in it, leak inhibitors inc subaru's magic one makes right mess in expansion tanks over time .

Good flush, expansion bottle clean & refill with good coolant should do job .
Do check for leaks after as things like waterpump if old can start leaking after a proper flush, also if leak additive been in it the cause may not of been resolved so keep eye on things for few days ...