water problem

[twilightdave]

checked my water level today only thing showing on the dip thing was a sort of brown sludge.
do vxrs come over with anti freeze filled up or is it uk dealers job?
does not seem easy to get a level reading on the dip thing.

[hsvgtscoupe]

twilightdave said:

only thing showing on the dip thing was a sort of brown sludge.

maybe that was the oil dip thing?
(sorry.. long day, bad joke, warped sense of humour etc)

I know from my chats with HSV the standard ex factory coolant in the radiator system is rated for Europe & Oz no prob (Holden/HSV standard coolant - orangey pink colour) cos when I shipped the GTS Coupe out here I was going to change it & they said nope dont bother. Maybe Greens/Picadors or others equally knowledgeable can elaborate on any changes they make UK side?

[Paul-C]

Just read this...........you need to check it out before driving it. The only time I found 'brown sludge' in my radiator / expansion bottle it was due to a blown head gasket. Dont panic as I could be wrong.

[monkfish1]

Im guessing you have an 05/06 car with the yellow plastic dipstick in the overflow bottle?

Brown sludge is not good though. Take the coolant filler cap off, under the plastic flap on the opposite side and see what the coolant looks like in there. When its cold though!!

Any sign of contamination, ie not nice and pink, get it looked at soonest.

[greens vauxhall]

One factor that can cause that, if you have had the antifreeze topped up using an older fluid and there was newer fluid in ths system, the two can react and cause this issue.