1998 Ford Contour Rust colored coolant

1998 FORD CONTOUR

108,000 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC

STEVEGJETS

MEMBER
1 POST
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I bought my 1998 Contour in 2003 with 39,000 miles. Since then, I've had the coolant changed (and I think flushed) several times. Within a day of changing the coolant, it turns a brown rusty color and has a slightly different smell to it. I've never had any problems with the car running hot or overheating but I don't want to get stuck one day. Is this normal for this car? Is there something that I can do/fix to prevent this from happening?
Thanks for the help.
Steve

Dec 29, 2009 at 8:54 AM

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BILLYMAC

CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
2,204 POSTS

Hi
no this is not normal. something is rusting away in the cooling system. this could be steel coolant lines.

this could be the inside of the water pump.

all these things have something in common. they are all metal and to cause rust it has to be something metal.. replace the steel lines and the water pump.

\
that is about all you can do.. good luck

Jan 14, 2010 at 6:35 PM