What to do when the coolant turns milky colour

Tiny
KENNETH LEONG
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 OPEL ZAFIRA
  • 1.8L
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 105,000 MILES
It all began when my car could not start after cranking many times, even though it did start but it dies when I engage to drive. Thus, I had to tow my car to the workshop to rectify the problem. According to the mechanic, it was believed to be head gasket blown and the engine head too. I decided to replace those part and resurface the head gasket to solve the problem. After the mechanic done the job, I suspect the coolant turn to milky color, I thought it is just some small contamination so I just not to worry it. After driving few days, the milky color still present in the coolant. Based on my research on the net, it says that my car had a blown head gasket or crack head which I just changed those. Is it safe to drive the car in this situation for few days? I do hope you could solve my problem as I currently only have one car for my transportation. Thanks!
Sunday, January 31st, 2016 AT 8:55 AM

5 Replies

Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,761 POSTS
Did they get all the oil out of the cooling system when they did the head gasket? It's not easy to do and it won't go away on it's own. I use a dish washing liquid to flush it with.
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Sunday, January 31st, 2016 AT 9:02 AM
Tiny
KENNETH LEONG
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
I believe they did flow out everything including coolant when they remove the engine head. BTW, is it recommend to resurface or change the engine head when there are cracks on it as it is quite bad?
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Sunday, January 31st, 2016 AT 9:11 AM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,761 POSTS
Flowing out and flushing with degreaser are two different things. The oil stays in the block and radiator until it's washed out with degreaser.
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Sunday, January 31st, 2016 AT 9:16 AM
Tiny
KENNETH LEONG
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
I managed to bring my car to the workshop to rectify it. It turns out the milky colour on the coolant was came from the contamination from the oil pan. Manage to clear it out and now it runs normally with the usual coolant. But now I had a humming or rough sound on the engine when I rev hard on it, dont know where the source of these humming sound?
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Monday, February 1st, 2016 AT 8:09 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 47,643 POSTS
This sounds is usually because the timing belt is too tight, sorry for the slow response. Please let me know what happen so it can help others

Best, Ken
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Saturday, April 23rd, 2016 AT 7:32 PM

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