black coolant?????????

[lancerevo3]

just stripping every thing to do timing belt etc.when i opened drain plug on the rad
what came out is pure black.its not oil mixed with coolant and it doesnt smell anything like coolant.
any ideas what it could be? as i have never seen any thing like it.
car has no running problems and all seems fine.

thanks
mark

[elnevio]

It was ALL black? I.e. you've drained everything out? What colour was the coolant in the expansion tank?

[Atik]

VERY VERY old coolant/water? Never been changed before kind of old?

[lancerevo3]

coolant in tank was same colour and all of it was black.
now that it has cooled it does have the usual smell but when warm it smells nothing like coolant.
hope the rest of the fluids arent in the same condition.
i am going to vrt it next week so it hasnt been on the road yet so i dont know the history apart from some oil change stickers that were regular

thanks for replys
mark

[Turbo_Steve]

At a guess, I would say it's been exposed to carbonation, i.e. combustion processes.....but if that were true I am surprised it hasn't been boiling up and popping hoses off and stuff.

I can honestly say I've never seen black coolant, though. Unless it's just got a "red" additive in it and a "blue" one and been left for 200,000 years.

[Kieran]

I've never seen black either. Dark brown, from when OAT and glycol coolants have been mixed, yes - but not black.

Unless it's had some dye added to it to detect exhaust gases in the coolant - I think this is a diagnostic option if a BHG is suspected?

[lancerevo3]

car runs sweet no boiling or pressure in hoses or any of the usual gasket problems .put some in a plastic bottle and when you put it up to sunlight you cant see anything through it.as you said must be in there 200,000 years.

[Turbo_Steve]

Actually Kieran may be onto something - you can add dyes to it to check for combustion leaks, though they're SUPPOSED to break down.

A bad mix of antifreezes and some dye would make a lovely, thick black soup.

[miller]

unless ditchwater has been added at some point?

DEREK!!!

[elnevio]

unless ditchwater has been added at some point?

DEREK!!!
/haz