I just got my coolant flushed at a local shop about a month ago. The other day I popped the hood to take a look around and I noticed not only that I was low on coolant for some incomprehensible reason, but that the coolant and the inside of the reservoir looked terrible. So, today I went ahead and removed the reservoir, emptied and cleaned it (crushed ice cubes make it look new! Who knew? Thank you internet!), and filled it with antifreeze. What I poured out of the reservoir was almost sickening. The coolant was nasty, and there were even large globs of muck at the bottom. Should it look like this one month after supposedly having it flushed?? Is it possible that they just forgot to check/fill the reservoir? Also on a completely unrelated note, is the thermostat in an area that is easily accessible? I figured I should probably check it. Also, my ABS light comes on randomly but if I push the brake pedal to the floor it goes out. I just got new brakes like 2 weeks ago and it's been doing it since before then. One last thing, What is normal operating temperature on a 1999 Blazer? Mine tends to vary between the 1/4 mark and the 1/2 mark on the gauge. (1/2 mark is 210 degrees and 1/4 mark is 155 degrees). Thanks everyone in advance, you guys are awesome.

Oh, and this flush was the first time it had ever been flushed. It's going on 130,000 miles and it had never been flushed before a month ago. I wasn't having any problems, but I figured it was about time. Do you guys think I should check / flush the heater core as well? The heat in my vehicle takes FOREVER to warm up (about 7 or 8 minutes last time I used it, which was in like January) do you think that now that it has possibly been flushed it might work better?

 

sounds like a mixed G....
[deleted because I wasnt current]

Read this:
http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/g...y-coolant.html

If that's correct you'll be needing several more flushes to clear it all out.

And here I was blaming myself for GM's screwup... figured it was me putting green stuff into a 'Dexcool' car

Aw crap.... here's a googlesearch on dexcool sludge

http://www.google.com/search?q=dexcool+sludge

Read all the stuff and make up your own mind. I read the gminsider site on the 'myth' and I wont be reading their stuff anymore.. what a buncha partisan hacks.
I know I've got it in my Lumina.. and it aint the intake leak either.

 

I'm pretty sure that when I got it back, the coolant was red (the dex cool stuff?) but I don't entirely remember. I filled the reservoir with yellow that said it could be mixed with any color coolant.

 

Air is the enemy in any cooling system, especially in an iron block/head engine such as the 4.3L v6. This is even more true with Dexcool as it is a non-wetting coolant so it doesn't leave behind any protective coating on the innards of the engine if air is present like the old green stuff does.

Fun fact is that most coolants currently available use a very similar base composition to Dexcool, just with different additives.

If you really want to get an education on this topic run a search here for "dexcool+myth" and you should find a rather lengthy thread on the subject. Read through it ALL and then comment if you care to at the end of that thread. Lets not turn this thread into that thread.

As far as your problem, they likely didn't do the work you requested correctly. Prior to any cooling system flush I have done, I run a cooling system pressure test. If there are signs of a leak, I suggest that get fixed first. A replacement t-stat & radiator cap are also prerequisites to a flush IMO. As is using distilled water. It is unbelievable how many contaminants are in tap water and even bottled water.

 

I've called the place where I got the flush done (It's a chain that's well known in my area, not some random garage) and the guy I spoke to agreed that having mud in the reservoir is ridiculous in a vehicle that got flushed 2 months ago (I checked the receipt, It was two months ago, not one like I had thought) and he told me he would check it out when I get back in town. We'll see how this goes.