Brown Coolant after "Sealant Tabs" Recall
 

I took my Bonnie into the dealership for three issues this week. 1. Faulty Washer Pump
2. Popping in Steering and 3. Coolant showing signs of brown discoloration/sludge.

They fixed the steering and the Washer pump but the discoloration is supposedly normal due to the Recall of the Sealant Tabs. I had a Grand Prix prior to the Bonnie and found the same problem....had to have it flushed to protect the engine cooling system from buildup.

Does anyone else have this discoloration in the coolant reservoir as a result of the recall and if so could this be normal or am I getting some bad info from the Dealership?

:( Yup, 'fraid so. From my experience GM's stupid idea of using the "sealing tablets" (-ie stop leak, so as to "band-aid fix" the real problem) does in fact cause brown gunk in the coolant. -especially noticeable in the coolant recovery bottle.

I was lucky enough to snag my '02 from a dealership, BEFORE the put their stupid tablets in. So at 44k miles, that one was still clean. -BUT, of course, it is starting to leak coolant now under the throttle body. I have the new Upper Intake Manifold in my garage, just waiting for the ambition to strike me. (-won't need to drive it, until I get it fixed)

And BTW, on my '99 which had the brown gunk problem (along with all the other GM design screwup problems) it took a lot of rinses to get most of the brown sediment particles out of the system. Also, I removed the radiator, and took it to a shop here in town that has a large ultra-sonic cleaning tank. WOW, it came out looking like new !! -and for way cheaper than a "radiator shop" cleaning.

Thanks for the reply. :) I hope this cheap fix doesn't cause an expensive one in the future. :(