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Been having some problems recently with overheating and losing coolant and when I went to fill up the coolant I found this on the bottom of my radiator cap
Just need a second opinion if my car is done for. The bit in question
looks like silicone, people love to overuse it because they lack the confidence to trust a gasket, or they replace gaskets altogether with it. you can tell what is siliconed in the coolant system by seeing this stuff squishing out of thermostat or water pump sealing surfaces. too much of it and it will affect coolant flow or block passages.
coolant doesn't always get into the engine, in a lot of cases it only gets overpressurized with pockets of compressed air and unburned fuel. theres this things called a "block tester" to help be more sure, harbor freight even sells them now.