New motor with strange coolant issue - any ideas?
 

Hi everyone,

I've got a fresh motor with about 3,000 miles on the clock. The motor has been strong so far and everything has been going great, but I've noticed a strange issue developing over the past few days.

I was checking all of my fluids at the gas station the other day while I waited for my tank to fill, and I noticed my coolant reservoir was pretty much empty. I filled it up with distilled water and topped off the coolant filler neck while I was at it.

When I removed the coolant reservoir dipstick, I noticed it was covered in this strange milky-sticky substance; it was a weird whitish-yellow sticky substance that I haven't seen before. I noticed the top of the coolant filler cap was also lined in this substance and the very top edge of the filler neck had some residue as well.

Today I was sitting in traffic and I began to notice small puffs of smoke coming from my exhaust while I was idling. The smoke was nothing too serious, but enough to freak me out after reading all of the coolant seal threads on this board.

I've barely had this motor for 2 months and I've babied the hell out of it. I'm absolutely certain that I haven't overheated it becase I watch my Defi water temp. gauge and PFC commander all the time, and there haven't been any issues with the cooling system.

Any ideas? I'm really afraid that a coolant seal on my brand new motor might be on it's way out and I have absolutely no idea why. Before I got my car back from the shop 2 months ago, I was without my car for over a year - the thought of another long downtime is really scary to me. My engine builder is top notch and they're a great bunch of guys, so I'm just curious if anyone can give me any input.

Thanks!

The normal engine building process of lubricating the water seals with vaseline, will cause some to get into the cooling system.

That is why you should allways drain and refill the cooling system after a new engine is driven for a few miles. I always recommend that the oil, oil filter, and coolant be changed after 500 miles with a new engine. This includes cleaning the overflow tank.