Car corrosion... (Now with Pictures)

Nakatomi2010

So my wife's 2001 Hyundai Tiburon (Evil) has some corrosion on the inside and I'm trying to indentify the part I need to get replaced, more so I need some sort of manual or instructions on how to dismantle the area around the engine of the car... I've looked at Chiltons and Haynes and they don't have a manual for the 2001 Tiburon...

I'll post pictures of the problem once I get the images resized and more download friendly, but for now try to locate some sort of instruction set.... Please...




Links to original full size pictures

http://galacticcentral.homeserver.com/photoalbum/tiburon/hpim0399.jpg

http://galacticcentral.homeserver.com/photoalbum/tiburon/hpim0400.jpg

Fats

That's weird. It looks like antifreeze is seeping out of that radiator hose and reacting with something. Try wiping it off with a rag, I'm not sure anything is actually corroding there. You might move that hose clamp around to try and get a better seal.

Lord Yod

That's the upper radiator hose, and the white corrosion crap is essentially dried coolant. As long as it isn't leaking, you shouldn't have to worry about it. Use a pressure washer (like they have at self car washes), an air nozzle, or just a wire brush, and knock it off, then drive normally. A week or so later check to see if there's more - if there is, something is up with the seal on that hose, it could indicate a cracked/defective hose or just a loose clamp.

The reason it looks like that is because the water in the coolant is mixing with the oil residue on the engine, in the industry we call this 'milkshake'.

Nakatomi2010

There does appear to be a minor leak within this though as I can see a trail of antifreeze beneath this section.... My biggest fear in trying to clean this is that the damn thing dissolves, but from what you're describing, if I clean the crud off, undo the clamp, move it up a bit, then reclamp in then in theory I should be fine, correct?

i.e. (hose-clamp----metal) gets changes to (hose----clamp-metal) if there is a leak this would theoretically stop it... Yes no?

Edit: My father in-law is the one who pointed this out to me, while looking at it, it hoenstly seems like burshing it off would solve the problem, I just don't want to brush it off and find it disintegrating.... I'll do it once I get back home in florida, as long as the above fix will work...

VeritasVR

Yeah, I don't think that's "corrosion". Your pictures show buildup around the metal, and corrosion is the loss of mass from the bulk. There's probably very little permanent damage, unless cleaning off the crap reveals pitting damage. From what I see, there's no pitting around the buildup, so no diffusion of through the metal, which is good.

When you tighten the leak, make sure it really is tight but not enough to strip it. If there's a tiny gap between the metal surfaces, you get highly acidic due to the lack of circulation of environments which CAN cause corrosion.

wmelon

To be totally safe, I'd probably replace the hose and clamp. 7 years is a pretty good life on one of those hoses.