My wife has a 2003 Matrix base model with the 1ZZ-FE engine. At 108,XXX miles, I had to replace the radiator, as it was leaking where the tank met the core. Not the "Tell-tale white residue" kind of leak, but rather the "You can watch a slow but steady drip" kind of leak. The coolant tank barely got below the "Low" mark, and at no point did the temp. gauge climb above it's normal position.
When I drained the coolant to replace the radiator, it looked like used coolant- green with a slight brownish tint, but transparent, with no milkyness or oily residue.
The car now has 112,XXX miles on it, and the coolant in the overflow tank has the residue shown in the photo. A search of the net leads me to believe that the "egg white" residue common to oil residue generally has, well, egg white-like physical properties. No matter how delicately I poked at this stuff with a screwdriver to try to gather a sample, it immediately broke into small fiber-like particles, leading me to believe it's some sort of scale-like deposit?
An oil change last weekend revealed no visible coolant in the oil, and the underside of the rad. cap is clean, with no scale deposits, mayo-like goo, etc. Yes, the replacement radiator was a new part.
Two Questions:
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Is it possible that this is residue left in the rad. or hoses from the manufacturing process? My generally knowledgeable, former line tech co-worker indicated this is common.
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Was the 1ZZ-FE prone to head bolt stretch? A search of the web gave answers ranging from "ONLY the 2ZZ-GE had this problem", to "ALL Toyota 4 cylinder engines from 2000-2006 had this problem."
Thanks!
