Dirt/flakes in coolant 2011 Raptor

[WillB170]

Hi all, I have a 2011 gen 1 with 160k. Haven't had it too long, but noticed a sweet smell coming from the engine bay and after taking a look my coolant was low and also looked like this (see pic below).

I took it to get flushed, but still pretty concerned about the flakes. It looks fine now with the flush, but I’m leaning towards a few reasons

- previous owner tried some sort of sealant
- bad oil cooler
- head gasket? No overheating/coolant in oil/white smoke or drivability issues..

Does this look like oil, or was it just super dirty? Shop said from their record, it hadn’t been flushed since 2013.

Just trying to gauge how concerned I should be lol. Any suggestions would be great.

 

[rschap1]

First guess would have been Stop Leak from description.
But looking at picture, maybe not.
Looks like there may be a couple things mixed in there.
If flushed good and stays good, then I wouldn't be too concerned knowing it has been a long time since serviced.
And not knowing what may have been added.
Just get it clean and keep an eye on it.
If something returns, then I would investigate further.

 

[pat247]

Looks like someone topped it off with swamp water. @rschap1 gave good advice.

 

[Yukon Joe]

If you got it flushed, you should be ok. The red coolant will sometimes get like that over a period of time.

 

[mprice1234]

Looks like long overdue coolant, now that you have done the flush you should be good. You may want to do another flush in a year just to really get it cleaned out.

 

[rschap1]

Don't know if it is still appropriate and applicable for newer vehicles, but...
Used to be if worried about really cleaning cooling system "Prestone Minute Flush" could be used.
I have mentioned it to a few folks in past few years and doesn't seem like anyone has ever heard of or recalls it.
Believe it was acidic and helped clean out cooling system beyond clean fresh water.
Maybe newer materials don't tolerate the harness.
Or the ingredients aren't "safe" anymore.
But if it turns out that the contamination returns, maybe some cleanser/cleaner like that would help with a "deeper" clean if needed.
Hopefully not needed, but something to check out if re-occuring.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B99U088/?tag=fordraptorforum-20