> I'm going to flush
> the system, and left a cleaner in the system for a few days while
That might not be a wonderful idea. Those cleaners are more-or-less
caustic, and may greatly accelerate the erosion of the aluminum thermostat
housing.
> Any ideas as to why I had no fluid draining and where the "crap"
> was from?
Assuming it was dark brown, it will be mostly rust from inside the engine,
perhaps mixed with some aluminum corrosion from the thermostat housing.
However the oily part may indicate a compression leak into the water jacket
(leaking head gasket) or perhaps that someone has tried to use soluble oil
as a rust preventative.
> The car sat for about 3 years before I got it.
Normally, antifreeze has enough inhibitors in it to prevent cooling system
corrosion. However, those inhibitors wear out over time, even if the car is
not driven at all. It's a common mistake to think that just because the car
has not been driven, the antifreeze doesn't need to be changed. Fortunately
the thermostat housing tends to serve as a sacrificial anode, and is easily
changed.
If there was enough crud to block the radiator drain, I would definitely at
least drain the cylinder block and try to probe through the opening for more
crud. There may be enough crud piled up around #4 to cause localized
overheating.
Randall
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