Coolant, to flush or not to flush?

[Pdesign1]

Hi,

 

thinking of this until I was told but how true is this.

 

I was told that flushing of coolant is not advisable when I went to buy aircon filter at some Bosch dealer.

 

Reason was given was, when you flush coolant, rust/dirt etc comes out and so does the holes!

 

He told me to leave the coolant alone and recommended aircon flush instead. Is this true?

 

I was thinking of flushing the coolant and adding some water wetter. Ride is 3 yrs old, I am new owner (2nd), mileage 72K, make: bobo.

 

Anything I need to note when flushing? Like fluid workshop use? Was recommended aut* dynam*c

 

Appreciate any advise. Thanks.

[Trex101]

IMO the Bosch dealer is full of crap, doesn't he know that coolant is a life item? Same like oil, there is additives and anti-rust in that coolant of your and it will get depleted over time.

I think it is wise & good practice to do preventive maintenance then eventual repair.

[Scratchy]

Can leave it till you change yr water pump then change the coolant..that's what i did....

[Furrynadz]

i change coolant every 20,000km

[Watwheels]

My advice is to check with authorise dealer at what mileage when your car(specify the model) do a major servicing like change timing belt, coolant pump etc. Cos during this service they will do a flushing of coolant also. I believe they have a schdule of what to service at diff levels of mileage.

 

If I'm not wrong most cars do major servicing at around 70,000 km. When u bought the car

from first owner, u should have find out from him/her whether major servicing was done.

 

What was the mileage when u collected the car from the 1st owner?

[Pdesign1]

Mileage was 69K when I collected. Bought from dealer, never met previous owner before.

 

Timing belt change should be at 120K.

[Discoburg]

If you change coolant regularly then it is not necessaary to flush right? Just drain and top up?

[Furrynadz]

just drain and fill all the time

[Valor79]

IMO the Bosch dealer is full of crap, doesn't he know that coolant is a life item? Same like oil, there is additives and anti-rust in that coolant of your and it will get depleted over time.

I think it is wise & good practice to do preventive maintenance then eventual repair.

 

Ok my bro just borrowed my car and according to him "top up the green coolent" with a bit of tap water... less than half a glass to raise it above the Max line... will that effect anything in the long run? It's tap water and not distilled water...

[Furrynadz]

taxis run fine on 100% tap water

nothing wrong except they always overheat on the road

[D8jx]

20,000km or one year, whichever comes first..

[Discoburg]

Thats what i thought, thanks.

[Limws1]

If you change coolant regularly then it is not necessaary to flush right? Just drain and top up?

 

If you change with the same type of coolant than it's ok not to flush. If different type of coolant, then need to flush. Never never mix different type of coolant together for your car.

[Limws1]

What coolant was originally in your car? Is it green coolant? If your bro mix green coolant with other coolant that is originally in your car, then you've better flush everything out. Mixing of different type of coolants will reduce the life of the rust inhibitors in the coolant. As a result, you wouldn't know how long your coolant will last.

 

Using our SG tap water is ok because our water is quite clean and it's not hard water like in Europe. Nevertheless, it's better to use distilled water for mixing with coolant. Why take the risk?

[Cordia_gsr]

Do you have the car manual with you? Have a look there and it should state when to change the coolant. For continental makes, on estimate, it should be 60,000km versus 40,000km for Japanese makes.

[Tigershark1976]

yap.... never mix diferrent brand of coolant cos diferrent company have diferrent fomula... mixing themmight cos problem tour car...

 

I flush my coolant (DIY) every 15K to 20K, easy if u have water hose... just go to MSCP and drain all the coolant out, then connectthe hose and put in 20 cents... i used to flust 3 times b4 i add in new colant... total cost me less than $8... but need ard 1.5 hrs to do it...

[Dumb]

I think you are overdoing it or you find it fun doing it. How come so cheap?

 

You got the right coolant and volume? 1 bottle of coolant and that is not enough already cost me more than $8 20 years ago.

[Elfenstar]

To sum up with a lil extra points.

 

generally coolant should be changed every 2 to 4 years depending on the type of coolant used. (as per furry)

 

even if its the same colour, try not to mix coolants as the formulas are different. (as per lim)

 

And the dealer was talking crap (as per trex). If the coolant has been changed regularly, it should not need a flush (provided you use the same coolant). there should be no rust. If there is rust etc, it should be flushed as all these deposits may clog up the cooling system and reduce the efficiency of the system.

 

If you don't know what coolant was used, i suggest you get a flush done and use fresh coolant (including the brand used).

 

Also do a search. Genie did have a thread on what types of coolant are better for diff makes.