Replacing coolant

[Rskeisuke]

my car manual states to use "ethylene glycol base coolant for aluminum radiator mixed with water".

 

The original coolant is green in colour.

 

Where can i buy suitable replacement coolant mix?

[Cactus]

since we are on this, when i go mechanic for svcing, he just add water to top up.

was told that the green colour is just colouring dye so we can see the collant level.. true anot?

[Rskeisuke]

true abt the dye, but from what i read on the net, green and red not meant to mix. was planning to use toyota super ultra long life pre-mixed coolant, but it's red in colour and i dun know if it's suitable for my engine.

[Cactus]

mine was orignally green, i changed to the toyota red one since.

No issue so far leh. am told its good.

but good or not i duno, cos my car no temp guauge. haha..

[Rskeisuke]

i heard the same good thing about toyota super ultra long life coolant

[Smhomie]

Just get a bottle of REDLINE water wetter. Flush out the entire radiator + engine passage ways and pour in the whole bottle. Top up with clean tap water, thats all.

 

Maximum cooling and very little water loss. Much better than any glycol based coolant.

 

Reason :

 

1) Glycol is an anti-freeze, anti-coagulant, anti-rust, anti-mineral fluid (thats alot of antis )

2) Dye colour is to allow vehicle users to quickly identify coolant leaks, it has no other function.

3) Any other coolant is of course fine.

4) Since most car engines on the roads today are aluminium alloy casted, you don't need the anti-rust or anti-freeze properties.

 

Hope this helps to answer your thread post

 

Have a safe and enjoyable drive

[Boxster]

I think even if you car got standard temp gauge I think it is difficult to tell if the coolant is good or not under normal driving conditions

[Tay107]

some say use distill water or DI water not tap water

[Smhomie]

Our water supply here in Singapore is very clean in relative comparison to States or UK.

 

For them, their water supply contains alot of calcium and other minerals which would result in typical (lime) scaling in the radiator + engine block passage ways when used. Its termed 'Hard Water'. When you have the chance to go such places for holiday, you will find it takes much longer to get a proper sudsy soap lather when you bathe

 

Worse if it is an iron casted block. Hence, they are often advised to use distilled, de-ionised or pure drinking water to supplement whatever coolant additive added to the radiator

 

Pre-mix coolants ie. Toyota LL or Engine Ice does not require water, its already there. But become of the glycol content, I won't use it for local weather.

 

For a tiny bit of Singapore happyness, we can rejoice at having a much cleaner water supply just from our taps may it be for automotive use or for personal consumption Ours is considered 'Soft Water'.

 

Don't listen to those 'some say' rubbish. They can't even get their fundamentals clear.

 

Happy modding

Edited April 29, 2008 by Smhomie

[Garlic]

Genie47 has provided some very useful information on this topic.

 

http://www.mycarforum.com/forum/gforum.cgi...oolant;#2113332

 

http://www.mycarforum.com/forum/gforum.cgi...coolant;#884281

[Pisces69]

  Quote

my car manual states to use "ethylene glycol base coolant for aluminum radiator mixed with water".

 

The original coolant is green in colour.

 

Where can i buy suitable replacement coolant mix?

==================

 

This one is very common & used for very long on Jap cars. Rad Cool is 1 brand I used b4. Can get from most petrol station mini-marts. There r many brands with this type of coolant. Just check the labels for EG coolant.

 

Now mine asks for silicate free coolant. Like that how to find???

 

Only way is to go to the spare parts shop which specialises in my car & ask them which is the correct coolant to buy.

[Pisces69]

  Quote

since we are on this, when i go mechanic for svcing, he just add water to top up.

was told that the green colour is just colouring dye so we can see the collant level.. true anot?

=========================

 

I think it's high time u changed your mechanic. I think he is not qualified to repair toy cars even.

[Pisces69]

  Quote

mine was orignally green, i changed to the toyota red one since.

No issue so far leh. am told its good.

but good or not i duno, cos my car no temp guauge. haha..

========================

 

Nowadays got so many different types of coolant meant for so many different types of cars. They cannot & sud not b mixed or changed around. Wil cause damage to your engine block, water jacket & maybe whole cooling system even. Just like using wrong type of ATF for your car. Long term wil damage the system.

 

Genie47 has done some in-depth postings on coolants. Do a search & find out more.

[Siyexcalibur]

Green longlife coolant

1) Nissan LongLife

2) Castrol coolant

3) Shell coolant OAT

 

Any low silicate coolant should be okay, no need to be green

[Yeobh]

Temp gauge cannot help to determine the condition of coolant. Some mech use PH tester or limus like test paper to demtermin the akaline and acidic condition of the coolant. The best method is to us hydrometer desgined specially for the purpose of checking the SG of the anti-frezeer. There are basically two types - one for Ethylene Glycol & the other for Propylene glycol.

Edited April 29, 2008 by Yeobh

[Genie47]

Depends on the car. If Japanese, stick with antifreeze that do not have silicates. It is not just the aluminium. The seals must be compatible with the antifreeze. I don't just mean ethylene glycol. Search for "antifreeze" in MCF. I wrote some articles about it.

[Genie47]

All the Japanese branded car antifreeze or premixed coolants are silicate free. I'm using Nissan's green. Cheapest of the whole bunch I can find.

[Genie47]

I'm using Nissan's Green longlife. Silicate free. Cheapest of the whole lot I can find.