Anti-freeze

Google found this

does back up your worries. I used to use Bluecol in my Imp when I owned one, which is also an ally engine. I have no idea whether the formula has changed since though - I am still using the rest of the stock I bought at the time. You could check with the manufacturer Bluecol is still available, though a bit difficult to find on the shelf. One of these might be convenient for you. Jim

I certainly used to use Bluecol for ally engines without problems.

The snag would be finding out if they still make a version to the original formulae, since most modern cars use ally rads. Perhaps called 'classic'? What I've seen of it suggests not - since it seems to have a longer life these days.

Not to hot on brands, but what you need, I think is "inhibited propylene glycol" antifreeze. IIRC the current antifreeze sold for most cars is buffered to be slightly alkaline. The inhibited glycol is buffered to be neutral and does not corrode copper or aluminium. This antifreeze is usually sold as a 90% solution which needs diluting 50:50 with water to give year-round protection. It's available for domestic heating systems and is usually pink in colour (to distinguish it from the blue/green colour of other antifreeze mixtures).

Obviously you mustn't mix the two.

The antifreeze that most classic were originally filled with was, BTW, absolute rubbish. To get costs down a glycol/methanol mixture was used. It didn't last long, and tended to accelerate corrosion.

This page gives a specification for the inhibited PG antifreeze:

And this page promises to have some available "in May"

If you log on to the FBHVC web site

and do a search for "antifreeze" you'll find a lot of information about the correct antifreeze to use in classic cars.Regards Richard Green

23/05/2010 13:04

True

have you looked up the recommended stuff for Rovers, I have some here but don't put it into other cars as it will also affect the cast iron of the block. Not sure of the spec. as it was from a bulk drum from the Rover dealer.

I do know that the dealer services VW landrover volvo jaguar and they keep a different type for each make.

Just phoned them.

This is the one they use for landrover only

Its surprising that coolant/anti freeze comes in so many varieties.

r

That's interesting. I thought in the days when there were just really two types - ordinary and that for ally, you could use the ally stuff in cast iron. But it was considerably more expensive.

That certainly looks suitable.

Indeed. And that we appear to have gone backwards in that some of it can cause damage, rather like the early stuff where they said to replace it with plain water when not needed for frost protection.

I think it could do with the metallurgical composition of the alloys.

Land Rover use an OAT type coolant in a 50/50 ratio with water, for the V8 and the TD5, earlier engines may be OK with different types.

It isn't cheap, but we've used it in our Disco V8 after a new short motor fitment last July and it certainly keeps the internal ali parts free of any signs of corrosion. We changed a timing gear in december after 10000 miles and there was nothing at all in the way of corrosion on the water pump internals.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk

Don't think there's a problem with ally engines and 'new' anti-freeze - it's the copper rads and heaters fitted to older cars. Modern ones use ally.

"Dave Plowman (News)" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I wonder when the last copper rads and heaters were fitted? _MANY_ moons back. '50s? '60s?

Much later than that - my SD1 is '85.

My PI has a copper rad - 1971. I have no idea if it was what was originally fitted though. The current one is a remade one.

Jim

There still about.