Antifreeze

I did a similar thing a bit back after the radiator had to come off. The car previously had reddish / orange coolant, and I knew you weren't supposed to mix types. I went to the Ford parts desk and told them I wanted coolant, they told me they don't do red coolant any more, and checked it all out, said the purple coolant was compatible and sold me that. I put the purple coolant in the engine, and after a bit it turned reddish orange like the old coolant... It's been in there 3 or 4 months now and it's fine. I didn't bother flushing it. I'll get part numbers later if you want to check.

A chemist friend of mine informs me that ethanediol is just another name for ethylene glycol, so it appears there is no problem. Also, the bottle states it's silicate free, and from what I've read the problems occur when mixing ethylene glycol and silicate based antifreezes. So I think I shall shove it in and see what happens!

And all because an 8 quid thermostat has siezed! :-)

Cheers,

Robert

The part number for the purple stuff on my invoice is 1222112 if you're interested.

Hi, Ford replaced the "Super plus 2000" antifreeze (orange stuff) with a different one (purple coolant, in a black bottle).... they can be mixed....HOWEVER they cannot be mixed with the "Super plus 4"... this is the older type ford did about 5 years ago and is blue in colour.

JK

Thanks, that's very useful. As I stated I have no idea what's in at the moment apart fromt he fact that it's redish. Does the reaction between the incompatable types happen straight away, or does it take a while? I am thinking I could maybe mix a little of the old and new to see if anything happens, just to make sure before I go and wreck the engine!

Cheers,

Robert

Gylcol and Ethanediol are the same thing

sQuick..

Um... I looked at it. Oh, I sniffed the antifreeze currently in there too and it smelled strongly of antifreeze (which is more than any other car I've ever owned has!), and it looked nice and clean. The car loses no water at all, the temperature never varies, so I decided not to bother. Yet.

It's far from a difficult job, generally, but experience has taught me not to mend something that's not broken. The only reason I considered doing it was for the anti-corrosion properties of the new coolant and the fact that it was free!

A general question: does antifreeze lose its anti-corrosion properties then? I've not topped the coolant up in three years so it's not been diluted at all.

Si

Anti freeze does lose its anti corrosion effects yet anti freezing is still ok. You don't want internal corrosion on any engine, so you do need to change it.

What is the chage schdule roughly MrC for coolant ? (think of a mk4 golf

there are some long life coolants about which have a ten year life, so you need to check, but ordinary stuff is usually change every two or three years.

Ahh I see I have vw's G12 coolant in, I'llcheck on the bottle how long it lasts in the morning when I go in the garage.

What colour anti freeze is best to use?

Red, Blue, Green or some other colour?

;-)

the best ones are usually pink or yellow, but you need to look at the bottle really

I've got some food dye here you can add to make yourself feel happier!

F|or some reason VW golfs are aparantly moody if G12 is not used. Its a sexy pinky colour ;)

F|or some reason VW golfs are aparantly moody if G12 is not used. Its a sexy pinky colour ;)

"munki" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

That'll be because Golfs are inherently gay, then.

You're just being a git :)

Si

Most people ignore it, especially if they only keep the car a couple of years.