Jump to content
  • Welcome to AutoLanka

    :action-smiley-028: We found you speeding on AutoLanka Forums without any registration! If you want the best experience, please sign in. Safe driving! 

Anything & Everything About Coolant......


seejaylk

Recommended Posts

hi...

I want to know ...

1 . What is Coolant?

2. Pros and Cons?

3. Price range and best brand which suits to SL conditions..?

4. How to use?

5. etc.....

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

sorry guys..i know most of details are on the web..but all those info are from foreign sites...

thanks...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well,,if your talking about radiator coolant then i guess caltex is good(i donno wether its the best) and its affordable too,,a small bottle costs around 350rs which would last quite a long time for me(say 3 months)

its better than water coz everytime i give my car for service the guys take off a huge load of dust,mudd,and all other stuff which would be found in water which makes sense that its better than water..

and i normally use it in a 50-50 way...(50%coolant,50%distilled water)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

now i'm using water.. if i want to use radiator coolant wht r the steps i should follow...? :unsure:

use a radiator flush and clean out all the crap out of the radiator,wate rlines, etc. Then fill the radiator up with a good coolant. Just follow the instructions on the back label and you'd be fine. You don't really have to change this every 3 months or every time you get your car serviced. If your cooling system has no leaks and if you give it a good flush (use a radiator flushing agent)before you fill it up with water, you can even use this for up to 100,000kms without an issue. :)

EDIT:- I think ABRO(spelling) manufacture a good radiator flushing agent..

Edited by GearHead
Link to comment
Share on other sites

now i'm using water.. if i want to use radiator coolant wht r the steps i should follow...? :unsure:

Don't ever run your radiator on pure water unless you want to replace the radiator every couple of years and cause other problems in the rest of the cooling system.

There's quite a larger proportion of radiator corrosion in SL than I've seen in other countries, mainly due to this issue, and due to not even using distilled water and instead "topping it off" with normal tap water that's full of rust and impurities.

Most coolant brands like Caltex etc are made according to certain standards, so it shouldn't be a big deal what you put in, but don't mix brands as there is the possibility of silicate forming inside your cooling system, due to compounds in different brands reacting, and also other unpredictable reactions under the heat inside the system. Make sure to fully drain your radiator and then refill it with one brand after flushing with water.

Check on the coolant bottle and see if it says premixed, in which case you can just use that stuff. If not, you will have to do the 50-50 with distilled water. And modern Hondas (and I think Toyotas in the last couple of years) are recommended to run only on their Honda or Toyota brand coolant (claim is that they are formulated to run better with their cooling systems- there is some debate about this so you'll have to do your own research). I put the genuine Honda stuff in my Honda as the price difference is very small, and my Nissan runs on whatever A*W puts in it. For any other brands try and go with the green coolant, as using the orange stuff makes it hard to determine whether it's rust or whether it's coolant stains you're seeing in your system. The genuine Honda stuff is Blue, and the Toyota is red or pink.

You shouldn't have to replace the coolant more than once a year (sometimes a couple of years or even more) depending on your driving habits. Pay attention to the level that your coolant reservoir bottle is at when the engine has just been turned off (hot), and that should be about the level you're at when the coolant has expanded. When the engine is cold that level may drop as it's sucked back into the cooling system. Don't overfill it as the bottle could explode when the engine is hot.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

use a radiator flush and clean out all the crap out of the radiator,wate rlines, etc.

I agree, its always good use a radiator flush if the system was running with just water for a while.. But do follow the instructions provided with the flush exactly as it is.. Take care not to leave the flush in for too long, one of those just screwed up my water pump once.. (i think i kept it in for a day or so, and did a bit of running with it.. when I flushed and put new coolant in, the flush agent has done such a great job that it screwed the water pump as well) :D

cheers..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think Caltex recommends you to use 100% coolant straight out of the bottle..As far as i can remember, the correct ratio is 50% water and 50%. Follow the instructions on the back label.. :)

Edited by GearHead
Link to comment
Share on other sites

But do follow the instructions provided with the flush exactly as it is.. Take care not to leave the flush in for too long, one of those just screwed up my water pump once.. (i think i kept it in for a day or so, and did a bit of running with it.. when I flushed and put new coolant in, the flush agent has done such a great job that it screwed the water pump as well) :D

cheers..

Yup you should only use the flushing agent for one engine warm up cycle.Then it should flushed off completely from the cooling system. Basically if you follow all the steps given by the manufacturer, you wouldn't mess it up.. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think Caltex recommends you to use 100% coolant straight out of the bottle..As far as i can remember, the correct ratio is 50% water and 50%. Follow the instructions on the back label.. :)

that was a 5 litre can ( may be 4 litre/ i cant exactly recall the volume :unsure: ) and it didnt say any ratio as such.. but recently i bought a caltex coolent 1 litre to top up the level and yes it said a 50:50 ratio...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

guys i got one question here.. i got my coolant flushed two days back and the mech insisted I use 100% coolant since the car is an automatic and apparently there are lines to cool the ATF as well. So i am running on 100% coolant since saturday and i have done about 300kms so far with no issues. is this okay? The coolant brand is some eagle thing (green)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

guys i got one question here.. i got my coolant flushed two days back and the mech insisted I use 100% coolant since the car is an automatic and apparently there are lines to cool the ATF as well. So i am running on 100% coolant since saturday and i have done about 300kms so far with no issues. is this okay? The coolant brand is some eagle thing (green)

100% coolant as in using only concentrated coolant (which is supposed to be mixed with distilled water) or 100% premixed coolant? Using only concentrated coolant without mixing it with water doest not make sense & may not be appropriate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

100% coolant as in using only concentrated coolant (which is supposed to be mixed with distilled water) or 100% premixed coolant? Using only concentrated coolant without mixing it with water doest not make sense & may not be appropriate.

oh i think its a concentrated coolant ( not sure I have to check the bottle) if that is the case would it be ok to refill the reserve tank with water when the level goes down?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh i think its a concentrated coolant ( not sure I have to check the bottle) if that is the case would it be ok to refill the reserve tank with water when the level goes down?

Coolant level does not go down that much even after about a year. If the level is noticeably dropping, it may indicate other problems. Most of the places that do vehicle servicing top up the coolant with distilled water, if required. When I was in the US, I bought a coolant density meter which gives an indication about the cooling/freezing properties of the coolant. In my case, if it is below the desired level, I used to add a little bit of concentrated coolant & top up with distilled water, if required.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coolant level does not go down that much even after about a year. If the level is noticeably dropping, it may indicate other problems. Most of the places that do vehicle servicing top up the coolant with distilled water, if required. When I was in the US, I bought a coolant density meter which gives an indication about the cooling/freezing properties of the coolant. In my case, if it is below the desired level, I used to add a little bit of concentrated coolant & top up with distilled water, if required.

The coolant level actually went down quite a bit in one day.. there are no visible leaks as such. How can i get this checked?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The coolant level actually went down quite a bit in one day.. there are no visible leaks as such. How can i get this checked?

Most probably the engine is overheating & the coolant is overflowing from the reservoir's overflow hose/outlet. Overheating can be due to a faulty radiator, most probably. The coolant level never drops drastically, even after several months. You could run the engine for about 20 minutes and check whether there is an overflow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most probably the engine is overheating & the coolant is overflowing from the reservoir's overflow hose/outlet. Overheating can be due to a faulty radiator, most probably. The coolant level never drops drastically, even after several months. You could run the engine for about 20 minutes and check whether there is an overflow.

The temp meter on the dash is always on the mid range. probably a faulty fan which is causing the radiator to heat up. Ill top it up tomorrow and check it out.

by any chance does the coolant evapourate?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The coolant level actually went down quite a bit in one day.. there are no visible leaks as such. How can i get this checked?

Was it just one day or does it keep happening? Is it the level in the bottle or the radiator? If it's the bottle, as I've said above - the coolant level in the reservoir will rise and fall depending on the heat in the system, it will usually be fuller when the engine is hot, and later goes down as it's sucked back into the system. Don't keep adding to the reservoir (and don't add water in there) as then it can be overfilled and explode (as a friend of mine who kept filling it up found out the hard way).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was it just one day or does it keep happening? Is it the level in the bottle or the radiator? If it's the bottle, as I've said above - the coolant level in the reservoir will rise and fall depending on the heat in the system, it will usually be fuller when the engine is hot, and later goes down as it's sucked back into the system. Don't keep adding to the reservoir (and don't add water in there) as then it can be overfilled and explode (as a friend of mine who kept filling it up found out the hard way).

I just checked it out.. seems to be a one off thing the level was ok today (the level in the bottle). I just fill it up to the max indicator level in the bottle when the engine is running (hot). Is this correct? Also the coolant read do NOT dilute so i guess all should be fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The coolant level actually went down quite a bit in one day.. there are no visible leaks as such. How can i get this checked?

This could happen even due to faulty radiator cap. Check whether there is any signs of leak.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did a flush using the STP brand yesterday. did the following....

1. Drained the old water

2. filled it with the STP or STR (don't remember the brand) radiator flush & topped it up with water

3. ran the engine (with heater fully on) for abt 10 mins

4. drained the flush

5. plugged the garden hose into the radiator & ran the engine for another 5 mins (while drain tap was off so that water from the garden hose will flush the radiator flush completely... :) .. i'm being a bit paranoid i think )

6. STP flush felt like soap to the hand.. so once the water coming out of the drain tap stopped feeling like soap :) .. removed the garden hose, put the drain plug back & filled the radiator with W@rth coolant (1:2 was the recommendation).

7. topped it up this morning when the engine was cold....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

AutoLanka Cars For Sale

Post Your Ad Free [Click Here]



×
×
  • Create New...