Gram Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I am led to believe that the colour of engine coolant is either red, blue or green. However, the stuff in the 3 litre 160 Hdi engine of my 2009 Symbol is orange! So, what should I top it up with? All sensible suggestions gratefully received. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Look in your manual. Nearly all modern engines after 1998 with a lot of aluminium components use O-A-T coolant. Halfords sell it and it is orange. Dilute it with distilled water, to save furring up your system. Do not mix blue or green (ethylene glycol) with Organic Acid Technology coolant as they are not compatible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Nothing if it is the original antifreeze, you should not be topping it up as it is now 5 years old and needs changing. Use a red antifreeze meeting or exceeding Fiat specifications. Comma Super Longlife red is suitable which is a reasonable price.( concentrated and dilute with demineralised water usually works out cheaper). You will find after 5 years the Comma red has changed from a fluorscent pinkish colour to orange when it is due to be changed again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Just had a look, Halfords standard OATS antifreeze is made by Comma and looks like it is it identical to Comma Superlonglife Red ...might have a different colour dye, but if so then this is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gram Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 Thanks very much to you both. Peter, my manual tells me to check the level of the coolant and top it up using ' the fluid recommended by the manufacturer'. It doesn't tell me with what to top it up and nowhere in the Handbook or the Service Record does it state the manufacturer's recommendation! Brambles, the service schedule for my Boxer makes no mention of replacing the coolant. From what you say, my coolant could have been a flourescent pinkish colour when it started life. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Get a coolant tester for less than a fiver and test it. Don't drain the coolant unless you've checked out how to bleed the system upon refilling, or you could have airlocks causing potentially catastrophic overheating issues. Test it and if it's still o/k, leave it alone, as refilling can be quite tedious on some engines. By all means top it up if required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Peter, I give up, I have said what is required. You are just checking the specific gravity for anti freezing properties. Now what about the anti corrosion and anti pump wear properties which is the reason for changing at 5 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 So do I. I'm just pointing him to the correct coolant to use, as was his original question. Anything else is just friendly advice and can be ignored if desired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Apologies if I was a tad rude last night Peter. Organinic additive technology anyfreezes degrade in the engine by the Glycol compunds breaking down and forming Fornic acid and lowers the PH of the fluid. If teh Ph is to low then teh anticorrision proporties will be lost an dif to much acidic then corrosion is accellerated causing errosion of water pump bearings, head gaskets etc., and not least radiators. People often refer to them as organic acid and not additive technology because the carboxylates which are used for protection are derived from carboxylic acids. There are basically three types of antifreeze. Oats silicate free (often Orange or Red ) Hybrid OATS which has some silicates (Often purple) And Silicate based. (green) Ducato and Boxer engines require the 1st one - silicate free OATS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Corrected spelling mistakes and typos in last post ----- Organic additive technology antifreeze degrades in the engine by the Ethylene Glycol compounds breaking down and forming formic acid and lowers the PH of the fluid. If the PH is too low then the anticorrision properties will be lost and if too much acid then corrosion is accelerated causing errosion of water pump bearings, head gaskets etc., and not least radiators. People often refer to them as organic acid and not additive technology because the carboxylates which are used for protection are derived and produced from carboxylic acids. There are basically three types of antifreeze. Oats silicate free (often Orange or Red ) Hybrid OATS which is as above but has some silicates (Often purple) And Silicate based. (green) Ducato and Boxer engines require the 1st one - silicate free OATS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Blimey Brambles.........I didn't realise it degraded that much. I'll have to change mine soon, as it's now 5 Yrs old. Thanks for the heads up. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gram Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 Thanks for the explanation, Brambles. I'm sure you won't mind me asking - how do you know this stuff? G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.