antifreeze in car

alanhiggyno1

hi just wondering if u can put antifreeze in a 99 opel astra now that the freezing winter is upon us..any help would be great..if so where should i put it..

MarkR

It goes in the radiator. Should be a small twisting cap with a warning about not opening it when it is hot. You can get a little testing kit in halfords etc which can tell you whether you have enough/too much antifreeze in the mix.

alanhiggyno1

cool cheers mate

MarkoC

If never done before, maybe you ask some friend over to help you who knows something about the cars ?

1st you should release the lowest plug or hose in your coolant system to get the existing micture out, then i would NOT look for the radiator, on modern cars there expansion tank which should be half full or to the mark it shows on the tank when all the system is full.

After changing coolant, keep engine running for roughly 10 min. Let the system cool down and top up the tank again to recommended mark on the tank.

biko

Indeed, if you're not sure, ask a friend that has done it before.
You can't just put any coolant in, it should be the same type as is already in the system.
It should also be diluted with water, again this depends on what coolant you use.

Are you low on coolant now?
What colour is the coolant already in the car?

pm.

biko wrote: »

You can't just put any coolant in, it should be the same type as is already in the system.

thats news to me why not ? is it not all the same i know you can get red and blue but taught it did the same job

biko

Yeah it's not a biggie but while it is not good maintenance practice to mix two different coolants, it will not result in compatibility issues as long as coolants from high-quality, reputable suppliers are used.
Coolants are generally considered to be compatible, however, mixing coolants of two different qualities results in a mixture of intermediate quality.
While not a disaster, mixing a great coolant with a mediocre coolant will result in a coolant with something of less than great performance.
Overdilution with water would have a negative effect, because the corrosion inhibitors would be present in the engine at quantities lower than originally designed. Coolants are designed to work over a range of dilutions. The optimum for most coolant systems is 50 percent coolant and 50 percent good-quality water, and in general coolants are designed to tolerate dilution down to about 40 percent concentrate and 60 percent water.

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pm.

thanks Biko