Coolant Worth Changing and how much?

Woofstuff

I have a mitsubishi colt 1litre car and am wondering do i really need to change the engine coolant.

I noticed on the service book it says it should be done after 60,000km, 97,000km or so on the vehicle now.

Only bought the car in july and theres no previous record of it being done.

Its a 2005 model so its 6 nearly 7 years old now. I actually bought the stuff to do it myself (comma xstream and halfords battery water) without realising that id have to be screwing off a panel underneath and jacking up the car as its very low to the ground.

Car is not due an oil change for another 12000km or so or next august... is it worthwhile bringing my stuff to a garage to do it labour only?
or will i just wait untill the next service.?

Basically just wanna know how urgent is it really to do this job and if i delay it anymore will it reduce the life of the engine??

biko

It is the original stuff in car now?
If I was you I'd do it now before the winter.

The ratio coolant/water could be way off (prev owner topping up with water only) and the engine could freeze. Probably won't happen but better safe...

Woofstuff

biko wrote: »

It is the original stuff in car now?
If I was you I'd do it now before the winter.

Id say its the original stuff yeah.. may as well just do itll be cheap anyway.. was gonna try do it myself but i aint no mechanic and dont fancy getting under the car!

biko

It's an easy job so you should be able to DIY - or ring a local mech and ask how much for labour since you have the stuff.
Shouldn't be much at all.

Your local recycling centre will take the old stuff, don't pour it in the toilet, and keep away from pets and children.

johndaman66

Woofstuff wrote: »

Its a 2005 model so its 6 nearly 7 years old now. I actually bought the stuff to do it myself (comma xstream and halfords battery water) without realising that id have to be screwing off a panel underneath and jacking up the car as its very low to the ground.

My own is a lot handier with a small plastic bolt on the bottom of the rad, no need to jack up the car or anything like that. If it is a job you are attacking yourself be very careful to avoid airlocks. Some cars seem to be more suspectable to getting airlocks in the cooling system than others. Lots of info out there on the net on avoiding them.

Woofstuff wrote: »

Basically just wanna know how urgent is it really to do this job and if i delay it anymore will it reduce the life of the engine??

I would suppose some peoples definition of urgent differs from that of others. If the weather stays mild you should probably be ok but if it dips below zero celcius then you might be in a spot of bother alright. Trying not to be a doom and gloom merchant but I did hear from a few people that there is a cold spell expected in October. Hard to imagine now maybe but such is our bizzare Irish weather

biko wrote: »

The ratio coolant/water could be way off (prev owner topping up with water only) and the engine could freeze. Probably won't happen but better safe...

Many cars do consume oil, some more than others but assuming there are no problems with the cars cooling system, pipework, waterpump, radiator and all pressurized, or Headgasket problems I would not expect a car to consume coolant

AndrewBond

Additives containing in coolant wears off with time, so even if it was not diluted with water due to leaks etc. it becomes corrosive and damages engine from inside. Also it causes scale deposits to build-up making cooling system less efficient and clogging radiator. It does not happen overnight, but regular coolant change is recommended. Cheaper coolant is not long-life stuff and should be changed every 2 years as opposed to long-life coolants that lasts up to 5 years.

Woofstuff

Ok i got a garage to change the coolant with the stuff i bought. but now im not happy with the amount of antifreeze they used.. i thought a 50/50 mix was used....

According to the manual the car holds 4.2litres of coolant including 0.6 in the reserve tank...

Judging by the levels left in the 5litre containers they used about 1.2litres of antifreeze and 3 litres of the ionized water (photos below - taken on a shed shelf so should be level)

Thats a mixture of 28.6/71.4... 1.2litres/4.2litres total = 28.6%.... surely they should of used more antifreeze than this...

I didnt bother specifying a mixture when i left the car in as i assumed theyd get the mix right.

Now should i ring these guys or not? or could just add a bit of antifreeze?


IMG_20111026_145007 by woofstuff2, on Flickr


IMG_20111026_145034 by woofstuff2, on Flickr

Woofstuff

Woofstuff wrote: »

...............

Thats a mixture of 28.6/71.4... 1.2litres/4.2litres total = 28.6%.... surely they should of used more antifreeze than this... ...............

Read what the container says, it will advise what mix is required for certain temps.

Advance quoted me €25 for a coolant change, I would doubt that was for an OAT change though but for the blue stuff it seems reasonable.

mickdw

Maybe they just let out a bit and topped up with your stuff. This would be a poor effort.
Does your colant look clean now or is it a brown mess?

Edit: Just realised you also gave them the water. Maybe they did do it right. What concentration does the container say?

I'd say 30% mix would protect to a decent bit below freezing for most makes to be honest, might well be ok.

Woofstuff

I put the antifreeze on the kitchen table and its suggests theres 3.6litres left in it,, so if they used 1.4litres of antifreeze thats a 33% mix 1.4/4.2

well i got this info from a brochure about the particular antifreeze i used

PROTECTION LEVELS / DILUTION CHART

Xstream® G48® (%) Approx. Protection (°C)
33%.........................-18C
50%........................ -36C
60%......................... -52C

So im guessing its fine since the lowest the lowest air temperature recorded was -19.1°C measured at Markree Castle, Co. Sligo on 16th January 1881 according to this site :pac: http://www.met.ie/climate/temperature.asp

coylemj

Looks like the garage got it right, protection down to -18 C will do nicely.

Woofstuff

Thats grand.. so ive all this antifreeze left over... will it still be good when it comes to changing the coolant in 3years time or will i give it to someone else. (assuming i still have the car then haha)

It says shelf life of 5 years... but if you open the bottle does this change things??

Hal1

Get yourself an antifreeze tester, I got one off ebay.

mickdw

Spot on so for -18.

Woofstuff

yeah still wish they put a bit more antifreeze tho.

sean1141

suck some out and put in more antifreez if it makes you feel better

mbiking123

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlNJDy_bZDE

may be of some help

regards