coolant question

GullibleOne

What is the difference between blue and red coolant. There is blue in my car, halfway between the markers when the car is cold as in book.

But it is there since last year so should i change it and if so how do i get out the old coolant? Will any coolant do?

sanbrafyffe

to be quiet honest i dont think it really matters,,if i buy second hand i normally go witht he same colour,,my was red last,,,changed water pump,,now theres blue,,no problem at all,,,all it is is water that had a certain adative added for colour and not to freeze till over a certain temperature,,,im using stuff now that it has to be over -26 to freeze,,,probably will never see that hear unless i drove to russia

Waterson

Its bad practice to mix blue and red. One is ethylene glycol based one is propylene glycol based (if I remember correctly from college). Mixing them together often causes the coolant to sludge up which can cause blockages and problems with overheating. I have seen this especially in Volkswagen group cars. With regards to draining and eplacing coolant, as a rule it should be done every 5 years and each car has a different way to go about it, but usually the procedure runs thus:
1) Run car up to temperature so that the thermostat opens.
2) Jack car up. Switch engine off. Drain coolant via radiator drainplug/remove lower rad coolant hose and dain ccolant into suitable container. BEWARE hot!
3) Replace drain plug/hose and fill system with a 50/50 mix of antofreeze solution and water.
4) Run up to temp with coolant expansion tank cap removed. Move interior heater to hot to run coolant through the cabin heater matrix.
5) Different manufacturers have different methods of bleeding air from the system, best to Google what yours is.
6) Once rad fan kicks in, turn off vehicle, wait for engine to cool and then top up expansion tank between max and min marks.
7) take her for a run then check for leaks.

GullibleOne

I saw this in Tesco says is compatible with red and blue coolant

Update: Apparently they were sued over those claims

Nissan doctor

People go on about the colours but they are actually only of relevance if you are buying coolant from the manufacturer of your car.

Every car manufacturer uses different colours for OE coolant and every Coolant manufacturer uses different colours when selling aftermarket. The colour does NOT automatically represent a specific type of coolant.

On modern cars/engines, coolant is as varied as engine oil and manufacturers use various additives to suit their respective cooling systems.

Coolant and antifreeze are also different things so if buying cheap generic coolants you need to be sure that they actually contain antifreeze.

dieselbug

The question of antifreeze, coolant, is getting as confusing as engine oils imo.

Colours mean nothing. As far as I understand, the only antifreeze thats safe to use without worrying about mixing is one thats HOAT standard (hybrid organic acid technology I think). But when I make enquiries, Im met with blank stares.

Ronnie Beck

dieselbug wrote: »

HOAT (standard hybrid organic acid technology)?

Is that the G12++ or G13 or whatever it's called?