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Coolant question

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  • 20-02-2019 12:22pm
    #1
    artvanderlay
    Registered Users Posts: 2,198 ✭✭✭


    Hi,


    I'm driving my brothers car while he is away for a few months. I just noticed that his coolant is a little below the minimum level. Can I add any coolant to it or does it have to be a specific one? The coolant in it is pink, but I was looking at one in Tesco yesterday that wasn't pink; could I mix that in without causing any damage? A simple question I'm sure, but thanks for any advice (it's a 04 Seat Arosa btw).


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    #2
    Atlantic Dawn
    Registered Users Posts: 81,312 ✭✭✭✭Atlantic Dawn
    M


    You need to add pink coolant, never mix them.

    Guide here (chap is a little loud but info is good :pac: )...
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYX4kRaOvTM


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    #3
    jmreire
    Registered Users Posts: 8,317 ✭✭✭jmreire


    artvanderlay wrote: »
    Hi,


    I'm driving my brothers car while he is away for a few months. I just noticed that his coolant is a little below the minimum level. Can I add any coolant to it or does it have to be a specific one? The coolant in it is pink, but I was looking at one in Tesco yesterday that wasn't pink; could I mix that in without causing any damage? A simple question I'm sure, but thanks for any advice (it's a 04 Seat Arosa btw).

    If it's only a small amount , 1/4- litre or a little bit more...ordinary tap water will do ( if you are really fussy, you can get distilled water in any chemists ) Otherwise, check what is the specific anti freeze for the car, local Seat garage will be able to help here. Nowadays, its the chemical composition of the antifreeze that matters, not the colour. But mixing different anti-freeze together, can damage the engine. It forms a gel, which can block the flow of the coolant, which in turn can cause overheating. Once this happens, it can be the devil of a job to clean it out of the system.


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    #4
    w211
    Closed Accounts Posts: 416 ✭✭w211


    Never ever use tap water on the car cooling system. Even 1/4l tap water have a load of minerals what reduces your car cooling properties.


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    #5
    corks finest
    Registered Users Posts: 8,636 ✭✭✭corks finest


    w211 wrote: »
    Never ever use tap water on the car cooling system. Even 1/4l tap water have a load of minerals what reduces your car cooling properties.
    Thought if it's boiled and cooled it's distilled


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    #6
    A Law
    Registered Users Posts: 878 ✭✭✭A Law


    Use Prestone. Can mix with any colour.


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    #7
    w211
    Closed Accounts Posts: 416 ✭✭w211


    corks finest wrote: »
    Thought if it's boiled and cooled it's distilled
    The boiling and cooling is not distilling. Example the kettle does not distill the water.


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    #8
    jmreire
    Registered Users Posts: 8,317 ✭✭✭jmreire


    w211 wrote: »
    Never ever use tap water on the car cooling system. Even 1/4l tap water have a load of minerals what reduces your car cooling properties.

    Well, I did mention to use distilled water too in my post.... and in the past, I have used ordinary tap water, without any problems. But I have seen what mixing different kinds of antifreeze can do, and it's not pretty. Even the so-called " Universal Antifreeze" supposed to be mixable with any antifreeze, I would not use. In the case where there is a bad leak, and you have to drive the car home, I would have no hesitation whatsoever using ordinary tap water.... it often got me out of a tight spot. But otherwise, I would only use the manufacturers approved Anti-Freeze.. Recently I did a complete flush and change with the recommended antifreeze, rather than top it up, as I was not sure what was in the system. But now I know for sure in this case that its the proper antifreeze for that particular car. Job done. This is only my own personal opinion, but I know that others will have their own experience's too so its up to the individual to do as he / she thinks best under the circumstances.


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    #9
    corks finest
    Registered Users Posts: 8,636 ✭✭✭corks finest


    jmreire wrote: »
    w211 wrote: »
    Never ever use tap water on the car cooling system. Even 1/4l tap water have a load of minerals what reduces your car cooling properties.

    Well, I did mention to use distilled water too in my post.... and in the past, I have used ordinary tap water, without any problems. But I have seen what mixing different kinds of antifreeze can do, and it's not pretty. Even the so-called " Universal Antifreeze" supposed to be mixable with any antifreeze, I would not use. In the case where there is a bad leak, and you have to drive the car home, I would have no hesitation whatsoever using ordinary tap water.... it often got me out of a tight spot. But otherwise, I would only use the manufacturers approved Anti-Freeze.. Recently I did a complete flush and change with the recommended antifreeze, rather than top it up, as I was not sure what was in the system. But now I know for sure in this case that its the proper antifreeze for that particular car. Job done. This is only my own personal opinion, but I know that others will have their own experience's too so its up to the individual to do as he / she thinks best under the circumstances.
    Complete flush is the job, going to give it a lash soon as some decent weather comes


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    #10
    jmreire
    Registered Users Posts: 8,317 ✭✭✭jmreire


    corks finest wrote: »
    Thought if it's boiled and cooled it's distilled

    Not quite, if you put a pipe on the kettle spout and place the pipe in a glass or metal ( copper ) container, the steam generated in the kettle when it boils will travel down the pipe into the container, and when it cool's it condenses back into water again, and that's distilled water. But using just boiled and cooled water will not hurt the system either.....it's just ordinary water.


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    #11
    w211
    Closed Accounts Posts: 416 ✭✭w211


    Yes it hurts because the tap water contains the minerals. All these minerals makes your car cooling system inefficient. The next time please look inside the kettle, what mess are there.


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    #12
    antodeco
    Registered Users, Subscribers Posts: 13,434 ✭✭✭✭antodeco


    joefuss1986 wrote: »
    Use Prestone. Can mix with any colour.

    I use this. I've 5 cars with a mix of every type of coolant, so easier to just buy the one for them all!


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    #13
    jimgoose
    Registered Users Posts: 20,175 ✭✭✭✭jimgoose


    w211 wrote: »
    Yes it hurts because the tap water contains the minerals. All these minerals makes your car cooling system inefficient. The next time please look inside the kettle, what mess are there.

    OAT/HOAT coolants, most of which are pink and based on the original Chevron "DEX-cool" tack, contain additives that, among other things, neutralise calcium in water. Small amounts of tap-water don't do any harm these days.


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    #14
    artvanderlay
    Registered Users Posts: 2,198 ✭✭✭artvanderlay


    Cool. Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to go with Prestone :)


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    #15
    jmreire
    Registered Users Posts: 8,317 ✭✭✭jmreire


    w211 wrote: »
    Yes it hurts because the tap water contains the minerals. All these minerals makes your car cooling system inefficient. The next time please look inside the kettle, what mess are there.

    w211, I understand very well what can happen to electric kettle's, washing machines etc in areas where there is a lot of lime in the water...it cause's furring, but even then, it's a process that can take a year or two or even more. You can't compare adding 1/4 or 1/2 litre of tap water to a car radiator having the same effect.
    The OP is only asking if its Ok to top up a small amount, and now he is doing a complete flush and change, so it's not a problem.


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    #16
    artvanderlay
    Registered Users Posts: 2,198 ✭✭✭artvanderlay


    I'm not going to do a complete flush; I'm just going to top up with some Prestone, which can be used in any car apparently. I hope that's okay? :confused:


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    #17
    XLR 8
    Registered Users Posts: 194 ✭✭XLR 8


    artvanderlay wrote: »
    Hi,


    I'm driving my brothers car while he is away for a few months. I just noticed that his coolant is a little below the minimum level. Can I add any coolant to it or does it have to be a specific one? The coolant in it is pink, but I was looking at one in Tesco yesterday that wasn't pink; could I mix that in without causing any damage? A simple question I'm sure, but thanks for any advice (it's a 04 Seat Arosa btw).

    They colour the coolant for a reason. Some engines run hotter than others under various circumstances. Coolant is as specific to a make and model of car as is the oil. Depending on the make and model some levels can only be checked with a cold engine. The coolant migrates back into the expansion tank over time as the engine cools. Best to check manual.


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    #18
    jmreire
    Registered Users Posts: 8,317 ✭✭✭jmreire


    jimgoose wrote: »
    OAT/HOAT coolants, most of which are pink and based on the original Chevron "DEX-cool" tack, contain additives that, among other things, neutralise calcium in water. Small amounts of tap-water don't do any harm these days.

    Yes jimgoose, you are right, and these "OAT/ HOAT " coolants are the very ones that you have to be very carefull NOT to mix with other " Breed's" of antifreeze.
    It's no longer the case where you can top up with just any antifreeze. You have to check that the anti-freeze is compatible with the engine in your car. And the vehicle manufacturers are very specific about this.


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    #19
    w211
    Closed Accounts Posts: 416 ✭✭w211


    jmreire wrote: »
    w211, I understand very well what can happen to electric kettle's, washing machines etc in areas where there is a lot of lime in the water...it cause's furring, but even then, it's a process that can take a year or two or even more. You can't compare adding 1/4 or 1/2 litre of tap water to a car radiator having the same effect.
    The OP is only asking if its Ok to top up a small amount, and now he is doing a complete flush and change, so it's not a problem.
    The small problem here, the small problem there and the end result will be the junk car. Too many new cars goes to the junkyard thanks that "small problem" attitude. Yes the 5-10 years old car are almost new, because the normal car life cycle can be well over 20-30 year.


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    #20
    jimgoose
    Registered Users Posts: 20,175 ✭✭✭✭jimgoose


    jmreire wrote: »
    Yes jimgoose, you are right, and these "OAT/ HOAT " coolants are the very ones that you have to be very carefull NOT to mix with other " Breed's" of antifreeze.
    It's no longer the case where you can top up with just any antifreeze. You have to check that the anti-freeze is compatible with the engine in your car. And the vehicle manufacturers are very specific about this.

    H/OAT shouldn't be mixed with the old-style glycol-based antifreeze, no. That stuff is usually blue and getting quite rare. The OP will be safe enough with Prestone universal, anyway.


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    #21
    jmreire
    Registered Users Posts: 8,317 ✭✭✭jmreire


    w211 wrote: »
    The small problem here, the small problem there and the end result will be the junk car. Too many new cars goes to the junkyard thanks that "small problem" attitude. Yes the 5-10 years old car are almost new, because the normal car life cycle can be well over 20-30 year.

    w211.....I have been around cars all my life...but I have never seen a car having to go to the junk yard because it was occasionally topped up with a small amount of tap water.......however, I have seen engines junked because the wrong antifreeze was used in top ups, or because additives were used.


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    #22
    jmreire
    Registered Users Posts: 8,317 ✭✭✭jmreire


    XLR 8 wrote: »
    They colour the coolant for a reason. Some engines run hotter than others under various circumstances. Coolant is as specific to a make and model of car as is the oil. Depending on the make and model some levels can only be checked with a cold engine. The coolant migrates back into the expansion tank over time as the engine cools. Best to check manual.

    Yes XLR 8...you are right about there being a specific antifreeze for a given engine....it has come a long way from the time you could basically mix anything with what ever was already in the system. But nowadays, it's not going so much regarding the colour....it's the chemical composition that counts. Personally, I would not go by colour alone , different antifreeze manufacturers make the same ( chemically speaking) product, but may use different colours. Checking the coolant level can only be done on a cold engine...I saw an apprentice getting badly burned when he mistakenly opened the radiator cap on a hot engine.


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    #23
    XLR 8
    Registered Users Posts: 194 ✭✭XLR 8


    jmreire wrote: »
    Yes XLR 8...you are right about there being a specific antifreeze for a given engine....it has come a long way from the time you could basically mix anything with what ever was already in the system. But nowadays, it's not going so much regarding the colour....it's the chemical composition that counts. Personally, I would not go by colour alone , different antifreeze manufacturers make the same ( chemically speaking) product, but may use different colours. Checking the coolant level can only be done on a cold engine...I saw an apprentice getting badly burned when he mistakenly opened the radiator cap on a hot engine.

    I was referring to a visual check and some can be checked while warm. I never mentioned removal of anything.


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    #24
    jmreire
    Registered Users Posts: 8,317 ✭✭✭jmreire


    XLR 8 wrote: »
    I was referring to a visual check and some can be checked while warm. I never mentioned removal of anything.

    That comment about not opening a hot coolant system was for the benefit of anyone here on the forum who might not have good mechanical skills,and might not be aware of what can happen when a hot radiator cap or expansion vessal is opened. Personally, with the exception of ATF fluids, I check all liquids only when the car is cold. As you said, the water level can be checked visually, regardless of the temperature of the engine.


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