how to add coolant?

[svt ricco]

can someone teach me how to top off my water coolant container? what level the coolant should be at? and, do you just top off the reservoir or do i also have to do the radiator?

p.s.
is it ok to use just water or do i still need to buy coolant

thanks in advance

[Espresso]

1st question you have to ask yourself......

Why is it low enough to where you have to add that much.

You just top it off in the resivior. There is a Min & MAX line. MAX is where it should be when the system is HOT & pressurized. Min. is where it should be cold.

[JRE320]

You still have to put some coolant.

[69chevelle]

Someone told me also to use only distilled water, not tap water to add to your radiator..

[Nelson Lago]

i think its the outher way aroud

[rman]

Originally posted by Nelson Lago
i think its the outher way aroud

no it IS distilled water.

What exactly have you covered in Automotive School? Not trying to be a dick or anything, I am just wondering what coursework they offer and what you have taken thus far. It seems that there is a lot of information left unknown and I'd hate to think that your school isn't teching you the fundamentals.

[Nelson Lago]

well it doesnt really matter because tap water will only do damage if it's left in the system for a long peroid of time, but the dealer is hopeing that you would change it. And it might depend i what color coolant the car uses.

[svt ricco]

hold it guys!!! you're confusing me again... do i do 50/50 with water and coolant? or 100%water? or 100% coolant? remember i'm not doing a flush, i just want to add

[Nelson Lago]

50%/50%

[rman]

Here's the real answer

It's 50/50 coolant/distilled water. Under no circumstances should you use normal water. It will corrode and break down the coolant much sooner than your next flush is due.


ALMOST every place nowadays sells the 50/50 pre-mixed. Just walk into a Vato Zone or Kragen, whatever, and ask them for some pre-mix.

It doesn't matter if you are using green, dex-cool, the gold chrylser stuff, it's ALWAYS DISTILLED WATER.
I belive the 202s use green anyhow.

I'm old-skool and I use green, mixed with Distilled water. Since I live in SoCal, I only use 25% coolant and the 75% distilled. No freezing here!

[svt ricco]

thanks man! i'm going to check out autozone for some pre-mix...btw, is there a mb specific water/coolant?

[Espresso]

water wetter & distilled water....
F*%K anti-freeze....as long as you do not live in cold climates, as it will still freeze @ 0deg (32 deg)

I havent used antifreeze in about 10 years. Even when I was in Japan(Northern). During the Summer it was a water wetter type deal( a Japanese name brand that excapes my mind at the moment) & water. During the winter, switch to antifreeze.

[rman]

water wetter is some good shit too! I will probably switch to that on my next flush.

[svt ricco]

ok now... so you guys are saying water wetter + distilled water? am i getting it right? is it 50/50 mixture?

[Renn 208]

Let's tackle this topic in a different way:

1. Antifreeze/Coolant...is actually just Anti-freeze (okay, so there are some anti-corrosion components as well). You add it to your reservoir to prevent the final mix from freezing in cold temperatures.

2. The real coolant is water. This is what transfers heat and actually keeps your engine cool.

Why is it important to get the mix right? Too much antifreeze, and you reduce the water's ability to to cool the engine. Result, overheating...bad stuff.

Too much water...and if you're in a freezing temp area, your water might freeze. That's not so good either.

Not in a freezing temp area? Guess what...too much water isn't such a big deal. Based on that...what would be the safer thing to "top off"?

edit: re: water wetter...svt, just check the directions...it's not a 50/50 mix...closer to 3%

[nokia8860]

Just wanted to add on what Renn had posted. Water has a boiling point of 212 F (100 C if youre looking at the gauge of your car). Put water under pressure like in a closed cooling system of a car or even your standard home pressure cooker you raise the boiling point of water even further.

Without getting into the difference between Coolant and Anti freeze (we’ll just call it coolant in this example) Coolant helps further extend the heat transferability of water as well as help lower the freezing point of water ~-32F.

But as Renn pointed out too much Coolant will actually hinder the waters ability to transfer heat efficiently. And too little, depending on region, you’d freeze it solid.

There are little kits you can buy to make sure you have the right amount of each you can buy. I believe Prestone makes such a kit.

Also on the subject of distilled v. tap.

Distilled water does not contain any minerals which sometimes find there way around your cooling system then turn corrosive. But is it true? Personally, I don’t know. But at 90 cents a gallon I would rather go on the side of caution. The coolant cost more than the water. Water wetter cost more than the water.

And speaking of Water wetter. Red line states that it too can extend the heat transferability of water. They even go as far as to say that used without coolant the heat transferability goes up even further! Is this true, who knows?

What do I run? I did a test this past summer actually, AC on, stop and go city commute traffic..

Temps where a good 110 – 115 for the summer (its gets really hot where I live) we’re talking its 95 F when you wake up in the morning.

For the first 1.5 months It was 75% distilled water 25% MB coolant and a bottle of water wetter. (We’ll call the mark between 80 and 120 C 100 for discussion purpose.) Gauge was a tick or 2 below 100.

Second half of the summer temps still about the same range. 100% distilled water 1 bottle of water wetter. Results, the same.

Could the results be because I was always on the high side of water anyways? Who knows. But one things for sure, flushing your system is so easy you can do it in less than the time it takes to bake brownies in the oven. So experiment on what works best for your climate. Or if you just don’t have the time 50/50 it all the way!

[rman]

Originally posted by nokia8860
Also on the subject of distilled v. tap.

Distilled water does not contain any minerals which sometimes find there way around your cooling system then turn corrosive. But is it true? Personally, I don’t know. But at 90 cents a gallon I would rather go on the side of caution.

Very true, distilled water is DIRT CHEAP. but do not drink it.


As far as corrosion is concerned, I have seen some really, really nasty cooling systems. I've seen the coolant/antifreeze reservoirs look like they were filled with mud. But that's mostly the coolant/antifreeze turning into sludge.

The corrosion is the nasty part that wreaks havoc in the cooling system. I have seen radiator caps corroded on, radiators breaking at the area where hoses mount, etc.

It's easy enough to flush it often enough so that it does not become an issue. But on that note, we could all use piss-quality oil and change it every 500 miles. My point? It pays to do things right.

Also remember - a radiator/cooling hose can look brand spankin' new and bust the next second. Hoses deteriorate and break down from the insides.

[svt ricco]

thank you guys for your informative replies...just to let you guys know, my car doesn't reach 100 and the car is running like new. i just wanted to know how you guys top off your rides. club202 is the bomb!!

[nokia8860]

I would rather top off with water than coolant. Just unscrew the coolant cap and add. But do then with the engine cold and not just after driving.. that is unless of course you like being burnt by boiling water.

[hvmercy]

nokia: you did a DIY article about this
2 years ago.

http://www.club202.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6993

[trymonlam]

hmm...
that reminds me, i need to change my coolant. it's been a while.
is it possible that i might be able to do this with a topsider? i live in a apartment and the car's kept at the parking building where i don't own a jack. it would be problematic for me to get to the drain plug.

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by trymonlam
hmm...
that reminds me, i need to change my coolant. it's been a while.
is it possible that i might be able to do this with a topsider? i live in a apartment and the car's kept at the parking building where i don't own a jack. it would be problematic for me to get to the drain plug.

is your car super duper low? Even on my lowered car, the drain isn't difficult to get to.

[trymonlam]

it's not super low, but i got a rieger front. that made it kinda low.
hmm... don't i have to remove the belly plate to get to the plug? can i do this while the car sits on the ground?
i intend to buy a topsider sometime this week. can i use that to do this?

[OzC36]

Coolant is obviously used to provide heat transfer medium to take heat away from the engine to help maintain the most operationally efficient temperature.

Tap water would be ideal cooling medium except it freezes at low temperatures and depending on minerals and acidity contained in the water, will cause corrosion in the metals of the engine system.

To fix the freezing problem, additives such as ethylene glycol are mixed to reduce the freeze point of the coolant to hopefully below the minimum outside ambient temperatures encountered by the vehicle.

To fix the corrosion problem, distilled or demineralised water is used as a base fluid to prevent unwanted contaminants or high acidity level (low ph) to cause problems. To this base fluid, many different additives are mixed, depending on the metals that make up the engine and cooling system components. These Vehicle Manufacturer specific additives are corrosion inhibitors especially suited to protect the metals of their particular engines.

There are specific coolants designed for certain applications and there are generics as well. Ensure that the manufacturer's recommended coolant type is used when refilling.

After a period of time, these additives lose their effectiveness and the coolant should be drained flushed and replaced with fresh coolant. Refer to the coolant or vehicle manufacturers' recommendations for coolant change intervals.

Sounds boring? Yep, it is until you suffer the consequences of nil compliance!

[nokia8860]

Originally posted by trymonlam

i intend to buy a topsider sometime this week. can i use that to do this?

While I have used a topsider for oil changes in the past I have never used one for a coolant flush. But I would imagine it wouldn’t be completely efficient to drain the engine block and the heater core.

You would still need to reach under your car to drain the radiator anyways so your best bet to do a compete coolant flush is to purchase a floor jack/stands. If you like working on your car you will be using these more than once so they will pay for itself after a few usages.

However, check with your local apartment hoa to see if they allow auto work to be performed in your parking space.

[svt ricco]

what's a topsider?

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by svt ricco
what's a topsider?

http://www.amazon.com/Northern-Tool-and-Equipment-Liquivac/dp/B0000AXBO5

[svt ricco]

thanks ren