Ajp coolant problem

[browrz]

Irregular drip worsened to the extent it needed topping up. Advice at the time suggest the red stuff.
Leak got worse and found it to be hose clip needing tightening. But alls discovered the coolant coming out of the leak was blue!

I presume I should flush and start again?
Does mixing them really cause problems?
Red really best for ajp?

Very much appreciate thoughts

[TimJM]

Flush and start again. If you don't know what the coolant is mixing colours can cause a sludge to form leading to overheating and a blocked rad.

[browrz]

TimJM said:

Flush and start again. If you don't know what the coolant is mixing colours can cause a sludge to form leading to overheating and a blocked rad.

Darn. Have read the manual coolant change procedure but any other advice on the process? Thx

[Tirus]

Slightly raise car at front on ramps if possible.
Fill up coolant tank, undo Rad bleed screw until a nice steady flow comes out ,retighten.

Then undo the driver side bleed screw until the same steady flow ,retighten, then the coolant tank side bleed screw until good flow.
I personally used to pressurise the system first then open up the bleed screws in the above order, when I did it this way I never ever had to redo it as you may when doing it the conventional way, good luck & as ever when working on TVR's take your time!

[TimJM]

I don't know the official procedure but this is how I did it and it seemed to work well.

You should pull off the bottom hose (out the rad joining the other hoses or the one on the thermostat) and let everything drain out. Then refill with plain water, start the car and let it run for a 30 seconds to a minute, turn it off. Pull the bottom hose and let it drain again. Repeat this until you only get water out.

Then fill with 50/50 red OAT and water (I personally use distilled water) until the expansion tank is about 1/3rd full. I also took the top hose of the rad and filled that using a funnel and a hose until it overflows. Leave it for 10-15 minutes and top the expansion back up to 1/3 full.

Then open the rad bleed screw until water comes out. Top the expansion tank back up to 1/3rd full.

Start the engine and keep topping up coolant until it stays around 1/3rd full then put the cap on and go check the temp gauge. You should see some temp building but shut the engine off after 5 minutes or about 60-65 degrees.

Then I left it to cool down for 30 minutes. Bleed the radiator again and then bleed the water rails.

Now top up to 1/3rd full again and start the engine again. This time let the engine get hot to the point the thermostat opens (you can feel it get suddenly hot if you touch the bottom hose on the rad). Now the thermostat is open turn the engine off and let it cool down.

Once cool bleed the radiator and the water rails and top the expansion tank back up to 1/3rd.

I then bled the radiator and the water rails each morning (I was driving it daily) until no more air came out of the radiator or water rails. This took about three days will only tiny amounts of air coming out until on the third day just water came out from the rad and water rails.

It sounds long winded but that is what I did and I have had no issues will the coolant system.

[pmessling]

The owners handbook says carplan bluestar which is what I have used. I use a pressure tester to do the bleeding. Makes life so much easier and safer. Then the last bit can be done with it up to temp