Engine Coolant

[tom_burnley]

Pop quiz....

What brand of Coolant is the orangy stuff that I am currently in need of to top up the liz.

I'm guessing that its not "Halford's Own" - I saw unipart superplus2 - but I think thats the greeny one that's no longer used. I remember chemistry/art and mixing colours , not usually too clever.

Please help
Ta

[Arno]

How old is your Elise? Did the coolant ever get flushed/renewed?

From around middle 2002 all S2's are filled with OAT coolant like most other production cars on the road.

This is often signalled by a round warning label around the filler neck of the expansion tank.

OAT is usually reddish/pink or yellow/orange in colour.

The older SuperPlus-2 coolant type was a bright green colour and 'generic' types of this coolant are often blue.

You should *not* mix the new OAT with the older style coolant as it will form a sludge in the cooling system that can clog up your radiator and heater.

Bye, Arno.

[tom_burnley]

Ah - ha

I was waiting for your answer Arno - as Mr Elise-Knowledge you're word is usually good.

I've got an SVA Sport 160 ( 2000 ) so not OAT's there - I guess that makes me superplus2 - but I thought that was greeny-yellow.... not the orangey colour of mine.

If its just a case of dye change then that's fine but I don't want to screw up the engine....

I don't think its ever been flushed

[apprentice]

Treat yourself to a colonic - just to be sure Tom!

[tom_burnley]

Is it easy to do yourself???

[Arno]

tom_burnley said:

I've got an SVA Sport 160 ( 2000 ) so not OAT's there - I guess that makes me superplus2 - but I thought that was greeny-yellow.... not the orangey colour of mine.

Yep.. Have you had the car from new (1st owner) or as a used car?

If you have had it from new and indeed it has never been been flushed then it has to be the 'old style' coolant.

Just wondering though.. How much do you want to add and why?

Most Elises run around the 'min' mark on the expansion bottle when cold. The manual actually refers to this as the 'cold' level. It usually rises to around (or over) 'MAX' when hot.

If you fill it to MAX then most cars will slowly eject the additional coolant and re-settle back to a certain level (usually around 'MIN')

Adding only a little can also be done with plain water. If you have very hard (calcium rich) tap water then you can also use de-ionized water. It won't change much about the coolant-water balance.

If the level is dropping significantly you have to start wondering where it's going.. Could be a leak (usually a bad hose-clip) or the more serious problems like an intake manifold leak or (the really bad one) a HGF...

Bye, Arno.

[tom_burnley]

Arno,

Second owner - though I am pretty certain that its not been flushed ( I asked at HAydons - last service )

Arno said:

Just wondering though.. How much do you want to add and why? Most Elises run around the 'min' mark on the expansion bottle when cold. The manual actually refers to this as the 'cold' level. It usually rises to around (or over) 'MAX' when hot. If you fill it to MAX then most cars will slowly eject the additional coolant and re-settle back to a certain level (usually around 'MIN') Adding only a little can also be done with plain water. If you have very hard (calcium rich) tap water then you can also use de-ionized water. It won't change much about the coolant-water balance.

Been adding water over this time ( about 1/4 pint over 2 months - so not much ) - I read that that was 'allowed'. I was worried that I'll slowly dilute too far, I'm a little below 'cold' as it stands - and no-where near 'hot' when at 87.

No mayonnaise anywhere - so I'm hoping its not HGF. Maybe a leak somewhere - specially now its hot - pressure build up somewhere??

I'm going to ring Haydons and ask them what coolant they think, but I think they'll say Unipart Superplus2

Tom

[fergusd]

Arno said:

You should *not* mix the new OAT with the older style coolant as it will form a sludge in the cooling system that can clog up your radiator and heater.

Do you have any evidence of this happening ?

I've read about this a fair bit and according to the manufacturers the coolant's can be mixed, however you get much less advantage of using the OAT coolant (longer life, better protection, etc) if you do so . . .

Fd

[Arno]

fergusd said:

Do you have any evidence of this happening ?

'evidence' is a big word, but I poured some lefover OAT and 'old style' coolant in a container and then forgot about it..

Once I looked at it again in a few months it had formed a deposit layer at the bottom.

So it does seem to do something, although this is hardly a real experiment..

[quote]I've read about this a fair bit and according to the manufacturers the coolant's can be mixed, however you get much less advantage of using the OAT coolant (longer life, better protection, etc) if you do so . . . [/quote]

True.. Volkswagen uses OAT coolant (coloured red AFAIK) and the container on those also mentions that it can be mixed.

Still.. All dealers and car-part stores I talked to were pretty adamant about not mixing these types but flushing them out and re-filling with only one.

May not just be sludge problem, but probably also the fact that mixing them may reduce the anti-corrosion levels and such, which could be painful in an aluminium engine..

Bye, Arno.

[fergusd]

I don't think there is a sludge problem . . .

I believe this to be an old wives tale . . . or internet rumor . . .



Fd