Blowing Bubbles???

[Harry]

1 litre of blue winter windscreen wash (instead of blue water/antifreeze mix) into header tank today
Possible consequenses?????

H

[missfixit70]

Very clean coolant system?
I would think it would now need a thorough flush out & refill, I certainly wouldn't want to risk driving it, but I could be wrong.

[Harry]

She who must not be named drove it back 100 miles from south Manchester this evening and said there was a 'funny smell'.

My permanant slow leak had set the coolant alarm off before leaving her friends house so she had 'topped up' the header tank from the container in the back of the van.

Unfortunately she picked the wrong container in the dark.

There is no overheating that I can tell from the insensitive temp guage but there were some interesting 'smelly' bubbles oozing from the header tank overflow. The coolant level hasn't dropped significantly (the coolant alarm says it is ok).

H

[francophile1947]

I think a lot of screenwasher liquids contain some form of detergent - that would account for the bubbles.
I don't know if it will do any harm but, knowing the possible consequences, I think I'd change it.

[lizard]

There is no overheating that I can tell from the insensitive temp guage but there were some interesting 'smelly' bubbles oozing from the header tank overflow. The coolant level hasn't dropped significantly (the coolant alarm says it is ok).

H

Well, a mason alarm springs to mind

[haydn callow]

Or a TM-2
I would drain and flush untill every trace is removed. A little detergent goes a long way !! The bubbles will be circulating and "perhaps" creating a air lock.
When you drain.. undo the tap at the bottom of the rad and also remove the bottom hose from the rad. Going to take some doing to get rid of every last bubble.
Disinfectant kills bubbles !! don't know if that works.
Na!! drain and flush

[haydn callow]

If your header tank is full of "bubbles" instead of coolant it could be fooling the low coolant alarm...Sorry we hadn't considered this scenario.
Don't risk it......at least the alarm worked to tell 'er indoors it was low.

[lizard]

Check your pipes.

I have had my share of coolant problems this year. In Feb I had a coolant change this year at a local garage. When flushing and refilling Saturday the coolant at the top rad pipe was full of rusty sediment. After a flush with the hose, loads of brown water came out from the whole system. Flush it through, check all pipes and hoses.

This is the o/s coolant pipe from the rad (top) hose to the engine hose. There was a hole at both ends, but was only leaking from the front. As the holes are at the bottom of the tube they can only be seen from underneath the vehicle and with hoses removed.

I had silicone hoses fitted in Feb this year, all was well untill I had a leak from the front hose/coolant pipe. Well worth checking.


All the best