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coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:32 am
by foofighter
Hi, have read the fact sheets and numerous posts on coolant change ect. i live in an area with "hard" water ! Is it ok to flush system with this then fill with distilled and antifreez mix ? From what i understand large quantities of water involved in so apart from buying a small distillery do i have other options. any advice / opinions please
fergal
Re: coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:37 am
by scanner
foofighter wrote:Hi, have read the fact sheets and numerous posts on coolant change ect. i live in an area with "hard" water ! Is it ok to flush system with this then fill with distilled and antifreez mix ? From what i understand large quantities of water involved in so apart from buying a small distillery do i have other options. any advice / opinions please
fergal
I would guess that flushing would be OK - it's what I would do - hopefully there aren't too many low spots in the system to hold any residual flush water.
Re: coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:42 am
by missfixit70
I think the main issue with "hard water" is the fact that the japanese coolant apparantly doesn't react well with it & that is what causes the problems, I will be flushing with tap water when I do my next batch of hoses & using the distilled water I've been saving from my dehumidifier to refill (with coolant of course), IMO, even that is overkill.
Re: coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:45 am
by helen&tony
HI
As kirsty says, it's the Jap antifreeze that is the problem.
Use bottled water if you are worried. The issue of distilled water is only a problem in countries outside Europe where non-glycol antifreeze is used, as there is a problem with pecipitation of calcium salts with this type of antifreeze....glycol-based coolants don't have such a problem
Cheers
Helen
Re: coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:06 am
by foofighter
that makes sense to me, a bit of paronia easily sets in when reading so many overheat stories, have the mason, low coolant on its way. will go with tap water flush and distilled antifreez mix fill. think i got both the belt and braces then

Re: coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:48 pm
by teenmal
If the Japs dont use Glycol based antifreeze what do the use as the base for there antifreeze.
Re: coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 5:31 pm
by scanner
teenmal wrote:If the Japs dont use Glycol based antifreeze what do the use as the base for there antifreeze.
Probably extract of saki or something.
Re: coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:00 pm
by thedogsbollox
My bro has just told me that he filled my bongo with neat tap water about 8 months ago so i will need some urgent sorting doing. How do you flush it? is it just a case of draining, re-filling, running and repeat. Or do you have to stick a pressure washer into the hoses/ports?
Might need some help with bleeding too, anyone near west London not doing anything in the next couple of days?
Re: coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:35 pm
by teenmal
scanner wrote:teenmal wrote:If the Japs dont use Glycol based antifreeze what do the use as the base for there antifreeze.
Probably extract of saki or something.
I like it.Sounds good.
Re: coolant change
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:37 pm
by scanner
thedogsbollox wrote:My bro has just told me that he filled my bongo with neat tap water about 8 months ago so i will need some urgent sorting doing. How do you flush it? is it just a case of draining, re-filling, running and repeat. Or do you have to stick a pressure washer into the hoses/ports?
Might need some help with bleeding too, anyone near west London not doing anything in the next couple of days?
In that case the variety of water is the least of your worries it is the lack of Anti freeze/coolant and the corrosion inhibitor in it that you need to worry about.
All alloy and alloy headed engines should never ever be run on plain water.
As it says in this from Bluecol.
http://www.bluecol.co.uk/index.cfm?page=75
Re: coolant change
Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:01 pm
by Doone
Good link scanner. If I had any doubts about the cooling system, especially if I didn't know the history of the vehicle, I would flush the system then refill with anti freeze/water mix.