Ethylene Glycol anti-freeze

Stephen_Leak

Does anyone know the best price source for this. It should be the blue/green stuff. I need at least 3.3 litres of it, although a little bit extra for top-ups is always useful.

Conor_3

Just get it from the local motorfactors. It's under a tenner for 5 litres. You'll waste more money in petrol shopping around for it than you'll save.

Stephen_Leak

Conor wrote: »

You'll waste more money in petrol shopping around for it than you'll save.

There's no danger of that. I was planning on getting you lot to shop around for me!

vansboy

Check Asda/Tesco & Wilko's.

All had it on clearout price, a few weeks back - they seem to think it's only needed at winter!!

It IS a summer COOLANT too!!

Also, you might consider any product with Triguard on it - it's more of an up to date coolant & not quite as unpleasent to use. Only a few £$£$ more!

VB

Stephen_Leak

I'll have a look when I do my shopping at ASDA after work on Friday. (No extra petrol.)

anewman

vansboy wrote: »

Check Asda/Tesco & Wilko's.

All had it on clearout price, a few weeks back - they seem to think it's only needed at winter!!

It IS a summer COOLANT too!!

Also, you might consider any product with Triguard on it - it's more of an up to date coolant & not quite as unpleasent to use. Only a few £$£$ more!

VB

I got some while it was 75% off in wilkos but I don't think it's ethelyne glycol based. Anyway I intend to drain the coolant system and flush it when I have some spare time maybe before winter sets in. Then I'll make sure I use the best possible stuff to help prevent corrosion.

mr_accountant

Try unipart/partco. I purchased some last year for £12 for 5 liters, it was called superblue. You mix 50/50 with distilled water

theLearner_3

anewman wrote: »

I got some while it was 75% off in wilkos but I don't think it's ethelyne glycol based. Anyway I intend to drain the coolant system and flush it when I have some spare time maybe before winter sets in. Then I'll make sure I use the best possible stuff to help prevent corrosion.

sorry to but in - is flushing the system easy to do? I changed the coolant on my Mondeo about 4 months ago now. When i drained it, it was still a red/pinkish colour - but after a very short time the new stuff (50% water, 50% Antifreeze) turned a brownish colour - presumably i need to flush the engine/radiator out?

Stephen_Leak

theLearner wrote: »

sorry to but in - is flushing the system easy to do? I changed the coolant on my Mondeo about 4 months ago now. When i drained it, it was still a red/pinkish colour - but after a very short time the new stuff (50% water, 50% Antifreeze) turned a brownish colour - presumably i need to flush the engine/radiator out?

Reverse flushing is dead easy.

Obviously, drain the system either the "proper" way by taking off the under radiator shield and undoing the drain tap, or the "easy" way by just taking off the radiator bottom hose. You need the hose off to flush the system anyway.

Turn the heater to hot, to open the valves to the heater. Take the cap off the expansion tank. Shove a garden hose into the bottom of the radiator. Seal it as best you can with an old rag. Turn on the tap. When clean water is coming out the top of the expansion tank, job done.

The brown colour is rust. With the anti-corrosion additives in the anti-freeze and if it has been changed every 2 or 3 years, it shouldn't be brown enough to mask the identification dye colour, though.

You have to be very careful with all the types of anti-freeze available nowadays. The new red/orange Organic Acid Technology stuff can do all sorts of nasty things to your engine's "innards" if mixed - even in small quantities - with the old blue/green ethylene glycol stuff. If changing between these two types, flushing the system is a must. However, there is now an even newer OAT stuff available - blue/green and purple - which can be safely used as replacements for both other types without flushing.

Conor_3

Just a point:

MAKE SURE THAT YOU DONT BUY THE STUFF THAT IS PRE-MIXED. Basically you're paying for 2.5 litres of water because it's the same price, and sometimes more, than the stuff you dilute yourself.

theLearner_3

Conor wrote: »

Just a point:

MAKE SURE THAT YOU DONT BUY THE STUFF THAT IS PRE-MIXED. Basically you're paying for 2.5 litres of water because it's the same price, and sometimes more, than the stuff you dilute yourself.

i nearly bought the already-diluted antifreeze the last time i changed it - but it's not :money: at all