I am currently fitting a new thermostat housing and all the new belts etc whilst everything is off. I am, however a bit confused with regard to which anti freeze to put in. I intend to flush the system using Wynnes cooling system flush and then loads of water until it runs as clear as possible. The old coolant came out as a mid brown colour. No idea how long it had been in there.
From my trawling through these pages and other sites, It seems I need one that is OAT. My local motor factor has said the one listed by Comma, for the car is Super Long Life Red. It is a Mono Ethylene Glycol, according to the Comma data web page. It is sicate free, which I believe prevents any water pump damage. However, I have noticed on these pages that a few people mention Comma Xstream 30 as the one for my engine. Looking at the data sheets for each I can see very little difference in their makeup and performance. The only difference I can see is that Super Long life is Red and Xstream 30 is a clear violet liquid. They both give protection for 5 years. My question is does anyone have experience of Long Life Red Any views/i formation gratefully received. I don’t want to cock up as it’s my Mrs car and I am just ber grease monkey !! ???
I used Comma Red for many years, without issue. Didn’t like how murky it always looked. At 160k miles, I now have switched to waterless coolant (Evans Power Cool) for a number of reasons.
Just my opinion but I believe red was developed as a longer lasting replacement for the blue.
When selling new cars servicing costs are a big factor. anything that can be done to reduce costs in the first owner period is done.
I owned an Audi a while back that had 16k service intervals… But the “long life” oil was £72
I use Comma G48 Xstream ( greeny bluey stuff ) in my Lotus, Merc & MiXi.
It only has a recommended life of 3 years, once again its just my opinion but to flush the sediment from the system every three years can only do good.
Don’t even mention fancy Getridium spark plugs. Last twice as long, but four times the price. Where’s the sense in that, other than the first owner won’t be the one paying for them.
On a 25 year old car that you have no fsh on it will make little difference what you put in as long as it is an auto antifreeze. As long as the system is flushed first.
Debate over oat vs glycol is only really relevant for top ups of an existing system. I think what Eddie was getting at is that, whatever you fill with it is pointless worrying about it as an old car could easily develop a problem further down the line such as head gasket failure because of age and previous corrosion or neglect.
If the coolant is brownish in colour that usually indicates rust or scale in the system which needs to be removed from the rad,block and heater matrix to ensure the best cooling performance. 5 or 6 ounces of citric acid added to water and running the engine for 1/2 hour will clean the system up but there is always a risk it will find a weak spot previously sealed by rust, scale or sediment.