GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk3 => Topic started by: Jasikasisback on 03 June 2012, 23:17
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i have brownish colour fluid in my reservoir...i believe the previous owner must have "mixed" the wrong kinds of antifreeze in it and now I want to drain the system, flush it with some water and then refill it...
can anyone tell me what kind of coolant should go into it or does it really matter?
kind of strange seeing brownish fluid in the reservoir, maybe a more serious problem?
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Should be pink in colour, vw coolant is called G12 do not use normal anti freeze.
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Used normal unipart anti-freeze in my 8v, seems fine.
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haynes manual says ethylene glycol....so the blue stuff should be alright...i assume the radiator has a valve on the bottom and can be drained???then can flush the rad and and refill the fluid...the car doesn't overheat ever..but i think this brownish fluid is not what i should have in the car....and i will just replace with ethylene glycol and be on my way....i believe the pink stuff is for the newer cars...and these old ones are still alright to use the cheap antifreeze.....
fluid change coming up tomorrow!
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Should use G12 or equiv, never mix though.
Brown coolant could be mixed solution or lack of it and loads of rust floating around.
Flush it out and change it :wink:
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It is not recommend to use blue anti freeze
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doesnt it depend on age? pre 96 blue g11 post 96 g12 pink :huh:
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It is not recommend to use blue anti freeze
Is there a genuine technical reason for this or just because VW want you to buy their own brand.
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It is not recommend to use blue anti freeze
Is there a genuine technical reason for this or just because VW want you to buy their own brand.
The only reliable answers I found on it are:
1. VW rate the pink stuff for a 5 year drain interval. Normal blue stuff is only 2 years.
2. If you have the pink stuff, don't top up with blue.
3. If you want to change to blue - a full drain and flush is required.
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It is not recommend to use blue anti freeze
Is there a genuine technical reason for this or just because VW want you to buy their own brand.
apparently there is, it will be on the expansion tank/cap i think of what coolant you need to use
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Well i did a complete drain/flush/refill over a year ago when i changed the thermostat and i used good quality unipart blue a-freeze and i've had no issues at all in everything from -15 to +30 degrees and its still clean.
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I stripped a vr down yesterday to do some work ready for the turbo, and that had been running something other than g12 for a period of time, I can tell you it rots the Ali heads, the water channels were not looking too great, G12 prevents this from happening, the Head was usable tho. I have previously used coolants other than G12 an been very sceptical about the whole g12 saga. From now on I will only ever use g12, what I saw yesterday made me almost sick...
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i dunno my passat has blue coolant and the golf looks like very diluted red coolant...same year 1996..golf does not overheat or anything...i mistook the brownish for very diluted red..so will leave it as the weather is really rainy today...so no point in draining the fluid...will change it after the summer is over...:)...if it passes the mot in july!
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Is there a genuine technical reason for this or just because VW want you to buy their own brand.
Yes, the blue stuff can overtime eat into the alloy and cause issues.
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Is there a genuine technical reason for this or just because VW want you to buy their own brand.
Yes, the blue stuff can overtime eat into the alloy and cause issues.
Not quite right.
In laymen's terms colours are the same basic fluid, blue and green use different inhibition to Red. Red is long life 5/6 years 100k miles that sort of range where blue is two years.
Its when the inhibitors break down that you get cathodic/granular corrosion in Ali and rust in ferrous engines.
Never mix blue/green/red as the inhibition and other additives are not compatible and will make it useless :grin:
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sorry to hijack the thread but is there a diferance between the black coolant caps and the blue one?
i swapped my expansion tank for the one out of the white golf as mine seemed very stained inside but mine had a black cap and the other one is blue. i have used the blue one as i thought i heard somewhere they are better. but it could have been in a dream.
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lets put this one to bed now, look on the tank if your unsure about what coolant to use like this pic
(http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee413/saunders1988/coolanttank.jpg)
(g12 in this one)
and this link explains why you shouldn't use normal store bought
http://www.blauparts.com/audi/audi_fluid/audi_coolant_engine_fluid.shtml
and as for caps i cant see there being any difference
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black caps are the old type, my 8v lump had one, the blue ones were supposedly better. however i preferred look of the black one so tried to fit it to my S3 coolant bottle... it didn't fit so i had to se the blue one
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lets put this one to bed now, look on the tank if your unsure about what coolant to use like this pic
(http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee413/saunders1988/coolanttank.jpg)
(g12 in this one)
and this link explains why you shouldn't use normal store bought
http://www.blauparts.com/audi/audi_fluid/audi_coolant_engine_fluid.shtml
and as for caps i cant see there being any difference
my old tank on my old 8v lump said use G10... so i would follow your advice as G10 is about a zillion years old and Blue type
Everyone just use correct G12 Plus Plus... its not that expensive..
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[/quote]
my old tank on my old 8v lump said use G10... so i would follow your advice as G10 is about a zillion years old and Blue type
Everyone just use correct G12 Plus Plus... its not that expensive..
[/quote]
Its about three quid more, no brainer really.
The link to the blau site is informative but does have some sales sh!te in it which is very misleading.....
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Is there a genuine technical reason for this or just because VW want you to buy their own brand.
Yes, the blue stuff can overtime eat into the alloy and cause issues.
Not quite right.
In laymen's terms colours are the same basic fluid, blue and green use different inhibition to Red. Red is long life 5/6 years 100k miles that sort of range where blue is two years.
Its when the inhibitors break down that you get cathodic/granular corrosion in Ali and rust in ferrous engines.
Never mix blue/green/red as the inhibition and other additives are not compatible and will make it useless :grin:
Ok i'll replace it with G12 at the next change but the blue in mine is only a year old so i'm not bothering with it just yet.
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Is there a genuine technical reason for this or just because VW want you to buy their own brand.
Yes, the blue stuff can overtime eat into the alloy and cause issues.
Not quite right.
In laymen's terms colours are the same basic fluid, blue and green use different inhibition to Red. Red is long life 5/6 years 100k miles that sort of range where blue is two years.
Its when the inhibitors break down that you get cathodic/granular corrosion in Ali and rust in ferrous engines.
Never mix blue/green/red as the inhibition and other additives are not compatible and will make it useless :grin:
Ok i'll replace it with G12 at the next change but the blue in mine is only a year old so i'm not bothering with it just yet.
If its still blue and clean then it will be fine for now
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If its still blue and clean then it will be fine for now
Yeah, but when it goes cloudy it will be due to particles of suspended aluminium, gaskets and seals. :shocked:
After reading this thread I would probably put G12 coolant on the to-do list (if mine had blue) and time it with a job like a cambelt change.
Luckily mine is pink though - and my list is long enough as it is...
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Wow I wasn't aware that off the shelf coolants were so bad. Will deffo use G12 pink from now on.
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Wow I wasn't aware that off the shelf coolants were so bad. Will deffo use G12 pink from now on.
They are not bad if they comply with BS 6580 (1992)
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If its still blue and clean then it will be fine for now
Yeah, but when it goes cloudy it will be due to particles of suspended aluminium, gaskets and seals. :shocked:
After reading this thread I would probably put G12 coolant on the to-do list (if mine had blue) and time it with a job like a cambelt change.
Luckily mine is pink though - and my list is long enough as it is...
Pure scaremongering.
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I had a leak.... Ive been topping up with all kindsa sh!t.
Ive got a 1.5 litre G12 bottle now, will that be enough to fill once i drain?
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Last time I done mine it drank 7litres
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No way?? I gotta buy 4 more bottles of g12? To inevitably have a leak anyway??
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You dilute it 50/50 with water however as it is summer I would just use water until your leak is fixed however don't leave it too long as it is also a rust inhibitor.
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sort the leak first, and yeah dilute it, i prob lost a litre or more getting the airlocks out
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Sweet, i dont have a leak anymore, midland replaced the coolant cap i think, or the complete bottle.....
So one 1.5 litre tub mixed 50 50 with water?
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I can't remember the exact capacity but if you have a Haynes it says in there or someone will be along in a bit to confirm. 1.5 litres will only make 3 litres think you will need at least another 1.5 l of g12.
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Sweet, dont want my pipes to erode, better get it done.
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This is what i do
use 2 bottles of G12 plus plus (thats a 1.5L per bottle = 6L)
then top up with water.. will be around 6L in total