I know I know i should know,red or blue antifreeze.
Doing a service this weekend so could one of you nice kind gentleman advise me .

Thank you



AD

I always use the red oat coolant....

Daz

Just to throw a spanner into the works, Mitsubishi also use long life diaqueen which is Green

Quote: spud wrote in post #3

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Just to throw a spanner into the works, Mitsubishi also use long life diaqueen which is Green

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mine is luminous pink

Mine is the luminous pink stuff too (long life stuff from euro car parts)

mine is green and i topped up with red?

I use whatever I've got lying around

shouldnt mix one with the other cant remember which mix is a no no though

The colour is not a reliable way to identify the type of coolant as different suppliers use varying colour dyes. There are three types of coolant;

IAT - Inorganic Acid Technology - Ethylene Glycol base, used in older engines mostly and has a additives like silicates and nitrates which protects steel, brass, copper, cast iron & aluminium. Needs changing quite often at every 2 years or so because the additives fall out of suspension and no longer offer corrosion protection although will maintain protection from freezing. Usually blue or green in colour.

OAT - Organic Acid Technology - Propylene Glycol base, newer long life coolant used by the majority of manufacturers in recent years. Silicate, phosphate and nitrate free, offers great protection for your alluminium bits but cannot be used in older engines particularly with lead soldered radiators as it erodes the lead. Needs changing every five years or so and is often red or pink.

HOAT - Hybrid Organic Acid Technology - Propylene Glycol base with various blends of silicate, phosphate, nitrate or borate so it has long life properties but can be used in older engines. Can be red, pink or yellow.

Inorganic and organic coolants cannot be mixed as the mixture will form a nasty gel that will clog up your cooling system. If you are changing coolant types the entire cooling system should flushed several times with water first.