Engine Coolant

[TW]Fox;15539160 said:
This would be highly irregular. They are not supposed to. Are you quite sure?
Click to expand...

That is 100% what they said. It was a service guy at Scotthall who has been there a while (he's helped me out at the parts desk for at least a couple of years now, so not some 18yr old trainee).

Might be worth phoning your local dealer and asking them what procedure to use. The fact that they don't even sell distilled water (yet will sell stuff like washer fluid and coolant bottles) suggests that what he was saying was true.
 
[TW]Fox;15539260 said:
I take it the inside of every cooling system they service is like a kettle? :p
Click to expand...

Have you ever seen any deposits in anything? I've not, but then I do live in the area with the softest water in the country.

There's no reason for the minerals do drop out of solution, the water is not evaporating like it is in a kettle or washing machine. Unless BMW 6 motors' coolant systems bust open weekly?
 
[TW]Fox;15539260 said:
I take it the inside of every cooling system they service is like a kettle? :p
Click to expand...

Nah, if you think about it a kettle only furs up because you are constantly putting fresh water in and boiling it (well, maybe a lot of M54B30 owners are too :p), even a 50:50 mix will have a negliable effect especially after the descalers in the coolant take their effect.

Would like to know what BMW's official line is. ETK CD maybe?
 
I recently had to top up the coolant on my audi. After buying a bottle of the stuff from them I asked them specifically if I should use de-ionised water and they said "no, just use tap water". After getting back I thought that didn't sound right, so I spoke to Audi CS and they again told me to use tap water rather than distilled water.

I don't know if modern coolants have some kind of additive to deal with mineral deposits or what, but that's the info I got.
 
[TW]Fox;15539260 said:
I take it the inside of every cooling system they service is like a kettle? :p
Click to expand...

I assume a BMW cooling system sees no where near the volume of a kettle, nor does it actually boil the water.
 
If you mix coolant types it foams up and kinda looks like mayo HGF but in your expansion tank, not nice.

Simply look at the colour of the coolant in the tank, you may need to remove some to check.
 
Last edited:
i wish it was still green blue or pink

now you get red purple, orange. ive seen what happens when you mix the wrong ones and its bad, so i will always stick with whats in there originally
 
So would you say I'm safe to use the stuff I posted on the halfords site?

this

Fox did you check what colour was already in it?
 
Last edited:
The Blue/Green coolant's colourant fades with use, so if all you see is clear coolant, use the blue stuff. Although this could also mean someone has just filled it with water (bad).
 
i used to see it as green = proper ancient stuff

blue = iron block iron head

red / purple = alloy head and or alloy block

orange is normally ford

ive no idea what bmw use though
 
BigglesPiP said:
The Blue/Green coolant's colourant fades with use, so if all you see is clear coolant, use the blue stuff. Although this could also mean someone has just filled it with water (bad).
Click to expand...

IME the blue stuff starts to go brown with rust once its no longer effective, not clear
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom