What Do You Put In Your Radiator?

[ARTZ]

yeah, just wondering what people use in their radiator, some some water is fine some say not some use additives like water wetter.

I just flushed it with a hose and filled it with water and a bottle of corrosion inhibitor

Do radiator flush additives work?

Is coolant really necessary?

What do you reccomend?

What works?

[Birds]

Yes I would use coolant or your water pump won't be too fantastic down the track and that water will turn brown

Water is for topping up or adding to coolant concentrate mixes. I'd only use it if I had no choice.

Rust and scale removers work alright when flushing.

[ARTZ]

Yeah i read something about coolant lubricating the pump, I usually use it but didnt realize i'd run out.

But i also read another guy says hes used nothing but water and redline water wetter for 10 years with no problems..

So just wondering what i should get to add to it

Edited September 5, 2010 by Arthur T3

[rgr34]

definatly flush the system and use coolant, i use nulon long life coolant pre mixed $20 for 5 litres so you need 2... or u could by the concentrate and mix it yourself with demineralised water. tap water for flushing only....

in my old corolla pre 80s i use the corrosion inhibitor and water wasnt really designed to run coolant...

[Birds]

Just use proper coolant, there's a reason the product has been around for years, it ain't just a gimmick

[Moodles2]

I only put genuine Nissan LLC in mine

[Mr.Massive]

Yea one of the reasons you are suppost to use coolent is because it has a higher boiling point than water. The water will evaporate through the overflow bottle after long drives. I use rust repellant coolant, however if you have a corroded cooling system just buy the radiator flush and do it yourself shouldn't take long.

[GT32]

I only use straight water to flush the system. Once it's flushed I just pour in pre-mixed Nulon red along with 500ml of Motul Mo'Cool. Works fine for me and has kept the temps consistently lower during the hotter months.

[ARTZ]

Yeah i ran a bottle of flush through it for over half an hour, not sure if it made a difference, the water that came out was brown but so was the the flush mix i put in it..

Another guy told me he just runs the engine with the hose stuck in the radiator.

I also read somewhere that plain water actually cools better.

But i do remember the old man topping up the radiator in the his HJ monaro all the time, He had to check it daily. I have never had to with coolant so i guess there is truth to what you say mr massive..I didnt know this b4..

[r33cruiser]

got a mate that just stuck the hose in the radiator and filled it.

that was 6mths ago and its still running haha

[mad082]

orange juice

[08yannch]

  mad082 said:

orange juice

never use tap water ever this is the worse thing u could do... oh l lie u could do worse: bleach, drain cleaner, fuel, fluorine gas, OJ.

the only water you should use is distilled water most good auto shops stock it in +10L bottles or just use the pre mix

[toddlls]

Just dont mix the orange coolant with the green-bad chemical reactions happen

[defari]

flush with the tap - put the screw back in - fill it up with tap water + some radiator flush - turn engine on with radiator cap off - idle for a few mins - drain / flush with tap water - fill up with coolant + top up with distilled water.. has never failed me. (someone correct me if im wrong)

[ARTZ]

^^ yeah thats what i did..

Someone told me to fill the radiator with coca cola and then throw a packet of mentos in it. Apparently the reaction is really good for cleaning out the corrosion..

Has anyone tried this??

[DELLER]

I use Castrol coolant,

Anti-Boil & Anti-Freeze,

works really good for me

but cost a bit more through

[GTR-N1]

  Arthur T3 said:

^^ yeah thats what i did..

Someone told me to fill the radiator with coca cola and then throw a packet of mentos in it. Apparently the reaction is really good for cleaning out the corrosion..

Has anyone tried this??

That someone has been watching "Mythbusters" too much. Diet Coke + Mentos = BANG.

That someone ought to be shot!

Wanna shotgun??? MORE BANG!!!

[mad082]

back in the day some mechanics i know used to use coca cola to flush radiators and even clean the oil stains off the floors. however doing that with the coke sold today and all you will end up with is a sticky mess. as with most things these days, they aren't as potent as they used to be.

[Duncan]

  Arthur T3 said:

....I also read somewhere that plain water actually cools better.....

absolutely right, water is about the best thing in the universe for taking energy and getting hot slowly. only 2 problems - stopping rust (corrosion inhibitor) and it freezes at 0.....

When I was having cooling problems I ran straight distilled water + redline water wetter, it ran literally 10-15o cooler than coolant.