VY Water as Coolant, is it Ok?

[eXcon]

Oh my, ladies and gentlemen.

I topped up my vy with water today (radiator).

The cruiser usually runs at around half and has never gone over the mark.

Is it ok to top up the rad with water, because almost straight away after the car started boiling... is it a job ?

Please advise, kind regards.

[Shounak]

Water is about all it's ok to top up with. Mixing coolant's can lead to coolant turning acidic and eating away at your block.

Either top the coolant up with what's in the system or use a non reactive one, such as Prestone.

More worrying than the top up with water is why you had to top it up with water. You should get a pressure test done and have all the hoses/connection analysed for leaks.

Also check the concentration of the coolant. Is it excessively watery with very little green to it?

The other possibility is air in the system. Bleeding the system is a fairly simple matter of removing the bleed screw above the thermostat.

It could be anything..

[Sabbath']

How much are we talking about when you say you had to top it up? A cup-full, a bucketfull?

Coolants generally have anti-freeze/anti-boil inhibitors in them. It raises the temperature at which the fluid will boil, making it less likely for your system to boil over.

[eXcon]

Air in the system, bleeding the screw there seems to be a lot of air but its hot, Im thinking that's why there is air in it.

I only had to top up with say a litre or two. Now all of a sudden it's losing lots of water but it doesnt appear to be going anywhere, the needle is flatlining, just to mention, the top hose usually leads to the thermo but not in my case, supercharged six and have posted a question on the forum of where to look for the thermo housing.

Its not where most usually are.

Anyway will bleed the top screw at top rad hose, until all air is gone.
Anything else anyone can think of? Theres no water in the oil ... yet...

Thx for the assistance

[Shounak]

A litre or two is a huge amount of coolant loss. I would suggest getting a pressure test done ASAP.

[eXcon]

Cheers, bled the air screw but no dice, although I hear the air escaping, the car still gets hot and if I wait a while and do the screw again then air comes out again...

So what is the air pressure test and what is it a symptom of, thanks for the help on this one.

[Shounak]

It pumps air into the whole system, pretty much replicates what your cooling system normally does. The mechanic willl connect an air pump upto your rad cap and pump upto the required pressure.

This will very quickly uncover any leaks within the system. Ie. if it's a slow leakage, the induced air will quickly uncover the source of any possible leaks. It will also check if the system is able to maintain pressure.

Which reminds me, change your radiator cap if it has any signs of looking old.

[Sabbath']

The pressure test basically involves placing load into the cooling system. There is a special tool to use, you pump pressure into the system. A needle guage will show the pressure in the system. If it starts to fall/slip, you've got issues.