Coolant Change

[Exidor]

My Aloytec is nearly due for a coolant change.
Can any body give me some pointers on this
procedure.
I am particularly interested in draining the block.
I know where the drain plugs are but what if any
problems will I encounter?
Are there replacable seals for the plugs, are the
knock sensors going to be a problem etc.?
Also what is the correct way to bleed air from
this particular motor.
Any feedback will be appreciated.

[andyman]

honestly, ive the coolent still looks pretty normal, just get the genuine holden coolent, remove the bottom hose, drain all that, stick the hose back on and fill her back up with coolent,

unless the coolent is major contaminated, there isnt much need or advantage to what you wanna do

[Exidor]

Its probably the way Holden performs a
coolant change anyway.
However, because its every five years
I just wanted to do it properly.

[PaulSV6]

Then again 5 yrs seems along time between coolant changes, ive always done a coolant change every 2-3yrs.
Considering Coolant does go off after time.

[Torquative]

I was lucky being ex police car from the rural part of NSW my coolant was green when I got it at 90 000 kays, so had obviously been changed at some point as Holden is red.

Ive just been draining/bleeding it from the radiator, filling it up and letting the fresh stuff run coming into the hotter months, but yeh apparantly the genuine stuff is supposed to last 5 years or something

[Escape-The-Fate]

you can do a full radiator flush if you want..its pretty easy, with the engine cool and everything take off the top and bottom pipes..let all the coolant run out and then stick the garden hose with water running into the top radiator hole..until it runs clear through the bottom and if your really keen get underneath and do a reverse flush by doing the same thing with the bottom radiator hole, stick the hoses top and bottom back on..then fill it back up with coolant..i got the red stuff that holden recomends from autobarn for the old vt..bottle of it was $80 tho

you can buy proper radiator cleaning stuff but not necissary unless really filthy

[andyman]

Its probably the way Holden performs a
coolant change anyway.
However, because its every five years
I just wanted to do it properly.

take how you like, but you wont flush the motor properly unless you take the thermostat out,

as i said, unless the coolent is discoloured or rusty (which it shouldnt be in an alloy system) there is no realy advantage, just reverse flush the radiator and fill it back up,

if you are going to change brand of coolent, id remove the thermostat and flush yes, as you shouldnt mix coolents

[Exidor]

I wanted to open the block taps to drain any tap water.
I suppose it is unecessary to fill with dimineralised water
only?

[Escape-The-Fate]

thats only for the battery im pretty sure..normal water has always worked for me

[Exidor]

thats only for the battery im pretty sure..normal water has always worked for me

I bought Nulon Red long life concentrate coolant.
It specifies soft or demineralised water.
Red Long Life Concentrated Coolant - Nulon Products Australia

[Escape-The-Fate]

do wat the bottle says then..wasnt sure wat u bought, woolies sells demineralized water in the ironing section funily enough..like with starch and all that in the cleaning isle

[Sabbath']

I was lucky being ex police car from the rural part of NSW my coolant was green when I got it at 90 000 kays, so had obviously been changed at some point as Holden is red.

Ive just been draining/bleeding it from the radiator, filling it up and letting the fresh stuff run coming into the hotter months, but yeh apparantly the genuine stuff is supposed to last 5 years or something

I'd be putting the red coolant back in.


Red coolant isnt specifically a Holden design. The red/orange coolant is used in the GenIII motors, and Alloytecs.

Did a bit of research to back up my point:

The green AF is glycol based what means it is agressive towards metals. Additionaly during aging it decompose in to more agresive chemicals. That is why you should replace it every 2 years or 20K.
The orange one contains no glycol which is what makes it less aggresive to the cooling system.