2012 Equipe - 3.0 SIDI Losing/Using Coolant

[mikeryantipp]

The statement that green coolant leaks less is interesting. A lot of cars take green coolant and still leak. In my opinion leaks are more related to design and build of car and age/kms of car. I would be hesitant to change the type of coolant.

 

[lmoengnr]

I would stick with the 'approved coolant' and just fix the leaks.

 

[syked]

And it says:
Whilst doing this job we also strongly recommend you carry out a cooling system flush and changing the coolant from the factory red to green coolant. Make sure a full flush is done including the heater core. We have found the red coolants are more prone to leaking than the green ones.
INTERESTING!!!

I don't believe this. Like said in another post, there are plenty of cars that have green coolant and still end up having an issue causing leaks.

A leak from rubber O rings has nothing to do with coolant for eg. Rubber doesn't last forever and will break down eventually

 

[Fu Manchu]

That, to me suggests, they are encountering all the factory GM spec 6277M (red coolant) vehicles with leaks because thats what they all have in them.
They aren't generally going to find cars with green coolant.

This goes back to a now decades long argument.
There is form over the claim that red dexcool can degrade a system once significant air has been introduced. Having said that, the same goes for any system that has had significant air introduced. The problem isn't the air, it is "why is it there?" That means wear and tear is most at play.

To completely flush an entire cooling system free of one type to introduce another type is going to be impossible for the home 'mechanic'.
To convert them over to green would be risky, because when they mix, the two types form a gel.


However, just stick to what has been used for well over a decade now and bleed the air out and all should be well.

 

[greenacc]

I don't give much credit to the theory of changing from red to green. My bet is that some backyard hackers came up with this idea cos they like the old stuff better than the new stuff. The Green stuff used to eat through alloy radiators in my VS faster than you can say where's the coolant gone...

 

[Trevor loves holden.]

That sounds a bit like The Man Mundine threatening Mahamed Ali.

Lucky for me I get mates rates, nice to have friends in the right places..

 

[mikeryantipp]

About $400 for labour to remove the gear box. $100 for the part. You'd be charge about $550 for the job.
$550 for a fricken thermostat

Got this job done today by my local mechanic. You were spot on with the price. $550 all in. Not great but not the end of the world.

 

[Wayno_h_]

That is the thermostat housing leaking. Had the identical thing going on.
This is not a fun job. The thermostat is at the back of the motor.
Holden repair procedure says to remove gearbox, this is what my mechanic did as well.

You can't get down the back of it and be able to see.
Last year, when I did some major repairs, I had the entire wiper cover off. Remove the upper intake manifold and this makes a lot of room compared to what there was. You would still have a c of a time getting in there to do it, but it's doable.

You would loose a bit of bark off your hand for sure in the process.

I just posted a how to for cooling system repairs (some) and show how to bleed it after.

I would also suggest replacing coolant sensor, heater hoses, inlet housing seals and radiator cap at the same time. Why? Because once you are dong the thermostat, you may as well take the extra couple of hours to do other parts you'd expect to fail soon as well.

Could the thermostat cause overheating issues? I have a friend with a 2009 3lt Omega and one of her idiot friends added about a litre and a half more oil than it needed . Was like that for about a week before I figured it out and dropped some oil, but she's still going through coolant and if she uses the aircon it overheats within minutes

 

[syked]

Sure. It could be leak from the thermostat or it could be a leak from else where. First do a visual inspection and look for pink stains then do a cooling system pressure test.

Is the coolant or oil milky...if so this could indicate a blown head gasket

 

[Wayno_h_]

Sure. It could be leak from the thermostat or it could be a leak from else where. First do a visual inspection and look for pink stains then do a cooling system pressure test.

Is the coolant or oil milky...if so this could indicate a blown head gasket

Nah the oil isnt milky and the coolant seems fine. I've had a look underneath and I can see anything out of the ordinary.
Do I need anything specialist tools to do a coolant pressure test?