Have forgotten. What fluid do you use In Radiator.

[Ron Burgundy]

I see this 1 litre is 50/50 mix so do you mix it 50/50 with distilled water so you end up having 2 litre?

Yes. 1L is concentrate.
Will make 2 litres with water.
I use tap water. No issues.

 

[stooge]

I see this 1 litre is 50/50 mix so do you mix it 50/50 with distilled water so you end up having 2 litre?

Use demineralised water to make the mix your local auto parts store will have it for a few bucks.
Never put tap water into your engine because the minerals in tap water leave deposits of crap in the engine and radiator and can cause problems over time.

 

[mpower]

you can also get demineralised from the supermarket.

 

[lordsnipe]

And Bunnings, for irons.

 

[gossie]

I would NEVER put tap water into the cooling system of my car.
Sure, it's okay now, but what about later, in particular much later?
You that use tap water will probably sell your car before it does start to block things up and leave a mess for a later on owner.
Will you care? Probably not.

 

[tml678]

I would NEVER put tap water into the cooling system of my car.
Sure, it's okay now, but what about later, in particular much later?
You that use tap water will probably sell your car before it does start to block things up and leave a mess for a later on owner.
Will you care? Probably not.

Would only use it if there was absolutely no other option available and then it would be drained, flushed and refilled at the first opportunity.

But to be honest, with the reliability of modern cars ( not to mention the advent of roadside assistance being offered by almost all manufacturers now) and demineralised water being cheaper than milk, I find it hard to envisage a situation where tap water is the only alternative. May as well p_ss into the radiator in that case.

Actually, Thinking about it, I agree with Gossie, I wouldn't ever use it. I'd tow the car before that happened

 

[EYY]

The minerals in tap water aid electrolysis. It's not so much about deposits.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Dexcool instructions say 'good quality water'...
Not sure what that means...
Would be amazed if mechanics and dealers use demineralised water...

OAT based coolants are less sensitive to water quality than coolants containing phosphates. This is why it is common to see phosphate-based coolants be sold in a premixed form, but not straight OAT coolants such as Dexcool or G-12.

 

[VFSV6FORME]

Yes I always uses distilled water on all my cars for the last20 years. The 2015 SV6 Storm has done since NEW 3161K and n the last 8 months I took the car back to Holden fix the known oil leak from the timing cover so since that they have done this do they have to remove all Coolant from the v6 before remove the timing cover to fix the oil leak (ps misplaced the receipt so i don't know what they have replaced)

 

[Skylarking]

The question one should ask about OAT coolants is, is deminieralised water that much better than simply using the high quality soft water that comes out of ones tap (from most if not all capital cities in Australia)? I'd say clean tap water is OK, clean rainwater even better.

For confirmation of our water quality, one could look at any European brand dishwasher which all seem to have reservoir for adding salts of some type. These salts are used to soften the hard water that many European cities have on tap. The dishwasher manual usually has a statement like "adding salt to the reservoir is not needed if the local water supply is soft" (also specifies spome pf level). Usually there is a local addendum adding that salt use is not needed in aussie capital cities.

Then again, not sure what a Holden dealer uses but I'd be surprised if they push demineralised water as a solution (pardon the pun).

Aspects regarding our coolants were discussed in this and this and many other threads scattered within the forums but doubt it will ever be resolved one way or another. It's like discussing politics or religion.

Meanwhile the strongest statement can be found within Vehicle Care - Vehicle Checks - Engine Coolant - Adding Coolant section of the Holden Owners Manual (on page 251). It states "mix a solution of Holden coolant and clear fresh water". Also, under Service And Maintenance - Recommended fluids... section of the Owners Manual (on page 308) it states to use "50% clean fresh water and 50% DEXCOOL antifreeze coolant, conforming to specification number GM6277M".

Pity the Owners Manual doesn't explain what it means by "clean fresh water" but I've never had issues with clean tap water. Maybe we should get HCC to make a formal clarification of what "clean fresh water" means for us Aussies.