Hi, So I have a problem..not a new one but a reoccurring one. Background info. In 2010 got a cat back exhaust single 2.5 with twin tips, the day it was put in was the first time the car overheated in the 3 years of owning it - this was put down to coincidence - even though I wasn't happy with that explanation. Have since replaced thermostat, water pump, radiator - was running fine after radiator replacement for a couple of weeks - then yesterday when driving around town - stop/start - the temp gauge rises nearly up to the red H. Of course I freak out every time it rises as I am scared of it overheating and having to do the emergency pull over and turn car off in random locations!!! Why is it doing this??? If I had more money I would happily upgrade but as Im not in the position to do this stuck with car for now. Also not happy with mechanic we have been taking car to - Any advice or recommendations on a decent mechanic in the greater Brisbane area would be appreciated!!!
Basics, check the cap and make sure it's not broken. They break all the time and allow air to get in creating air locks. Are there any leaks or is it just overheating? Maybe try getting a pressure test done to make sure nothing is leaking anywhere. Also check your heater tap. Do you use your heater at all? You should probably check to see if that works. Also if the car is overheating, even though it's pretty much nothing, turn on your heater and fans, works like a super mini radiator and might help a little. The thermostats are supposed to be pretty solid so I wouldn't suspect that. Are you using the correct coolant? It has to be the red stuff. If you use green coolant it will damage engine internals and things like the thermostat and water pump. I don't imagine anything to do with the exhaust would have done it. Did you have the car tuned when you had the exhaust done? That could have caused issues, because they often change the way the engine cools or some such, basically to try to keep it cooler.
Hi, thanks for the replies. Ok it has the green coolant! Should I ask mechanic to change to red? That would involve draining whole radiator wouldn't it? Also car was not tuned when exhaust done...my feeling is something like that should be done as it has consistently run hotter since getting it done. The fans are working as are the aircon/heater and putting these on doesnt seem to change temp. Took it past mechanic today and they said to bring it in for a pressure test..should this find the fault?
Exactly. Red coolant has different chemicals in it and is designed to run at different temperatures etc. Putting green coolant in can cause all sorts of probs. If any mechanic puts anything but red in or says it won't make a difference ask if they're the engineer who designed it! A pressure test tests for leaks in the cooling system. As the temperature of the engine and coolant increases so does the internal pressure. If there is a weak link that can't handle that pressure coolant could be pushed out and air sucked in. Both are bad. Yes you will need to have the entire cooling system flushed. To do this correctly you actually need to remove the thermostat, but you should be able to get away with removing the upper and lower radiator hoses and the water pump and flushing water through. You need to refill with a mix of 50/50 coolant and water. If I were you I'd get it done ASAP, and Cary a spare radiator cap with you, or just have it changed now to be on the safe side. Make sure they bleed the cooling system correctly too.
Wrong. The colour of coolant does not matter. What does matter is mixing one brand of coolant with another, even if both are green or both are red. This causes electrolysis and will eat the alloy. What also matters if whether or not the used coolant is suitable for all alloy heads and block. If the green coolant meets the gm standards, then it is fine. New Hondas use blue coolant, but I doubt they use different metals than what previous engines used in the past, so explain...
You've contradicted yourself with this statement. You can't mix coolants because they all contain different mixtures, chemicals and ratios. Yes, newer green coolants can be used for both, but in my opinion, they shouldn't. Firstly, you need to always use the same type of coolant. You can't just top up with one of the same colour, it might have different chemicals or mixes. Secondly the manuals state that red coolant is to be used. Pretty simple. Yes there were newer green coolants that were made after that manual was written, but again, someone a lot smarter than me designed that engine and those coolants, and instructed that only that type of coolant is to be used... I'm not going to mess with that. If your car comes from Holden with red coolant (and it will), and you drain out the cooling system then refill with green, unless you remove the thermostat and blast the engine internals with mineral free water for 5 mins then you're going to have a mix of red and green. You should never mix coolants, but it's worse to mix colours. Red coolant is designed to work with the engine components and internals, the alloys used, seals.... the engineers at Holden didn't test green because they designed it for red, simple as that. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to get away with it when they shouldn't. It's people that think like that which make me do all my own research and car work so I know what's going on with my car, not some gumby who thinks he's all up with engineering ****.
OK, Here's some questions for you. The day the exaust was fitted, were you there ? if not maybe they took it for a thrash to test the new exaust and in the process blew a head gasket. Replaced radiator .... With a new one or ???? and how long ago ??? Replaced thermostat, water pump ...How long ago ??? As for a good Brisbane mechanic...It's not a case of finding a good mech but more a case of finding an honest one. I gave up on mechanics years ago, I'm 64, because I was tired of paying good money and then having to fix up their work. You will probably get a few people tell you their mech is good but often it is only because they have been lucky and had only minor problems fixed. What part of town are you ???
I didn't contradict, you are agreeing with me, you can't mix the same colours together, hence why I say that it does matter mixing green with green from different brands. Sorry if the way I said it was confusing. Point is, green is not just one specific type, nor is green the same as another green. Holden will always say to use their fluids, as will any other manufacturer. As long as it meets the manufacturers specs, then it's ok, provided the old fluid is fully flushed, regardless of the colour of the new fluid.
Coolant what it is. Hi all, First post be gentle..lol, Coolant is actually anti freeze/anti boil but its the corrosion inhibitor which prevents corrosion within your cooling systems. This puts a film on the components that protects them from erosion caused by electrolysis. I'll explain - electrolysis is where tiny bubbles form on the surface of components inside the cooling system (like bubbles in a glass of Coke) as they burst they take small amounts of the film so as you can imagine no film, no protection and corrosion starts. Back to coolant colour, Holden does use red coolant but they specify that particular coolant as it needs to meet the corrosion inhibiting qualities of their products. Coolant performance can't be measured by color, only by the requirements by manufacturer.
