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What is the purpose of coolant


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Just buy those mixed coolant and pour straight from bottle. Won't go wrong with the ratio. 

 

Be mindful of the type/colour though, they are coloured for a reason. 

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On 8/12/2020 at 2:04 PM, Bluepica said:

Digging up some very old post.

Topping up coolant with DISTILLED WATER?

I always see my mechanic (from diff service station) just use a water pipe to top up!

Does the Toyota Long Life coolant compatible to KIA as of today?

distill water is EXPENSIVE !

compared to tap water.

workshop can't afford to use distill water, it's 100x cheaper to just flush with and top up with tap water.

tap water works just as well, although in the long term it will form mineral deposit, but by then you'll be back for more, to pay for more. [laugh]

hyundai and kia engines don't care too much about coolant, just about any generic one will do, including toyota long life.

last time i drive VW van, they also specify their own VW coolant. but for 20 yrs nobody cares and use anything that is water. it still last 20 years until scrap.

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IME and IMHO. 
For my previous car brand,  I used to chit chat with other owners.
When someone had a radiator leak, I always like to ask the question privately - was timing belt service done recently.
YES is the usual reply. 
I had the same issue where my radiator has a microscopic leak between the top (plastic) and bottom (metal) .
After much reading, I used distilled water.  IIRC,  that was the only time I change radiator.

On the coolant level,   if the drop is gradual,  likely it is the additives that are depleted.

The plus for using premix is that it is consistent.   If converting to premix,  best is to do a thorough change and really flush out the old coolant. 

Another plus point of using distilled water - you will know if the coolant change was complete or not. 

Keyword for further reading - radiator electrolysis  

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8 minutes ago, Orienttech said:

Its okay if you are using water as a coolant in countries where the normal temperatures ranges from 12-37 degree celsius.

Thank you, your first paragraph is reassuring since this is a Singaporean forum. We'll use water, we don't need your products. 

Oh, and reported. 😊

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20 minutes ago, Turboflat4 said:

Thank you, your first paragraph is reassuring since this is a Singaporean forum. We'll use water, we don't need your products. 

Oh, and reported. 😊

How cum not sell snake oil huh? Oil chip chip there right? Dig shix hole one inch too deep only black gold gust out one 😁 

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I discovered today my coolant level has dropped to bottom, minimal level. Can see some blue liquid at the botom outside of the coolant container. Seems like ot has leaked out. Dont know when it happened but so far no issue driving or overheated.

Can i just pour in tap water or buy coolant water? If it still leaked out then have to repair liao?

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Just now, Columbian78 said:

I discovered today my coolant level has dropped to bottom, minimal level. Can see some blue liquid at the botom outside of the coolant container. Seems like ot has leaked out. Dont know when it happened but so far no issue driving or overheated.

Can i just pour in tap water or buy coolant water? If it still leaked out then have to repair liao?

IMHO.
You can top up the overflow tank with  distilled water. 
Prior to that,   open up the radiation cap and check the coolant level and top-up if necessary. 
Look around for microscopic leaks as well. 

On the side note,  the last two servicing,  did one of them involves replacement of coolant?

 

 

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24 minutes ago, Kklee said:

IMHO.
You can top up the overflow tank with  distilled water. 
Prior to that,   open up the radiation cap and check the coolant level and top-up if necessary. 
Look around for microscopic leaks as well. 

On the side note,  the last two servicing,  did one of them involves replacement of coolant?

 

 

Seconded. Just add some distilled water and then observe. 
To add on further about the coolant replacement bit. If there was a replacement done recently and you never check afterwards, it might be that there was still a  bit of air in the system after replacement . The air then got burped out and the reservoir tank was used up. 
else it could be the cap faulty, if you don’t see any other visual stains around. 

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1 hour ago, Mkl22 said:

Seconded. Just add some distilled water and then observe. 
To add on further about the coolant replacement bit. If there was a replacement done recently and you never check afterwards, it might be that there was still a  bit of air in the system after replacement . The air then got burped out and the reservoir tank was used up. 
else it could be the cap faulty, if you don’t see any other visual stains around. 

I don't have a fixed schedule for checking the coolant level, sometimes week, sometimes months. So I am not sure when this happened.

I was thinking of buying blue coolant water from petrol station and top in and see if it stays.

When top up, do i pour into the radiator cap hole (metal), or into the reservoir tank (plastics)? See attached photo.

Currently my observation is that the blue coolant water is almost zero level in the plastic reservoir tank. Usually it is at max (around 80% height of the tall tank).

Coolant.jpg

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4 minutes ago, Columbian78 said:

I don't have a fixed schedule for checking the coolant level, sometimes week, sometimes months. So I am not sure when this happened.

I was thinking of buying blue coolant water from petrol station and top in and see if it stays.

When top up, do i pour into the radiator cap hole (metal), or into the reservoir tank (plastics)? See attached photo.

Currently my observation is that the blue coolant water is almost zero level in the plastic reservoir tank. Usually it is at max (around 80% height of the tall tank).

Coolant.jpg

The question was whether that was coolant replacement when you sent the vehicle for servicing in recent times. 

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1 hour ago, Kklee said:

The question was whether that was coolant replacement when you sent the vehicle for servicing in recent times. 

Thanks.

I checked servicing record. Last done in Jul 2020 (due to go anytime now). There was 2L of coolant used.

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2 hours ago, Columbian78 said:

I don't have a fixed schedule for checking the coolant level, sometimes week, sometimes months. So I am not sure when this happened.

I was thinking of buying blue coolant water from petrol station and top in and see if it stays.

When top up, do i pour into the radiator cap hole (metal), or into the reservoir tank (plastics)? See attached photo.

Currently my observation is that the blue coolant water is almost zero level in the plastic reservoir tank. Usually it is at max (around 80% height of the tall tank).

Coolant.jpg

if the metal cap (radiator) does not have sufficient water, then top up the metal cap there first, then top up the plastic to about 80% filled. If the radiator has sufficient water , you cant top up any more, then you just have to top up the plastic over flow reservior. 

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9 hours ago, Columbian78 said:

Thanks.

I checked servicing record. Last done in Jul 2020 (due to go anytime now). There was 2L of coolant used.

IMHO.
When you go for the next servicing ask them to check for microscopic leaks.

If 2L coolant used,  likely it is coolant concentrate and will mix with water.
Usually I would use distilled water. I have to buy and bring to the workshop.
My workshop uses tap water.
The experience I had before my use of distilled water,  my radiator had microscopic leaks between the top plastic and metal body. 

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Kklee said:

IMHO.
When you go for the next servicing ask them to check for microscopic leaks.

If 2L coolant used,  likely it is coolant concentrate and will mix with water.
Usually I would use distilled water. I have to buy and bring to the workshop.
My workshop uses tap water.
The experience I had before my use of distilled water,  my radiator had microscopic leaks between the top plastic and metal body. 

 

 

In your case of microscopic leaks, was there repair required? Need to change radiator or tank? Or just do something to patch? I gg to buy some distilled water and pour in first later today.

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