Antifeeze?

[minstix]

Anyone got a simple suggestion as to what antifeeze I should go for?

I know there's been numerous very long posts about this already. But is there a quick suggestion? The car is a standard Cooper S Mk2, engine just been fully rebuilt which included acid cleaning of the waterways etc. New Mini Spares 3 core radiator. Not had coolant in it yet. All rubber pipes etc new as is the heater matix.

It's been suggested to me that Bluecol blue stuff is the thing to go for. Avoid the red and the modern OAT types are to be avoided.

So I looked up Bluecol blue and there's various options to add to the confusion. Not sure what suits an old car like this with copper pipes and soldered joints. Ethylene glycol based I guess?

Any suggestions?

Steve

[Spider]

A quality Glycol based coolant should be fine.

I'd suggest a mixing ratio of 25/75 % to no more than 33/67 %.

[Peter Laidler]

Or, if I say it in very hushed tones so that the others don't hear me say so. Since you are starting from fresh......, with new this that and the other, just fill with waterless and live a happy waterless and fret-free life ever after. No more pressurised cooling systems. No more burst hoses. no more fear of boiling over when you're stuck in the traffic on the M4 - or even worse still, waiting to get into Beaulieu

[minstix]

That’s the Evans Vintage waterless? Had a look at it. Probably great choice as long as you don’t have any leaks in the new system. Does it cool as well as water? I guess it alcohol based.
Steve

[Peter Laidler]

Test the system with cheap readily available deionised water first if you're at all concerned about leaks.

Cools better than as anything else in my opinion of using it in my two minis, including several virtually non stop trips to Dusseldorf (except fuel, tea and the shuttle of course) on the hottest of days.

I have sung its praises often enough on this forum so won't say anymore as it might upset the non-believers!!!!!!!

[Spider]

Hehehehehehe,,,, This is one of very few subjects Pete and I disagree on.

I'll leave it to you to do your own research and make your own mind up.

This might help with your research, I found it a very enlightening thread;-

http://mk1-forum.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9939

[twc641]

Location has a major , impact on coolant/antifreeze type and mixture% as well as thermostat/radiator choice ..... Can we all agree on that!!!!

[Peter Laidler]

As a little aside and not related to the original question. I emptied the rusty bilge sewage out of my new Rover Cooper Sport after 3 or so years, flushed it and replaced it with waterless. Haven't touched it since in spite of several long non-stop hauls to Dusseldorf on the hottest days. A REAL chore in a mini, even with the windows down!!!!! I don't screw the rad cap down because it can't boil it can't pressurise either - so no pressure generated leaks

[Ronnie]

Space for coolant in an F1 block is at a premium, as Jilbert explains: ‘We have thermal analysis tools that allow us to design our water passageways efficiently. Of course, the smaller volume we get away with the less weight we carry around and the better the packaging.’ Currently the V8 runs with around four litres of water in the entire cooling system, including the radiator. This is circulated at about 270 litres per minute by a small, high-revving impeller, which pumps the water out of the engine at 125degC. Water is still believed to be the best cooling medium and the engines run it with nothing more than the addition of a corrosion inhibitor.
https://www.racecar-engineering.com/art ... %20125degC.

[Spider]

Thanks makes for interesting reading, thanks Ronnie.

Location has a major , impact on coolant/antifreeze type and mixture% as well as thermostat/radiator choice ..... Can we all agree on that!!!!

I'm not too sure that it does. Where I am, we do get in to minus numbers a few days during winter but in all fairness, only for a few hours, not enough to say freeze a water filled cooling system. Summer usually has a few days in the 40's. I run the same coolant and thermostat all year round and unless I was to go to somewhere that had long periods of minus numbers, I can't see any need to change.

The Thermostat should be selected for the running temperature that one is wanting to achieve. I prefer an 82 degree 'stat all year round, that was the same one I ran a year back to Adelaide in the high 40's with one afternoon at 47, also the same one I ran with out of Birdsville on a sunny 53 degree day,,,, Same mix of coolant too. Running at 82 degrees allows the oil to get to a temperature to remove moisture and acids from it while being a better temp for fuel usage, I see no reason to ever run anything cooler here (or anywhere), while in some countries, it maybe necessary to run an 88 degree unit to meet emission requirements.

[twc641]

Thanks for your clarification Spider...........

[richardACS]

For what it's worth I have tended to use BMW fluids; brake, anti freeze, windscreen wash the two latter with de ionised water. Mainly because I have a few BMW classics and it's easier not to have countless different makes of product, but also have found that I've had far less problems from the liquids - i.e. the windscreen wash cleans well and have had no blockages through the jets etc whereas previously the stuff from Halfords would cause the jets to block...

[minstix]

A lot of food for thought here. Thanks.

I'll do some research into waterless.

Steve