COOLANT

[740i 0]

TOOK CAR FOR SERVICE TODAY THEY NEED TO FLUSH OLD COOLANT AND REPLACE WITH SPECIAL BMW COOLANT

IS THIS CORRECT, IS THERE SUCH STUFF . OR WILL ANY COOLANT DO. THANKS

[hotwire 352]

TOOK CAR FOR SERVICE TODAY THEY NEED TO FLUSH OLD COOLANT AND REPLACE WITH SPECIAL BMW COOLANT

IS THIS CORRECT, IS THERE SUCH STUFF . OR WILL ANY COOLANT DO. THANKS

Sounds very suspicious to me, yes there are coolants of varying quality out there (some not good at all) but any "quality" one would do. No doubt theirs is but not to say there aren't others as good.

[vonripsnorter 0]

Sounds very suspicious to me, yes there are coolants of varying quality out there (some not good at all) but any "quality" one would do. No doubt theirs is but not to say there aren't others as good.

There is most definatly a genuine Coolent & this should be changed every 4 years as coolent tends to lose its ability to protect your engine from rusting from the inside & also helps condition the coolent hoses etc, there is also a vast diffrence in the quality of various products out there & since the Genuine BMW coolent is only $14.81 plus gst for 1.5 L , I would ask the question "why would you NOT do as the Germans say & put the real mc coy into your car"??

[740i 0]

There is most definatly a genuine Coolent & this should be changed every 4 years as coolent tends to lose its ability to protect your engine from rusting from the inside & also helps condition the coolent hoses etc, there is also a vast diffrence in the quality of various products out there & since the Genuine BMW coolent is only $14.81 plus gst for 1.5 L , I would ask the question "why would you NOT do as the Germans say & put the real mc coy into your car"??

Thanks for the advice as this is first service just making sure so i can return to the same place with peace of mind if you know what i mean.

Once again cheers for the help

[TronSpec 0]

Mate just buy some cheap antifreeze from whereever and mix it 60% water %40 coolant. It's the water that does the cooling. Adding to much " coolant" adversly affects the cooling capabilities of it. Change it every year or so. Do it yourself as your system probably bleeds itself. Saves paying these overpaid mechanics to do these tedious jobs.

Should be a drain plug on the bottom of your radiator , Pull that plug remove radiator cap or bottle cap drain the old sh*t out replace drain plug, Start filling radiator or breather bottle with 60 - 40 mix untill it fills. Start engine and run till it get up to temperature and the thermostat openings then the engine will start pumping water around continue to fill radiator or bottle untill topped up. Replace cap drive it round and check the level in a couple of days if not the following.

Trust me doing it yourself will save you money and you will learn about how the cooling system on your car works incase of roadside faillure etc..........

[hotwire 352]

Cheap antifreeze aint the go -even changing every 12 months - ask any good radiator repairer about sub standard antifreeze. It should be changed every two years - longer with the longlife brews.

Also antifreeze does have an influence on the cooling effect of the system.

[vonripsnorter 0]

Sorry to disagree here, but if you do it every year , you would have to be getting it for under $2.50 per L , not to be cheaper than the genuine coolent , but just to match it!! sounds like a bad case of false economy, every four years as the people who made your car say, sounds good to me

I alway feel, you should service a car properly , do it once & do it right & it will serve you well.

Trust me, I see it every day, cars that people have tried to skimp or be 'cheap' when it comes to looking after their car are always the ones that "PAY" for it later.

I always find it a laugh too, when people take their car to some garage because they 'only' charge $40 or $50 per hour

they get a bill for three hours work, when a BMW dealership would do the same job in one but some how, they still go back to the cheap garage because they are cheaper!!!! go figure

Edited January 18, 2007 by vonripsnorter

[allan 295]

Hi russ777, with out getting to tec o it also helps to prevent electrolysis eating things away ph value's.ie Aluminium head cast iron block wrong ph value big hole's.It does degrade over time so changing it can only help and it is a small price to for what it does in your cooling system.

[Yuen 16]

Get the BMW coolant, it has been said that it is different in composition to the standard off the shelf stuff. The colour is different too. Some people may say it is marketing BS, but IMO you are paying a small price for the peace of mind, it is one less thing to worry about. Personally I only run BMW coolant with distilled water.

[TronSpec 0]

Cheap antifreeze aint the go -even changing every 12 months - ask any good radiator repairer about sub standard antifreeze. It should be changed every two years - longer with the longlife brews.

Also antifreeze does have an influence on the cooling effect of the system.

Bro anti freeze is exactly that ANTI FREEZE it prevents your water in the radiator from freezing ( has a lower freezing point than water ) and slightly raise's the boiling temp as well but fark all. It is the water that does the cooling. Adding to much antifreeze will end up damaging your cooling system as it'll be to corrosive. 50 -50 mix max dude

And as far as "bmw anit freeze" being better Well I'd say there is fark all difference in the chemical make up of the stuff as it all is meant to do the same job. I use what ever is around and yes disstilled water is the best

Edited January 18, 2007 by TronSpec

[Jazzbass 1]

I have no doubt at all that one can do it all themselves and save money etc.

I prefer BMW to do it for me to continue the BMW service history that my car's had since new. Yes, it costs more, but well, its only money after all.... compared to peace of mind - no contest.

[Mike 1]

Bro anti freeze is exactly that ANTI FREEZE it prevents your water in the radiator from freezing ( has a lower freezing point than water ) and slightly raise's the boiling temp as well but fark all. It is the water that does the cooling. Adding to much antifreeze will end up damaging your cooling system as it'll be to corrosive. 50 -50 mix max dude

Its the anti-freeze that provides the corrosion protection, not the water. The reason that you don't mix too much anti-freeze in is that it has less cooling capacity than water.

to clear things up...

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system3.htm

Edited January 18, 2007 by Mike

[bravo 35]

I use a decent brand concentrate and mix it to the spec as listed in my bentley manual. I imagine that's OK, but just chucking anything will probably have adetrimental effect over time. As long as the genuine stuff isn't ridiculously priced I wouldn't sweat it.

By the way, please don't write everything in capitals - it is the internet equivalent of shouting.

Chur.

[will 169]

There are definite differences in anti-freeze mixes, some are quite bad.

The modern anti-freeze has multiple tasks...

prevent freezing of the cooling system

preventing corrosion (this is where the mix is critical in preventing the natural electrolytic effect that exists between dissimilar metals when liquid is present, a bad mix will actually enhance this effect.)

lubricating the water pump bearing and other bearings it comes in contact with

keeping your rubber hoses flexible without perishing them

There are many cheap anti-freeze mixtures out there, all will work to prevent freezing, but most will fail/fall short in the other areas I have mentioned.

So using a mix designed by BMW for BMW's makes very good sense..

likewise, toyota have their own special mix etc etc..

my 2c worth for what it is worth.

Will

[2002 1]

I'd also advise that you use distilled or demineralized water, not point spending up large on a quality antifreeze and then mixing in a bunch of chlorine etc.

BTW you can get demineralized water from Supercheap

[bravo 35]

I use river water that is high in iron, so I'm actually strengthening my block over time...

[h8hytz 0]

can someone tell me where to get this bmw antifreeze from,in the south auckland area?

[*Glenn* 855]

I have it in stock...10% discount

$16.20 +Gst = $18.25 for 1.5 litres

Edited February 2, 2009 by *Glenn*

[h8hytz 0]

I have it in stock...10% discount

$16.20 +Gst = $18.25 for 1.5 litres

sweet thanks glenn for the quick reply, how much will i roughly need?

[*Glenn* 855]

sweet thanks glenn for the quick reply, how much will i roughly need?

2 bottles for a six cylinder

[h8hytz 0]

2 bottles for a six cylinder

sweet will probably be down shortly then 2 get me some, thanks

[BLACK DORIS 9]

Russ777, be keen to know what you end up getting charged.

I just had mine done about two weeks ago, flushing + coolant and that was $290 all up. Not a bmw mechanic but a performance car workshop. Interested to see if/what the difference may be.

Also keen to learn how to do this job myself in future!!!

[Creaver 55]

I have it in stock...10% discount

$16.20 +Gst = $18.25 for 1.5 litres

sweet...save me from bloody going to town all the time to buy sh*t!

I'll be in touch.

[KR3000 1]

On 2/3/2009 at 12:06 PM, *Glenn* said:

I have it in stock...10% discount

$16.20 +Gst = $18.25 for 1.5 litres

Where can I get it?

[zero 1162]

Holy thread revival Batman