[dcliff1]

Hello,

Basically I'm flushing red coolant from my ELXR6 and adding Green Nulon Long Life Concentrated Anti-Freeze/Boil/Corrosion stuff to it.

To flush the system, I set the heater to hot and then I opened the overflow cap and undid the radiator bung and let it drain. I then undid the thermostat hose and put a hose through it until it was clear.. I then undid the thermostat housing and stuck a house in there and did the radiator bung up, and flushed it until it was clear.. I then undid the bung and drained all the water. Is that the correct way to flush the ENTIRE engine of this red stuff? (This is where I left it tonight).

My next problem is how much coolant to add. I have a total of 16 litre capacity in my cool system, including heater.

I have Green Nulon Long Life Concentrated Anti-Freeze/Boil/Corrosion in a 2.5 litre bottle. The manual says to add a ratio of 35% (5.6 litres) to 65% water (10.4 litres). Now does this mean I need to buy another 2.5litre container of this nulon stuff?

The back of the nulon container says:
Protection Level Standard - 2.5 Litres to raditaor then add 5 litres of water - mix ratio 33% - make 7.5 litres.

So do I buy 5 litres of Nulon and add 11 litres of water, which is a 32% to 68% ratio.

In otherwords.. is it safe for me to just put 5 litres and have a 32/68 ratio rather than the manual specified 35/65 ?

Thanks!!!

 

[TopGhia]

To be safe, I would fill er up with water and go for a short burl with the heater on full blast. Drain, insert concentrate and top up with soft water.

That 32/68 ratio should be OK, shouldn't make much difference.

What's the red stuff, is it OAT like the Nulon stuff? If they are both OAT then there won't be much compatability issues.


cheers:beer:

 

[dcliff1]

I was actually thinking of doing that, taking it for a drive around the block with just water in her.

I'm not sure what the red stuff is, it was put in by a mechanic at 90,000km service.. what does OAT stand for?

 

[TopGhia]

Courtesy of OWI

Recently the antifreeze market experienced a major advancement, the development of the Extended Life Coolant (ELC). In this type of coolant organic acid salts replace traditional corrosion inhibitors. This new organic acid technology (OAT) represents several major improvements over "conventional" antifreeze technology. As with any new technology, introduction of this new type of antifreeze has caused some confusion. We will explore extended life coolants and go over some of the more common questions asked about this new technology.

In all antifreezes the corrosion inhibitors comprise only a small portion of the total formulation. For this reason the main portion of extended life antifreeze is the same as conventional antifreeze. Conventional antifreezes use inorganic additives to achieve corrosion protection. These inhibitors include silicates, phosphates and borates. Extended Life antifreezes attain corrosion protection by the incorporation of organic acid salts. The main portion of all modern antifreezes is either ethylene or propylene glycol. Because the base of both types of antifreeze is the same, the heat transfer properties, freezing protection and boil over protection do not change when switching between conventional and extended life coolants.
The major performance difference between extended life and conventional antifreeze is the life-span of the product. Conventional antifreeze lasts only two or three years due to depletion of the antifreeze corrosion inhibitors. Because the corrosion inhibitors are different, automobile extended life antifreezes last five years or 150,000 miles. Heavy-duty extended life antifreezes last between 400,000 and 600,000 miles with the use of a one time extender.

Because the chemistry is different in conventional coolant and ELC, it is not advisable to mix the two products. Although the antifreezes are compatible, the inhibitors do not work together. Topping off ELC with conventional coolant dilutes the corrosion inhibitors in the ELC, reducing the usable life of the coolant to that of a conventional antifreeze. Likewise, topping off conventional coolant with ELC does not impart extended life characteristics to the conventional coolant. In an emergency situation, when extended life antifreeze is not available it is advisable to top off with water to hold you over until you get more ELC. When switching between a conventional coolant and an ELC it is a good idea to flush the old coolant from the vehicle before filling with the new coolant. As mentioned above compatibility between the coolant types is not a problem, but the more old coolant left in the system, the less extended life properties the new coolant will have.

Also don't premix the concentrate before adding, as there is always a bit of water left in the block, so if you add it diluted, you'll find yourself with a bit left over and a weaker mix in the cooling system.

Add: I've just had a look at the Nulon site, they are making a red OAT coolant. Maybe that is what you had in yours?. If so, that stuff should be good for 5 years or 250,000 k's. Maybe you are changing it out a bit early.

The red stuff is far better than the green stuff, as long as you have not got any copper or brass in the system (aluminium radiator)


cheers:beer:beer:

 

[slaves wage]

the red coolant has a dye in it which changes to blue if theres any carbon monixide in the system. ( blown head gasket)

 

[XR_Strider_GuY]

What i do know is that Ford released a Red/Pink coolant called R150 with OATS technology, however it was discontinued as they say that it was known to kill water pump gaskets and at severe cases blow head gaskets on AU's which were otherwise bullet proof with the conventional coolant. Perhaps the Nulon OATS stuff was designed better than the R150 coolant.

 

[squiz]

I would also recomend you use distilled water rather than tap water for your final fill.(the cleaner the system the longer it lasts)