Coolant question

[snarf]

Hi, Just bought a '92 U.K. MR2GT last weekend and love it! Unfortunatly though i haven't had much service history or info with it.
I'm going through the 'getting to know and check it all over stage'
and i'm not too sure about the coolant situation. It looks a bit clear like normal water and i'm concerned there may not be too much anti freeze in it.
How do i drain the system or remove some coolant to enable me to replace with neat anti freeze to top up? I realise bleeding may be involved if i drain system, so would prefer just to remove a litre or so.

[steve]

the radiator drain plug is near the bottom of the radiator on the driverside & the bleed valve is under the black plastic panel when you pop the bonnet next to the passengerside popup - you need to attach the clear tube (normally under the spare wheel) to it & hang it from the bonnet then bleed away

say no to blue anti-freeze

HTH

Steve

[Lauren]

the radiator drain plug is near the bottom of the radiator on the driverside & the bleed valve is under the black plastic panel when you pop the bonnet next to the passengerside popup - you need to attach the clear tube (normally under the spare wheel) to it & hang it from the bonnet then bleed away

say no to blue anti-freeze

HTH

Steve

there is nothing wrong with blue anti-freeze. That it is glycol based is the only requirement.

You forgot to mention the bleed on the heater matrix.

[stevenb]

Had a look at your pic mate. Very nice looking car. =D> Congrats
I asked a very similar question earlier and was told Glycol based antifreeze is as good as any. get a good mixture then your sorted.
I have been advised also that Halfrauds is a cheap place to buy it too.

[BenF]

FWIW, Halfords 'Advanced' (neat) coolant is red - a little pricey too, but let it down with tap water and you'll be OK

[JohnnyC]

FWIW, Halfords 'Advanced' (neat) coolant is red - a little pricey too, but let it down with tap water and you'll be OK

Just say no to tap water
http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2533

[steve]

there is nothing wrong with blue anti-freeze. That it is glycol based is the only requirement.

You forgot to mention the bleed on the heater matrix.

TBH for the £26 it costs for 10 litres of premixed forlife, i wouldnt bother getting halfrauds stuff & water it down. How long does forlife last 3 or 4 years isnt it?

anyway you pay your money and make your choices

i wouldnt bother bleeding the matrix aswell if only a litre is being dropped & replaced.

the matrix bleed valve is behind the spare wheel if you want to do that aswell

[snarf]

Cheers for that and yes i had noticed about the glycol based mixture earlier.
I may bleed the whole system in the autumn ready for the winter.
Whats the general mix ratio if you use a cheaper Halfords style anti freeze rather than Toyota's 'for life' stuff?

Also can anyone describe or point me to details on how to drain,refill and bleed system the easy way?

thanks.....

[Lauren]

Cheers for that and yes i had noticed about the glycol based mixture earlier.
I may bleed the whole system in the autumn ready for the winter.
Whats the general mix ratio if you use a cheaper Halfords style anti freeze rather than Toyota's 'for life' stuff?

Also can anyone describe or point me to details on how to drain,refill and bleed system the easy way?

thanks.....

Mix it around 50%. I'm sure theres a guide on how to do this in the knowledge base, have a look.

[MR2Mania]

I know what you guys are saying about antifreeze being antifreeze, but I still prefer to pay over the odds and use Forlife. Why?...

Well, for one, BenF uses it on his infamous MR2 FAQ as one way to check on whether the coolant system was in good nick. Quote:
"The Toyota branded 'Forlife' coolant is Ribena red initially, and with age it turns from red to brown, then muddy brown for very old coolant. " (Sorry, Ben, couldn't resist! ).

Secondly, BECAUSE you never know how much coolant you need to pour into your system when doing some work on it, you don't know how much antifreeze to pour in before you put the water in, so you may never get the right concentration. Sure, you could premix the antifreeze before pouring it in (needs more containers to mess about with - a problem in a space-restricted garage!) but then you'll have some wasteage, unless you store that afterwards too. Not to mention the mess you could make in trying to mix it all.

With forlife, I just basically have a couple of cans lieing around, and when I need some, I just undo the cap and pour. Sometimes, I have to hold myself back from drinking it - it looks so GOOD!

Anyway, I personally am prepared to pay that little bit more in order to make my life easy.

Just my 2p's worth.