Going to change the expansion tank on my 1.8 8v gti as the level sensor is knackered and its difficult to see the level due it being so dirty! My question is what coolant should i use? I was planning on using g12+ but i know that the original would have been the blue g11? Will this matter? While i have the bottle off im going to flush as much as i can of the old stuff out of the rad as i dont think its been changed in a long time and from what i can see it seems dirty
you can use g11, g12, g12+ or g12++. g11 and g12 dont mix, but + and ++ mix with either. just make sure you flush the system properly 100% then just use whatever you like
I was going to post: G12 Pink is too 'BLINGY' stick to G11 Blue. But I didn't cos people would say I am a keyboard warrior, just raising my post count! And. I thought that I would add: G12 + and G12 ++ are 'UGLY' cos. they're Purple. But that would only be two lines, and still appear to be tap ins at the near post. Plus they are banter and not very objective. So. I thought I'd mention that whatever antifreeze is used, make sure you change it at regular intervals. I always thought that it was 2 years for G11 and 3 years for G12? So that would mean every 2 1/2 years for G12+ and G12++? Anyways up. See what you can make out of the following. Different change periods? First one says to use phosphorus free antifreeze, then goes on to reccomend Comma with phosphorus? They even misspelled phosphorus! The second one says not to mix blue and purple? We know from RJ that they can be mixed!: Antifreeze tech. If you own a wasserboxer (waterboxer i.e.. a water-cooled flat four, 1.9l - 2.1l) then you need quality antifreeze, you need phosphorous free antifreeze, on these engines the cylinder head studs corrode, this is common knowledge but its caused by not changing the coolant at the correct intervals. Antifreeze contains corrosion inhibitors, which as the name suggests inhibits corrosion of the cooling system, the radiator, the heater matrix, the alluminium alloy engine etc., also your cylinder head studs. If the interval is not adhered to then the cylinder head studs will corrode, and they won't grow back! and get to a point where they snap leaving you with an expensive repair bill for what will probably end up as a new engine as the broken parts are nigh on impossible to remove. This can be avoided by regular coolant changes, whatever the engine the coolant should be changed every 2 years, although it is more important for WBX owners. VW's own antifreeze is the one to go for, there used to be 2 types of VW antifreeze, G11 which was blue and G12 which was pink, the pink stuff is what you want but I now hear they have both been discontinued and replaced with G12+ which is compatible with both G11 and G12 and is purple in colour. There are other manufacturers of antifreeze which are slightly cheaper, Comma being a reputable brand and offering a pink phosphorous type. Please bare in mind that if you have an empty system the entire cooling system takes 16 litres of coolant, if you want a 50% mix then that's 8 litres of antifreeze you need, and a little fact here that neat antifreeze actually freezes at -6c! its not until its mixed with water that it lowers the freezing point, so be careful, too much antifreeze could end up being the death of you engine. Another fact worth considering is that you want your antifreeze protection at about -35c, that sounds a lot and even most mechanics will say its never going to get down to that level, but the correct concentration is essential not just for ice protection but for corrosion protection also. Weak coolant mixture could cause internal corrosion of your engine, giving the fragile nature of the waterboxer engine this is not good! Technical Information: Audi and Vw models made before 1997 use this blue coolant. Other part numbers have been used for the G11 coolant, such as VWW043611. Blue G11 Audi VW antifreeze should not be mixed with red, pink, purple G12 Audi coolant or the early ZVW 237 105 coolant. Audi VW antifreeze should be changed every 3 years. If your Audi VW engine coolant is green in color, it is the incorrect type and will eventually cause damage to internal coolant system components. Use only anti-phosphate anti-amine coolant. The correct coolant prevents scale and lime deposits which clogs radiators, bulge hoses at connection points, and weakens plastic radiator end sections. Changing your Audi VW coolant helps extends engine life and is easily done when replacing your Audi or VW timing belt.
well i prefer the purple colour in mine, but i guess thats a personal preference tbh colour isnt really a consideration for most people since the header tanks are more often than not brown so you cant see anyway I've used G12 from GSF and G12+ from VWS and VW, basically whatever was supplied by the online parts shop I was ordering other random stuffs at the time. mostly i use vwspares now since they actually have a clue, and everything they supply is quality gear. ive had many problems with incorrect bits being supplied and poor quality bits from gsf. plus their website is, was and probably always will be total rubbish the new one is an improvement but its still bloody complicated to use, plus now you cant see the manufacturer of the bits you order unlike the older design they had. its worth looking at the veews parts bristol site too, they have a really good database system where you can search for VW part numbers as well as aftermarket parts. http://www.vwsonline.co.uk/car_parts_bristol/ VWspares also do genuine vw quantum oils which is another reason I use them, GSF dont even do fuchs anymore just some other random brand
ive had G12+ from gsf before and it was the usual 7. however i often get it for free from the dealer i have stuck to 30% antifreeze in the past but i expect its much of a muchness
Cheers for all the reply I've ordered some g12 + to go in it along with the new expansion tank hopefully I will be able to make out the level again! Only reason I was asking is due to it being almost impossible to flush all the old stuff out so some is going to mix with the old whatever happens
as above if you remove the stat that will drain the block completely, I just pop off a load of coolant hoses and poke in a hose pipe into various points and blast it through till the water runs clear another option is to flush as much as you can, then fill it with fresh water and a cup of bio washing powder. run the car to temp till the stat opens, then after a while stop the engine, allow it to cool then dump and flush the coolant again. then repeat with a couple loads of just plain water, that should clear out all the gunk this tip works great if you've had an oil cooler failure
OK I'm paranoid now, as the PO of my P&J was more a polisher than a mechanical whizz (= a very clean car but numerous running niggles). I'd hate to add a swiss cheese cyl head to the list So a flush and refill with VW coolant is now on the to-do list. I'm assuming that removing the lower coolant hose (from thermostat housing) whilst the thermostat is open (hot) will drain the block fully, or do I really need to take the thermostat housing off? (Obviously I'd be releasing system pressure before taking the hose off.) 16 litres seems a lot for such a small engine. I note that haynes is silent on volume
that may work but it would be a bit dangerous plus the stat may shut off faily quick once it starts to cool. if it was me id order a new stat and lower flange if you dont know when they were done and change them at the same time you go for a coolant flush. check the new stat in a pan of boiling water too
Is the thermostat a pain to remove then? from looking at it once the housing is removed it should come straight out? Mine is working fine at the moment but if i disturb it or the flange do they need replacing? is it worth using a VW one or the aftermarket ones fine?
Thermostat's easy enough to remove, more of a fiddle trying to put back when you're done. What VW has a 16 litre coolant capacity? 6 sounds much more like it.
