Might be a daft question, but how much antifreeze do I need for my 16v Mk1? And will any type do or is there any specific brand I should be getting? Edited by: DarrenW
As usual, go to halfords(?), get the most expensive one you can afford (never buy the cheap stuff - your'll literally pay for it), i mix mine at 50% and change every 2 years. I also bought one of those gadets, that tells you the strength of the mixture, cost about 5
Hi Darren, I wrote you a long reply yesterday, but the server crashed and lost it. There are two main types of antifreeze: Blue (G11) is the older standard, needs changing every two years. Red (G12) is much newer, is more expensive, but needs changing every five years. A quick peer in your expansion tank should tell you which one you have. Be very careful not to mix the two, as it turns into a brown sludge, which is a pain to remove. To solve this VW have a new product (G12a I think) that is purple and is compatible with both previous types. I haven't seen it in the shops yet though. Buy nay decent brand, since the extra few quid is good value in the long run. There isn't much difference between the major brands. VW dealers are suprisingly cheap for antifreeze, it's worth a phonecall. As for filling, the engine holds about 5 litres - the owners manual will have the exact value. But when draining you will only drain about 4 litres, the rest is still inside the engine. You want to end up with a 50:50 mix of antifreeze and water, so you need to be careful in how you add it. One trick I use is to premix the two at the right ratio. That way no matter how much you put in, the mix is always right. It's also handy for topping up, since the mixture stays 50:50. When refilling, you might not get all of it in through the expansion tank at the first go. If you do have air locks, they should self flush after the first couple of times you drive it. If you are having real problems, you can fill the system through the radiator top hose (take it off at the engine end) first, before you fill the rest through the expansion tank. Simon.
Wow, a very informative response, cheers! To be honest I don't think there's any antifreeze in it at all at the moment, I was told the mixture was weak at the last service and since then I lost a load when I didn't do the cap up tight enough once... I know that's not a good idea to just have water in there, so I guess I'll be on the look out for some red stuff I think.
Hi Darren, Bit I forgot to mention: Although it is referred to as 'antifreeze' engine coolant has two other uses. It is an excellent wetting agent, so helps cooling in the summer. Also it contains anti-corrosion chemicals to stop the inside of your engine rusting. Get some coolant in there sharpish. Simon.
Aye! Bought some Mobil (I think) antifreeze over the weekend from Halfords, nearly 20 quids for 5 litres, red stuff... 'recommended for VW, Audi, Seat' etc on the bottle in big letters. Disconnected the hose from the water pump, let the old stuff drain out - my newly acquired antifreeze tester said there was about 10% antifreeze in there so it wasn't as bad as I thought, ran the hosepipe through it for a while till it was clean water - started the engine to pump it all out. Figuring there was about 5 - 6 litres of capacity, I put two litres of water in, then went to put in 2 litres of antifreeze, only for it to be full after a litre... So I guess there was about 2 litres still in the system then... DOH!
Darren - that mixture will be alright, failing that, drain some out of the bottom radiator hose into a bucket and add extra antifreeze then put it back. You can never drain the full cooling system as there is always some left in the block and pipes etc.
Now why did I tell you to premix the antifreeze before putting it in? Not that I have done the exact same thing . You could really do with a bit more antifreeze in than 1l (about 20%). You could overfill the system and let some boil off. Simon.
I know... should've thought ahead... I'll drain some off, add antifreeze till it's the right strength and stick it back in again...
