just a quick question, I was wondering what kind of coolant our cars take? can I just use the generic green stuff ??

 

Anyone there ??

 

honda coolant for me

 

and honda stuff is blue too normally

 

Im not looking to uprade it I just want some coolant is the generic stuff ok to use ?

 

i guess u can use the generic stuff, but u might need to drain/flush the old fluid out. not sure.

 

the blue stuff IS the stock coolant, so it is not an upgrade, that is just what color they dye their coolant


and i am not totally sure, i don't order the coolant at work , and when we do change it, we completely flush it, but we do use an universal coolant, but i think it is one of the more expensive universial coolants, to make sure it is truely universial

 

preston all makes all models. thats what our shop uses, and some other brand

 

also a higher quality coolant, so it also lasts longer too

 

nope, Clearchoice coolant, red stuff

http://clearchoiceantifreeze.com/products.html


not available in stores as far as i know and they are local too (they actually refine it here in denver), plus take our old coolant too to recycle

 

and:

http://clearchoiceantifreeze.com/pdf...roductInfo.pdf

for the specs on it

 

^i cant pour it in the drain? does the job for me

 

Hey Matt - would u recommend a flush or a drain and refill on my car/ its 01 with 106K miles on it. always been told not to flush it cuz it colud damage sensors in tranny. Nt a big car guy so have no idea if sensor would be damage. Ne1 else please feel free to chim in. Thanks

 

flush, no tranny sensors even touch the coolant, so i don't know how tranny sensors can be screwed up


drain and fill you might only get a 1/3 if you are lucky, where flushing we normally put 12 quarts or 3 gallons through the system, getting more through the system is easily too, but not very cost effective

 

he might be talking about trans flush. do teh drain and fill 3x3 for the trans.

 

p/s our cooling systems only have 1.48 gallons total capactity

 

MY bust. should have made that clear- ment Tranny flush. always do the drain and refill at dealer. but was wonderin if a flush would be better off for the tranny

 

^no no no no no. 3x3 drain

 

i would say flush, but i know alot of people say the 3x3 method, so idk, but there is the possibilty of the pickup clogging with the flush, with it not being able to be changed easily (f***ing honda)
so if it was not for that hard to change pickup, i would say 100% flush

so here is just my experiance with mine (and the previous owner's)

i am also at 106K and my tranny has always been flushed (60k, and 90k per severe maintence scheadle (sp?) plus the emergency one at 93k or so), and is fine for the time being, it did have some issues 13k ago though; aka puking it self dry [would not hold a gear anymore]through the vent tube [wroung fluid i guess, it was valvoline full synthetic which they say meets honda specs, but i guess not, so only honda atf from now on], was refilled and flushed again [with honda atf], and been fine since, except a for a little harsh 3-2 shift, especially when getting off the highway, but a new tranny filter fixed that, so all good now, still need to clean the switches and stuff still though to try and make it perfect
also i added a tranny cooler, so it does not run as hot, which i think may have been part of the reason for it puking itself (cause when i first got it and before i did the cooler), i drove down to colorado springs on I-25 (at like 90 MPH)[which is were it puked before with previous owner], and you could smell the AT fluid getting warm or something, so the cooler can't hurt

[also still on the original tranny too]

 

so it can be flushed with success,

and for the potental of the clogged pick up screen, i might have a solution for that by pulling the drain plug and sticking a oil vacuum sucker up it and hopefully being able to get at the pickup screen and sucking it at least partially clean

 

I was putting my HID high beams in yesterday and I noticed I had no coolant in the resevior tank

thats why I asked, and I had some lying around I put the stuff I had lying around in seems fine it some genaric brand but I should flush mine soon but it runs pretty cool now so I dont see the point but Im wondering how cold it goes

Do you guys know where u can get a coolant tester online?? I had a snap on one but I lost it

 

proably will be alright with that small amount, and that is not enough i would worry about testing it, especially if it was premix (should say on bottle)(and the freezing point only changes when the ratio of coolant to water changes)

i would be more concerned with the compatability with the current coolant from the potentially different types, but if you are worried about the coolant still being good, i would test the ph level, cause that is alot better indicater of the current condition of it (acidic is not good, cause then you get corrosion)

 

i noticed that my heat is not working as strong as i remember it was and i checked the coolant fluid it was like OP said empty resevior tank i filled it up and its fine... but im worry about where did it go ? huh

 

I find if you have a heavy foot it tends to eat coolant, Interstingly enough my wifes magnum rt seems to eat coolant

Im not worried about the stuff I put in im worried about the stuff that is in the rad but I never think of it before I start my car

 

Dam streetK: nw that u mention that I gotta check my coolant lvl. My heat has been laggin lately.

 

yes i do i have leaden foot lol so its normal ?

 

i have a leaded foot and i dont loose any coolant. somethings not right with ur car.

 

you should not be losing any coolant it is a "sealed" system, unless of course it is vaporizing out the the recovery bottle itself, and you can check it when it is hot, just have to be super careful, with a rag on the cap to protect yourself, and the recovery bottle should be fuller then normal, because the coolant is hot and has expand some

you mean cause it has takin so long to warm up to operting temp, yeah mine takes a litlle bit too, cause it has been so damn cold here , and my recovery bottle is filled too


btw: just use your butt warmer till the engine can warm up, and start producing cabin heat; works for me

 

to get butt warmer warm up it takes like 4-5 minutes and engine like 6-7 so whatever

 

butt warmer starts for me in like a minute or two (on high), but now if you are talking about where it is scoarching your ass, then yeah it is like 4-5 minutes

 

I still believe that once coolant starts to get older it will vaporize in the system it suppose to be a sealed system but lets be honest our cars aren't new. and to lose 1/8th of the reservoir tank a year is not uncommon if you are losing more than that there might be some cause for concern !! IMO

My butt warmer takes like 3-4 minutes to start and then it scorching in like 6 but it was -22c yesterday -8f so maybe thats why I had a guy who had to get out of my car because the seat was to hot it was f ing hilarious

 

if you are talking only about that much, then there is no f***ing problem, you made it sound like a whole bottle like every 3,000 miles or something