new owner with 2 questions!

[blueislander]

Hi all - so I just picked up a low miles 2011 SRI NAV 2.0CDTI 160bhp and have a couple of q's

1) Despite getting a full service, the coolant is low, it's the older green stuff I think? I have ordered prestone coolant which says it can mix with any variety - does anybody have a view on what is best here?

2) My car has the shark fin aerial, but only CD 500 navi with no bluetooth or DAB - is there any kind of upgrades I can do using a new VX head unit that covers it all, or am I better off buying a bluetooth/dab adapter like the PURE 600 (or another variety you can recommend?)

Cheers!!

[markinuckfield]

Hi all - so I just picked up a low miles 2011 SRI NAV 2.0CDTI 160bhp and have a couple of q's

1) Despite getting a full service, the coolant is low, it's the older green stuff I think? I have ordered prestone coolant which says it can mix with any variety - does anybody have a view on what is best here?

2) My car has the shark fin aerial, but only CD 500 navi with no bluetooth or DAB - is there any kind of upgrades I can do using a new VX head unit that covers it all, or am I better off buying a bluetooth/dab adapter like the PURE 600 (or another variety you can recommend?)

Cheers!!

As far as the antifreeze goes I’d flush it and replace with Vauxhall’s, it’s cheap enough and long life

[blueislander]

As far as the antifreeze goes I’d flush it and replace with Vauxhall’s, it’s cheap enough and long life

Okay thanks - never flushed coolant but will look at this - it's not super low, but enough that the warning message is going off.

[markinuckfield]

Okay thanks - never flushed coolant but will look at this - it's not super low, but enough that the warning message is going off.

Favourite place for a leak is the water pump and radiator (stone damage)

[Mo_miah]

or egr cooler housing or inlet manifold

if its green then someone has put the wrong stuff in, if you bought it from a garage i would send it back and get a refund, who knows why the coolant was drained and refilled with the wrong type, if its the egr cooler housing then easy fix, but if its a head gasket issue then £££££££

if you are going keep it then get the system pressure tested for leaks
then drain, flush with ionised water, drain and refill with red OAT stuff, not all red coolants are OAT

[blueislander]

or egr cooler housing or inlet manifold

if its green then someone has put the wrong stuff in, if you bought it from a garage i would send it back and get a refund, who knows why the coolant was drained and refilled with the wrong type, if its the egr cooler housing then easy fix, but if its a head gasket issue then £££££££

if you are going keep it then get the system pressure tested for leaks
then drain, flush with ionised water, drain and refill with red OAT stuff, not all red coolants are OAT

I was under the impression green coolant is just an older type rather than "wrong". I don't know if I am losing coolant yet or if it just has been at a low level from the start - I have 25 days left on the car for a return so I will check it today and see how it goes.

[markinuckfield]

or egr cooler housing or inlet manifold

if its green then someone has put the wrong stuff in, if you bought it from a garage i would send it back and get a refund, who knows why the coolant was drained and refilled with the wrong type, if its the egr cooler housing then easy fix, but if its a head gasket issue then £££££££

if you are going keep it then get the system pressure tested for leaks
then drain, flush with ionised water, drain and refill with red OAT stuff, not all red coolants are OAT

I keep forgetting about the egr cooler on these engines, I’m still used to my old 150bhp Zafira

[blueislander]

I've got a litre of prestones coolant which says it is guaranteed to be used with any other coolant, so am going to add that and see how it goes. Frankly if the car goes bang it's going back - they did a full MOT and service but either didn't fill it up enough or ignored how low it was in the first place.

[markinuckfield]

I've got a litre of prestones coolant which says it is guaranteed to be used with any other coolant, so am going to add that and see how it goes. Frankly if the car goes bang it's going back - they did a full MOT and service but either didn't fill it up enough or ignored how low it was in the first place.

Vauxhall’s stuff always has been pink, unless it was flushed properly the green and pink make some nice sludge, usually in the header tank if my daughter Mini Cooper was anything to go by.

[Mo_miah]

I was under the impression green coolant is just an older type rather than "wrong". I don't know if I am losing coolant yet or if it just has been at a low level from the start - I have 25 days left on the car for a return so I will check it today and see how it goes.

back in the days it was blue green red, 3 types, nice and easy. You buy the same colour and top up
now the colour is just a guide, you can get same colour coolants but different chemical makeup

depending on the type of metals used in the cooling system you need different coolants to stop the metals corroding and reacting with each other

[blueislander]

Vauxhall’s stuff always has been pink, unless it was flushed properly the green and pink make some nice sludge, usually in the header tank if my daughter Mini Cooper was anything to go by.

hmmm this sounds like a chore now - I cant decide whether to take the car back to get them to check what they added, or risk adding the prestones coolant which they say can be mixed with any other coolant.

[markinuckfield]

hmmm this sounds like a chore now - I cant decide whether to take the car back to get them to check what they added, or risk adding the prestones coolant which they say can be mixed with any other coolant.

Or if was flushed properly and it just needs topping up just use water, simples

[RBH]

as said, the antifreeze/coolant should be pink.

even going back to my old vectras, it was always pink stuff.

[Lff64]

I second just adding water to correct level , if it already has antifreeze this time of year you are not going to freeze up with diluting what is in there now .
Then if you don’t loose any coolant and it seems ok plan to get the system drained and flushed later in the year .

[marko301]

I wouldn't leave it too long diluted down with water. Antifreeze isn't only to stop freezing in a winter.... It raises the boiling point (traffic jam on a hot day) and also has anti corrosion chemicals in it to prolong the life of the cooling system.