Mobil Universal Anti-Freeze

[Pinkney]

Where do you guys buy it from? I managed to get a 25 litre drum (14 months supply!) from a local lubricants company specialising in Mobil products. Unfortunately I am having difficulty contacting them so in the meantime I need to find an alternative source asap (use the car daily and am rapidly running out). Have tried Halfords without any luck.

Any ideas?

Cheers

Dan

[budd]

If you've used 25 ltrs of anti-freeze in 14 months i'd say you've got a major problem,what are you doing with the stuff drinking it?

[trefor]

Are you pouring it in the right hole?

[Pinkney]

I've done over 13,000 miles in that time so I'm using just under a litre every 1,000 miles. I don't know if this is about right or way over the top.

Having said that at the two services there was a coolant leak issue (minor) and there is a small coolant leak (spotted by an independent shortly after the service) which I am getting seen to on Tuesday. So no doubt those will have contributed

How much on average do you guys use (per 1000 miles or per litre)

>> Edited by Pinkney on Friday 19th July 10:35

[simpo one]

I'd venture that unless you're caning it on a track, you shouldn't lose any coolant, certainly not in the amounts you're getting through. After a long journey, park up and look closely under the car after a few minutes. Any tell-tale droplets forming anywhere? Any patches on your garage floor?

From my own recent experiences, it might be either the radiator going at the bottom driver's side, or perhaps a jubilee clip needs tightening up. The latter is cheaper!

>> Edited by simpo one on Friday 19th July 09:20

[NICE EH]

Dan,

I have never had to top up the coolant in my Griff, and I've done 15,000 miles in 2 years.

You're not using it instead of oil are you?

>> Edited by NICE EH on Friday 19th July 10:15

[Jarrett]

This sounds incredibley excessive. Just finished a 1400 mile/1 week trip round France in the Tuscan. Had 30deg temps and air-con on most of the time and the car used about 50ml of coolant.

Previous Chimp and Griff used to commute to Brussels fortnightly (from the Midlands) and used about 100-200ml per couple of thousand miles based upon how much you thrashed them.

[eharding]

Just a thought - when you top up the coolant, how high in the expansion tank do you fill it? - I've heard everything recommended between 2 inches from the top, up to the half-way level, or about 1/2 an inch from the bottom. It seems individual to the car, but if you habitually overfill then the car will habitually throw out excess coolant throught the expansion cap. Also, are you mixing the coolant 50/50 with water or drinking it straight?

>> Edited by eharding on Friday 19th July 12:29

[simpo one]

'when you top up the coolant, how high in the expansion tank do you fill it?'

I go for halfway.

'if you habitually overfill then the car will habitually throw out excess coolant throught the expansion cap.'

It does throw it out, but I've never found where from! (NB That's for a Griff; I see you have a Cerbera)

>> Edited by simpo one on Friday 19th July 13:04

[Pinkney]

The coolant tank on the cerb is made up of two halves, and according to the log book the top level is the seam of these two halves. I check the level every 2-3 days (as well as all other fluids) and the coolant is the only one that needs regular top ups (usually around a cm twice a week). However as I said earlier there have been coolant leaks found at each service. An independent spotted the latest leak as well as some other items that need looking at (a week after the service) so they will be doing a thorough inspection of the car on Tuesday. Hopefully the apparent problem will be sorted.

Anyone know where I can get the coolant in the meantime? I am not mixing it with water BTW as there was no mention of this in the log book!

Cheers Dan

[simpo one]

'I am not mixing it with water BTW as there was no mention of this in the log book!'

IMHO antifreeze/coolant is normally 30-50% of the mix. It is also very good at finding leaks, so your 100% dosage might not be helping. If you can't get the leak fixed, or get more coolant, you could put a tube of Barrs seal in as a stopgap (available from garages for about £3). Incidentally I'm not that fussy about coolant - perhaps I should be? - but I use whatever the garage happens to stock.