Coolant questions

[starcott]

Mark 6 chassis cab RWD 2.4 TDI 55 reg

Coolant has not been changed from new but only covered 7000 miles.
Colour of coolant is orange.

Maintenance schedule in Haynes manual says to renew coolant every 30,000 miles or 2 years whichever comes first. It also says that vehicles using Ford purple Super Plus coolant do not need to renew coolant on a regular basis. However, I recall seeing a Ford service schedule for my engine stating that 'every 10 years, replace orange coolant with Super Plus'.

Can anyone please advise me on my situation? Should I renew the coolant now? What is the likely damage if the existing coolant is left in?

If I do renew, what is the best coolant to go for?

[captain hook]

As long as it's not been diluted down by adding water I would leave it alone

I'm sure there are more important issues with a 5 year old Transit!!!

I would devote my time to rustproofing the underside.

With that mileage sounds like it has been left standing for months.

[starcott]

I am certainly happy to leave well alone; nothing has been added to the mixture since the vehicle was new.

However, I'm still interested to know what the effect is of leaving the coolant in as the years go by. When does it become important to change it?

[captain hook]

I am certainly happy to leave well alone; nothing has been added to the mixture since the vehicle was new.

However, I'm still interested to know what the effect is of leaving the coolant in as the years go by. When does it become important to change it?

When it becomes diluted by topping-up with water therefore no longer

providing protection from freezing......

Therefore if you Top-Up with a 50% Mix then never!!!

[darkbluevanman]

You can get longlife coolant (5 year), it's orange (carplan I thinks?) just done mine with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water

[darkbluevanman]

Oh, if you do it, drain, add new solution (mixed) and fill to max on exp bottle, warm up or drive around for a while , then leave over night.. check level again the first thing before you drive, do this every morning until the coolant no longer drops... don't be tempted to take cap off and top up when the engines warm!