I changed out antifreeze today. It was up to 30F and I did not feel like laying under the car and getting a bath in antifreeze when removing the lower radiator hose.

I took my shop vac and sucked out the overflow reservoir and got a liter or so out. Then I disconnected the upper radiator hose and used the shop vac to remove another two liters. In total I got about 3 1/2 liters out of the system.

What I removed looked almost like pure water, but it was good to about 14F or so. I have been putting off replacing the thermostat gasket for more than a year because it only leaked a cup or so every month. My procrastination caused this severe dilution. We hit -16F a week ago and the ice slurry did not flow thru heater core.

I dumped two liters of Pentofrost NF in the system and topped it off with tap water. It looks like we are returning to the deep freeze this week and I did not want to drive to work without heat because the water/antifreeze was a snow cone.

I suspect this is the original AF factory fill (or what was left of it) as I bought the car used in 2010.

Pentofrost NF is so expensive that O'reilly's keeps it behind the parts counter.

I will probably switch to Dexcool when I dump antifreeze during thermostat gasket changeout... when it is warm... when I don't have anything else to do... in a few years.

 

Why not just buy the oem antifreeze? It's pure, so you get about 8 liters once mixed.

I've seen enough Dexcool turn into crap that I'm not sure I would use it in my car, no matter if you say that it's compatible :p

 

Oem/mini/bmw blue anti freeze was actually CHEAPER than the name brand stuff at the auto parts store last time....
Imo...stay away from dex...called a oat formulation..
Other "long life" coolants are hoat...including the oem.
If you want other than oem...imo, use a hoat long life coolant...which is most any 6 year/150,000 mile stuff sold.
Oat/dex has a different addaive pack...can eat silicones and some plastics.

 

OAT= ORGANIC ACID TECHNOLOGY...DEX...NOT COMPATIBLE with silicone, some plastics ( it can leach out the chemicals in some plastic that keep them soft....also can turn to gel if mixed with traditional coolant....
HOAT= HYBIRD ORGANIC ACID TECHNOLOGY...more of a blend of the best of the old and the best of the new ...the oem coolant is one of MANY hoat spec variations, as is most every long life coolant made.....generally "compatible" with traditional coolant, but without keeping the Extented drain...

 

Oreilly also carries zerex g05 which is pure and states on the bottle it's MINI approved. I used the shop vac method as well to suck it out then I reverse it and blow out anything remaining as well. I dilute with distilled water not tap. Why use the expensive coolant the use tap water? I don't even drink that stuff unless it runs through my refrigerator filter first. Make sure you run it long enough to open the thermostat and bleed the air out. It will help your heater work better and help relieve pressure on your expansion tank.

 

Surprised you were able to get so much out through the upper radiator hose. I tried the shop vac method a while back on the lower radiator hose only, but didn't really get much more out than what came out when pulling the hose. Next time I'll have to shop vac from the upper radiator hose too...

 

just fyi, i wanted a full coolant flush and fill.

i normally do all my work myself, but the dealer only charged $88 after tax which includes labor and oem coolant.

if u can diy for cheaper, power to ya, but wasnt worth the hassel for me.

 

I agree at this price.

 

Look left at my avatar.

The 12 year old Corvette has its original factory fill of Dexcool along with Bowling Green KY tap water. Zero maintenance and zero problems.

 

Agreed. Amazing price. I'll have to see what my dealer charges next time it's time....

 

Nice car! I don't know much about the engine in the Corvette, but the MINI's iron engine block tends put a lot of rust in the coolant, which can eat up the additives and require more frequent coolant swaps.

An aluminum block would be a different story...

 

+1
Coolants tend to formulated for all aluminum blocks....
Gen1 card have an iron alloy block....rust tends to block the heater core on cars that have not had flushes/fluid changes. Using DEX in a motor made for it (or with a manfacuter that endorses its use on THAT MOTOR) is fine....but filling a mini motor with dex is unknown...does it have any incompatible plastics? GM said dex was ok...and forgot about silacone gaskets on many plastic intakes...we all know those failed...cost gm big $$$. Why be the gunina pig when you don't need to be one....