HELP!!! Think I've been an idiot.

[njathind]

Think I've been a bit of a muppet here, noticed that the coolant level when cold wasn't quite where it should be. No signs of a leak or anything but could do with topping up. Now all of my cars have used the orange/pink type (apart from my classic mini) so I am in the habit of assuming that when I need coolant I reach for the bottle of orange/pink in the garage.

So as you can probably guess I just topped my Z3 up with orange/pink, not much but enough to get the correct level in the expansion tank. Now I've got a horrible feeling that my car should take the blue/green type

The car is a 1999 2.0 with the M52TU engine, please tell me I've not screwed my baby up.
If it helps I've not driven the car since topping up and at a guess I cant have put in more than 500ml.

[Davejue1]

Just drain and refill with fresh. Should be fine

[njathind]

Just drain and refill with fresh. Should be fine

Crap, so it should take the old style blue/green or does it have to be BMW oem stuff?
Trying to run a Z3 whilst unemployed is turning out to be more expensive than I though
Guessing if I left it and ran the car with that dribble of orange/pink then it would mix and sludge up the system?

[rambo]

All BMW's should use the Blue.
I have a 99 Z3 2.0 , E46 touring and E61 touring.
The E 61 had Orange coolant whereas the other two were Blue
I asked advice from my local BMW specialist who strongly recommended reverting to Blue.
In any case I believe it should be changed every 2 years to protect the engine .

[BonBon]

The amount you added will not have any effect - aside from the color
Go back to watching telly.

[Del]

Go back to watching telly.

I've got both BMW and an expensive long-life pink (for another car) in my garage. Both state they contain "ethylene glycol ; ethanediol" and both say they are "nitrate free". When the z3 handbooks were printed the suggestion was to change the blue antifreeze every 2 to 3 years. In my wife's BMW mini (which uses the same BMW blue antifreeze) it has suddenly become "lifetime" unless it discolours". The pink stuff is popularly claimed to last 5-years, although in newer Audis they now take the "lifetime unless discolours" stance. I agree with bonbon - I can't see this small top-up would do any harm.

[beerbelly]

the only difference is how long it gives you the specified protection antifreeze goes off with age and the max lower temp protection starts to rise as it gets older the red stuff just last longer .

[pingu]

Because of my lack of expertise in anti-freeze/coolant, I also follow the expert advice. This can be expensive . OEM coolant and OEM gearbox oil .

But, if you want to not take BMW's advice...

If you have blue and red in the garage, mix some in the approximate proportions that are in the car now. Heat it in an open pan and allow it to cool and see what happens. When small bubbles start to appear in the bottom of the pan, stir the mixture to prevent boiling. Don't boil it as it wouldn't boil in the car (and it could be dangerous). Do this a few times and then decide what you need to do with the fluid that's in the car.

Make sure there is plenty of ventilation as the fumes may be nasty, but I don't think so. I did the same experiment at college with propylene glycol, but it was done at pressure in a sealed system. When the propylene glycol was boiled at room pressure it exploded and sprayed the inside of the fume chamber . Although ethylene glycol shouldn't explode, DO NOT let it boil - just in case.

As a guide to the proportions you need, it takes about about 8.5 litres to fill an empty car.

I'm a little concerned that you couldn't see that it was blue. How low was it? Did you add mixed or neat?

[Smartbear]

you can get testers for coolant, its like a syring you draw it up in & a float (or something) tells you what temperature it will withstand before freezing.
Ive got one in my garage i put in a safe place.....
regards

[beerbelly]

there are different types of antifreeze monoethylrne glycol )mrg_ (usualy blue,green or yellow colour) and Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) with additives (usually red or orange colour).The differences is that the additives contain silicates, nitrates, nitrites, borates, phosphates or amines so that:
· Without silicates, silicate gel or "green goo" does not form.
· By eliminating phosphates, hard water scale is reduced.
· Without silicates, phosphates, nitrates, nitrites and borates, abrasive dissolved acids are greatly reduced thereby diminishing water pump seal failures.
· Without amines and nitrites, there is no potential formation of nitrosamines.
All of this results in a considerably longer life span, whilst providing improved protection of all cooling system metals, including aluminium. Benefits over conventional silicate based coolants are:
· Improved water pump life due to reduced water pump seal wear.
· Fewer abrasive dissolved solids.
· Reduced hard water scale.
· Virtually no deterioration of heat transfer capacity during service life.
· Excellent protection against high temperature and pitting corrosion.
· No silicate gel formation during storage or use.
· Effective long-term corrosion protection for aluminium, brass, cast iron, steel, solder and copper alloys.
· Long effective service life of up to 10 years or 150,000 miles. its advised not to mix them as it may be ok but can turn into a mud like substance and block the rad ect. after reading the above I would drain and refill

[beerbelly]

another on the subject (these aren't mine I just googled it)
Not as simple as "No.".
It doesn't matter what color it is. It matters what base chemical it is. Ethylene Glycol or Propylene Glycol are your 2 choices. Use one or the other. If you have mixed the 2 different base chemical types, you will have to flush the entire system. What you will expect to see from mixing the 2 is a sludge build up on top of your water in the radiator. This is usually black, or dark gray. Gray usually only because after the separation process in the lubricants found in coolants, the 'oily" sludge will draw moisture causing the grayness.
Also, try to use PG (most of the time it's red) in engines/cooling systems that predominantly incorporate the use of aluminum parts. This will help preserve the seals and help against corrosion caused by electrolysis.

[njathind]

So after looking at the bottle I've topped up with a 50/50 mix of water and orange/pink ethylene glycol, the bottle also states its recommended for aluminium engines. As for the level I'd say the bottle was 3/4 full, slightly annoying the expansion tank is black instead of translucent. Might not have made this mistake.

Funnily enough though I've just checked out eurocarparts and halfrauds, both of the coolants they recommend for my reg are also ethylene glycol based.
A quick look at Google images also shows that the OEM BMW own brand coolant is also an ethylene glycol base, is it safe to say that I am in the clear?

[njathind]

Bump to the top.

Anyone know if I'm in the clear or not?
Like I say the coolant I topped up with is the same ethylene glycol base as the OEM BMW coolant.