RantMachine Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Hiya all,Got to replace my coolant tonight - looking a bit low and I've no idea what kind is in there at present but it's a different colour to the Halfrauds stuff (and yes, I've checked the new stuff is the right one for my bike) so topping up is not gonna be an option So in short; the Haynes says to use a flushing agent between emptying the old stuff out and putting the new stuff in. Any recommendations of what to use? Had a quick look on the Halfords website just now and had no luck finding anything. Probably just being stupid... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I would say water but it is corrosive to the internals...Just use fresh coolant, it's the easiest way.1. Drain the old stuff out2. Flush with new coolant3. Drain and refill with more fresh coolant.It's only a single cylinder so it won't have a huge amount in there to begin with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastanglianbiker Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 shove hose in top of engine and allow it to drain out the bottom for a while i guess,and yes it is corrosive to the tinternals but as its not staying in there it wont make much difference either that or buy a bottle/tub of distilled water from halfords and use that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RantMachine Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 The haynes does advocate the hose pipe method as well as the flushing agent, one after the other. Given the hideous neglect that many parts of my bike seem to have faced, I'm somewhat inclined to do things by the books on this occasion (seeing as it may never have been done properly before) and then slum it in the future... guess I'll pop to Halfrauds for the distilled water and if they also have the flushing stuff I'll grab that too, and whatever I manage to get hold of will just have to make do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RantMachine Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 Hold that thought, it's pissing it down again. Better add a battery powered light to the shopping list so I can do this in the garage... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Considering distilled water isn't very expensive I'd just use that, grab a funnel whilst you're out and cut a bit of the hose pipe off that'll make pouring it in easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 The books miss the small details, things it says are good can have little niggles it doesn't bother to bring up as they probably won't affect you and so on.The hose pipe method is well used, granted, and I see how it can't cause harm during someones ownership.But I've always been a bit worried by one thing on the matter. The water won't all flush through!Small amounts sat in the system will mix with the new coolant and in my mind that implies it will reduce the efficiency of the coolant overall, or it will boil off and raise the pressure in the system.The fact is of course that the difference it causes is negligible and you will likely never notice. I just get a bit funny with these things (you call it OCD, I call it careful )So I suggest if you do use the hose and water option, when you fill it back up leave the cap off and turn the bike on, let it heat up and allow any water to boil off, then top up as necessary... Just to be safe... I'm complicating things... Time to get my coat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 fozzy I think you are forgetting that in this day and age we have inhibitors in the coolant which stops corrosion or at least helps to stop it long gone are the days when the materials used to decay if you used tap water I have always used tap water and coolant mix and NEVER had any problems especially seen as though bikes are mostly alloy and not a cast steel block like on older cars/bikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockercas Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 50/50 mix of water and white viniger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockercas Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 http://www.ehow.com/how_7175551_use-vin ... tml#page=7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Think about all the classic bikes we see that were build in the 50/60/70/80's and are still running - i bet every one of them had WATER in its cooling system (assuming it's not oil/air cooled) , and they are still running....i like the idea of white vinegar though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I would just use distilled water.. its only £2.99 for 5L at halfords.. which given on my 800 the interval is now 4yrs. isn't exactly a huge investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 It's not so much about tap water attacking the engine materials as the waterways getting furred up by the tap water......which is why I use DI water.......but I can get it by the gallon from the labs that I work in...... Got some Engine Ice to put into the bike while I'm doing some of the maintenance over the winter months..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockercas Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 The waterless coolant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 The waterless coolant?No....Engine Ice has just got a different formulation of coolant to make it run a bit cooler......but it still has water in it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockercas Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I was going to run waterless coolant, but I've just googled this and might give it a try first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RantMachine Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 All done, didn't go too badly apart from being pitch black But hurrah! I can now actually see my coolant level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-TT600 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 The water won't all flush through!Small amounts sat in the system will mix with the new coolant and in my mind that implies it will reduce the efficiency of the coolant overall, or it will boil off and raise the pressure in the system. I was under the impression that alot of coolants are concentrated and are designed to mix with water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 The water won't all flush through!Small amounts sat in the system will mix with the new coolant and in my mind that implies it will reduce the efficiency of the coolant overall, or it will boil off and raise the pressure in the system. I was under the impression that alot of coolants are concentrated and are designed to mix with water? De-ionised water is what you mix it with, regular tap water is a no no for me.Mainly as tap water can, as Tango mentioned, furr up the waterways due to the content. Most classic bikes ran with deionised water etc.Like I say, you will likely never have problems, but it's not for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissb6 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I always mix the coolant with distilled water / de ironized water, its the minerals in the water that causes an electrolyte to get hold, end result is corrosion. By all means if stuck top it up with anything lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Ive got a 1litre bottle of Volvic mineral water on my desk. On the label it says if i heat it to 180degrees, i'll be left with 130mg of solids...Flushing your system with a hosepipe and draining it out isn't going to leave anywhere near 1000ml of water behind, so as long as you refill with Coolant (not water) with all its anti corrosive properties, i don't see a problem with the hosepipe method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Ive got a 1litre bottle of Volvic mineral water on my desk. On the label it says if i heat it to 180degrees, i'll be left with 130mg of solids...That's because they add some salts back in to it. Drinking loads of pure water can be pretty bad for your health.Personally, I flush mine through with the water from my whizzy Brita tap so it's had most of the crap filtered out then use DI water+coolant for the final fill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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