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sp250 anti freeze

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raw
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Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2016 7:54 pm

sp250 anti freeze

Post by raw »

further to my recent cracked rad prob my rad is now repaired ready to be installed . however upon collection of my rad I was told the pink anti freeze which is recmended for sp250 is very harmfull to the ali rads heads etc causing internal pittance and other corrosion .I was told to use blucol 50.50 ratio my rad supplier is very well known in the west mids whose products are sold through many classic outlets my problem now is which way to go . would green anti freeze be a better solution? confused RAW any thoughts .

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John-B
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Re: sp250 anti freeze

Post by John-B »

There was a lot of discussion about antifreeze on the old forum. Blue was recommended. (IAT, not OAT, I believe.)

When I had my engine rebuilt Phil Glennerster put in blue antifreeze but when I had the body restored by another company it came back with pink antifreeze which I flushed out four times and put back Halfords blue IAT antifreeze.

Ian Slade
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Re: sp250 anti freeze

Post by Ian Slade »

Any anti freeze recommended for cast blocks and alloy heads which includes most Land Rovers from 1989 except V8's Ford, and PAS group
Owner since the 70's, Genghis is slightly to my left.

Chris_R
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Re: sp250 anti freeze

Post by Chris_R »

The pink antifreeze was first introduced in the early 1990's therefore I very much doubt it was recommended for your SP250. Unless you have a very late model!

There are essentially three basic types of antifreeze:

Traditional blue antifreeze which was the original universal formula that everybody used until the introduction of more modern extended-life coolants. There is a fast-acting silicate and phosphate corrosion inhibitor, providing quick protection for bare iron and aluminium surfaces. They can be used in virtually any vehicle. The short-lived nature of the corrosion inhibitors means this type of coolant should be changed frequently hence the 2-year change recommendation.

OAT-based extended-life coolants. OAT stands for Organic Acid Technology. OAT-based coolants are usually (but not always) dyed a different colour to distinguish them from traditional blue antifreeze. GM OAT-based Dex-Cool is orange. Volkswagen/Audi uses a similar product that is dyed pink. The corrosion inhibitors in OAT coolants are slower acting but much longer-lived than those in traditional coolants. Consequently, OAT coolants typically have longer a recommended service life. OAT corrosion inhibitors provide excellent long-term protection for aluminium and cast iron, but may not be the best choice for older cooling systems that have copper/brass radiators and heater cores. It depends on the formula.

Hybrid OAT coolants. Also known as G-05. Hybrid OAT coolants add some silicate to provide quick-acting protection for aluminium surfaces. Silicate also helps repair surface erosion caused by cavitation in the water pump. Hybrid OAT coolants are currently used by many vehicle manufacturers.

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Marc Mears
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Re: sp250 anti freeze

Post by Marc Mears »

For what its worth - I was told by my engine builder that you must only use the bluecol type of antifreeze and that I must change it every 2 to 3 years as the rust inhibitor stops working and starts eating away at the block and heads ....
Do that, and you should not have may problems.... so that's what I do....
Regards

Marc
Daimler Dart. Healey 3000 Mk3. VW T2 Camper. BMW 2002tii. 996 Turbo. BMW Z3M. Hillman Tilly. Rolls Royce 20/25. XK 150 ots .BMW 3.0 CSL 73. Sunbeam Alpine Mk3.Morris 8 Tourer. 97 XK8 Convertible.Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Citroen Mehari

Dragon
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Re: sp250 anti freeze

Post by Dragon »

Yes, Marc, that is right.
Also, the severe corrosion, often found around the coolant ports in the ali heads where they meet those in the iron block, can be controlled by using a 50% antifreeze to water mixture.
I learned this from Russ Carpenter at one of the V8 Technical Days at Browns Lane. This doubles the concentration of corrosion inhibitor, but makes it even more important to use ONLY the IAT blue antifreeze.
Unfortunately antifreeze is a poorer conductor of heat than water, so for several years I have been using a 25% antifreeze mixture and raising the corrosion inhibitor level by adding a 'water wetter' that also contains it.
Wilf,
SP250 104008, Herefordshire.

PatrickDixon
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Re: sp250 anti freeze

Post by PatrickDixon »

I put Fernox Alphi-11 in my v8 saloon. It uses propylene glycol which has low toxicity compared to ethylene glycol and it's available from Screwfix in 5L. I used 50:50 with softened water.

Early days, but the cars still running and hasn't overheated yet.

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