[wolfinstein]

@ elf...any brand I should look for, or HP Kool is good enough..!

Can I do it myself- How ?

[elf]

Originally Posted by wolfinstein

@ elf...any brand I should look for, or HP Kool is good enough..!

Can I do it myself- How ?

Most brands from industry majors (Castrol, HP, BP, IndianOil, etc.) should be OK. I generally use the one from Castrol. Don't know what it's called, but am sure you'd get it at any parts store / gas pump.

Doing it yourself is possible too.

1. Keep a pan below the radiator before you start, & wear old clothes as it may get messy.
2. Make sure your engine's cold.
3. Unhook the coolant reservoir from the car's body, & also the radiator feed & overflow pipes. Check them both for any cracks or hardened / unpliable rubber.
4. Wash the coolant reservoir thoroughly with clean water only.
5. Find the fluid release bung at the bottom of your radiator & open it. Old fluid will start coming out. Make sure the pan is directly under this flow, else you'll create a mess.
6. Then open the radiator cap. The old coolant will start gushing out from below.
7. Once all the old coolant has drained out, close the bottom bung.
8. Refit the coolant feed & overflow pipes & the coolant reservoir.
9. Check that all connectors / clamps are well fastened & tight.
10. Fill coolant & water in the coolant reservoir to the correct level.
11. Then fill up the fresh coolant & distilled water through the radiator cap.
12. Start your engine & let it run for about 2 minutes, topping up any fall in coolant at the radiator.
13. Close radiator cap. You're ready to roll.

Methinks it's better you get it done at your garage. They can also flush your radiator with radiator flush before filling in the new coolant, which may do wonders for your cooling system. A labour charge of upto about 100 / 150 bucks seems fine for this.

[amu1983]

A couple of points... (related to the very 1st msg in this therad)

1. Try not to rely on the temperature /oil meter readings. The temperature sensor usually measures the coolant temperature, and not the actual engine temperature. So, if you have no coolant in the tank, the meter would read 'normal' and your engine cud be burning inside. After a few kms drive (pref. in the night, coz during the day the Sun will play its role), touch the front bonnet of your car, it should be warm, and not HOT.

2. Coolant leakage is a serious matter. Get that fixed asap.

3. Possibly, you have over-oiled your car. That's why, the reading meter is going crazy when you brake/accelerate. It happens coz the oil level is disturbed.

[vivekiny2k]

sorry to bring the old discussion alive, but even after 4 trips to the mech, he is still clueless. the car is heating in red zone after 40 miles of drive, that's a problem i can't reproduce everyday.

In fact he changed the hoses on my first complaint of losing coolant (and the thermostat), and then this thing started. in the last visit he found a leak in his installation and fixed it.

here are couple of observations. please let me know if you can figure anything out.


1. heating only happens after 40-50 miles.
2. most of the times when it happens and I open the hood, the reservoir is full, and i can actually feel bubbling/boiling. I think that should not happen.
3. once after it cooled down, there was vacuum created inside the cooling system, and the hoses had shrunk. i had to open the cap to let air in, and then refilled the coolant.
4. last time when i opened the cap, there was no pressure inside. the reservoir was full though.
5. not to assume that it loses the pressure all the time, at times it shows a lot of pressure build up. may be it loses over a period of time.
6. the coolant had some dirt (sand like particles) in it when it spit it out in reservoir.

I suspected a bad valve (cap), and replaced it this sunday. still need to test it with a long drive.

[wolfinstein]

Is the Fan working fine..! It should kick in at set intervals, Also You try to remove the entire radiator unit and get cleaned with Soap Solution and re-mounted, some times with Pro-long use Dirt and Grime accumalate inside the fins, causing problems.

[vivekiny2k]

yup, whenever i stopped with the heated car, the fan was running fine.

also, if i turned the engine off and again started, it would go down to normal and be ok for 10-20 mins before heating up again. (I had a really long drive )

[bruty]

Can some one please confirm, how to top up the coolant level in Safari 2.2.

I know we need to put the coolant in Auxillary tank. Do we need to mix it with water or just pour the stuff from can to auxillary tank directly and rest in peace.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Hi Bruty
I was told by my mechanic that you should never top up coolant in a vehicle. You should ideally drain out the existing stuff and then refill it. I don't know if it is correct but he said that the viscosity of used coolant wouldn't match that of the new coolant and therefore it will never mix properly.
Sudipto

[dadu]

Aux tank is pure coolant, viscosity will change but only if you use a different brand of coolant than what was already used in the aux tank while the radiator was filled.

Originally Posted by bruty

Can some one please confirm, how to top up the coolant level in Safari 2.2.

I know we need to put the coolant in Auxillary tank. Do we need to mix it with water or just pour the stuff from can to auxillary tank directly and rest in peace.

[hrish90]

I have a query regarding engine oil & coolant.

I had 100% water in my radiator and also the coolant reservoir since the past 2 weeks as i had a problem of coolant leak (which has now been fixed). I went to the petrol pump to add coolant to my car (Hyundai Accent 2002). The dude at the petrol pump emptied the coolant reservoir and added 1L coolant in it & advised me to add another 1L when the coolant becomes low from the reservoir since there should be 50:50 coolant and water. The problem now is, the coolant is above the MAX level, almost completely full. Is this the correct way to add coolant to the car ?

My second query is regarding the engine oil. The engine oil becomes low very quickly, in around 20-25 days (around 500 km). Also, i have noticed that after topping up 1L oil, there is this white smoke which comes out of the exhaust when I first start the car in the morning. The smoke lasts for about 30sec after that it's back to normal. Is my oil leaking in the exhaust which is causing the oil to drain quickly ?

Thanks & much appreciated,
Hrishi

[kutlee]

your car needs thorough checkup. It is best to fix oil issue, get engine fixed, and replace entire coolant. White smoke is oil burnt. The smoke will have smell like 2 stroke autos.

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by hrish90

......Is this the correct way to add coolant to the car ?

My second query is regarding the engine oil. The engine oil becomes low very quickly, in around 20-25 days (around 500 km). Also, i have noticed that after topping up 1L oil, there is this white smoke which comes out of the exhaust when I first start the car in the morning.

1. Correct way to add coolant is to drain out all coolant from the radiator and the reservoir, 'pressure clean' the radiator using high pressure water (used for water wash) and then add coolant mix (coolant + distilled water in the correct proportion mentioned in the label).

2. If engine oil level comes down, it is getting used somewhere:
a. Check for leaks underneath the car
b. If oil gets inside the engine and burns (due to weak rings), you would probably see black smoke from exaust.
c. White smoke in the exhaust indicates coolant (or water) getting inside the engine. A faulty head gasket, probably?

[hrish90]

Thanks for the quick replies.

There is no oil leak under the car. Also, i do not see any black smoke. It's just white smoke which only last for about 30 sec when i start the car engine first time in the morning.

A mechanic once told me that the problem was related to the piston rings but as per you, the symptoms are black smoke for the same.

Is there any good mechanic in Mumbai (Suburbs) for the Hyundai Accent. I just want to get the problem fixed and want the car to be stable again.

Also, how long can i just top up the oil and keep driving before my engine breaks down ?

[jinojohnt]

Some more info on this:
http://www.aircare.ca/inspinfo-bro-smoke.php

Black Smoke means that excessive amounts of fuel is being delivered to the cylinder for combustion.

White Smoke from a fully warmed-up engine may indicate the presence of engine coolant in the combustion chamber.
Continuous white smoke is a sign of a failed head gasket or a crack in the cylinder head, allowing the coolant to get into the combustion chamber. When white smoke appears, repairs must be made quickly or serious damage will occur.

Blue Smoke accompanied by an acrid smell, may indicate that lubricating oil is getting into the combustion chamber.

[hrish90]

Recently, i've started using CNG engine oil insted of Petrol engine oil. The white smoke is less now.