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Added long life pink coolant to my preowned Maruti Swift petrol

24th May 2023, 11:41 by Dev Shah

Got the engine running for about 5 mins and drained it again to check for the colour of the drained water, It was still green.

BHPian Ashtoncastelino recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

It was time for the coolant change as it was 2 years since I got the car and Service Manual states coolant to be changed every 2 Years or 20,000kms. DBHPian Vigsom was running Toyota LLC Pink Coolant on his Grand Vitara since more than a decade and DBHPian Leoshashi was running the same on his GG (800). The LLC Pink Coolant is to be changed every 5 years which is twice more than the regular green coolant given by Maruti.

Took the plunge and ordered 5 Litres of Golden Cruiser Pink Coolant ( Premix ) from Boodmo around ₹210 per litre. Swift has a requirement of 4.75 Litres of Coolant. Watched lot of YouTube Videos on coolant change and also got in touch with Vigsom and Leoshashi, both were of immense help. I understood that the entire Cooling System needs to be flushed THOROUGHLY and only then new coolant should be poured in.

Since I'm doing the coolant change I thought it would be wise to get all the hoses changed as preventive measure and moreover they don’t cost a bomb. Sourced all the parts from Boodmo. One tip which Vigsom and Shashi suggested is to change the Radiator cap as well, one might think its a simple cap but it plays an important part in the cooling system and many seem to skimp on this little fella. The thermostat valve casing was smothered with RTV by MASS, I felt it’s better to change the casing as it just costs ₹54. The hose will sit flush and tight with the new casing.

So I got the Following parts from Boodmo:

Golden Cruiser LLC Pink Coolant Premix 1Litre X5 Cans.
Radiator Inlet Hose.
Radiator Outlet Hose.
Heater Core Inlet Hose.
Heater Core Outlet Hose.
Thermostat valve.
Thermostate valve case.
Radiator Cap.

Funny part is my radiator doesn’t come with the drain plug for the radiator and the only way to drain the coolant is to remove the radiator outlet pipe. Ran to my Petrol Pump and got 5 litres of Distilled water to completely flush the cooling system. Started of by loosening the clamps and unplugging the radiator outlet pipe while the engine was cool.

Removed the thermostat valve and poured regular tap water into the radiator after it was completely drained from the green coolant.

Radiator was SPIC and SPAN. Got the engine running for about 5 mins and drained it again to check for the colour of the drained water, It was still green. Did this cycle for about 5-6 times till the water drained was almost clear. Just to be double sure I installed the thermostat valve and drained all the water and this time filled with the 5 Litre Distilled Water. Drove the car for about a week with distilled water which was about 500kms. I had my eye close on the temperature gauge on the drives and it stood steady at the Half mark!

After a week, having done good number of kms I decided to drain the distilled water and see the colour of it. The car was taken on a Sunday to my friends Service station where ramp was accessible to easily drain coolant and change hoses. The coolant still had a bit of green tinge on it.

Again, removed the thermostat valve and flushed the system 3 more times till clear water came out.

The thermostat valve was in horrible state, the rubber had cracked and hardened it needed replacement.

Removed all the Distilled Water from the block using the compressed air in my friend's service station. Installed all the hoses, new thermostat valve, thermostat casing and new radiator cap, then poured the Pink LLC Coolant.

Spic and span coolant passage in block.

New heater inlet pipe.

New heater outlet pipe.

Old vs new thermostat valve casing.

New radiator Inlet Pipe vs Old.

New radiator outlet hose vs old hose.

Radiator cap.

New thermostat new vs old.

New heater pipes in place.

In goes the new pink LLC coolant.

Made sure the cooling system had no air present in it by pressing on the hoses and warming up the engine till the thermostat valve opened up. The coolant reservoir was also topped up with the new Pink Coolant. Left the car to idle for about 30 mins to observe for any leaks or abnormalities, none found, and I drove the car home. The next day morning I found the coolant reservoir was a had bit on the lower side as expected, topped it up again.