GBMUD Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I am changing the antifreeze in my 04 Td5, AFAIK it has not been done, certainly not in the 2 years I have owned it. The car now has 82000 miles under it's tyres so I want to do it before I go to the Sahara next month. The antifreeze which I have drained out is a delightful pink colour - and despite being ready with a bucket has still run all over my drive. D'OH. Anyway, is there a correct spec of antifreeze for a Td5? If so, what number/BS/'E' number do I need to ask the motor factor for? I prefer to run the LR recommended type rather than just go for ethylene glycol. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 If its pink it sounds like whats sold as "long life" coolant generally. There can be issues mixing it with plain old Ethylene Glycol, so i'd be trying to get the proper stuff. I know with our audi, they had G11 then G12 coolant. G11 was the old school yellow/green stuff, 12 was pink, and mixing them would turn to nice sludge inside the engine. They've since changed to G12+ which apparently doesnt have the sludging issues but i wouldnt be taking the risk. Your cars handbook will list the type of coolant used, so pop into your local motorfactors and buy some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crwoody Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Extract from Defender 1999 & 2002 MY Workshop Manual says - "Use Texaco XLC long life coolant. Use one part anti-freeze to one part water for protection down to -36° C (-33° F)." The last time I replaced mine, I used "Car Plan Premium Red" which I was told is the same spec, incorporating Organic Acid Technology - (OAT.) Been OK anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 I went into Halfrauds earlier on a fact finding mission. One fact I found was that a fuel filter costs £20 in Halfrauds - OK it is Fram but I bet a genuine one is cheaper! I can buy 5l of ready mixed pink antifreeze for £18 or unmixed for £21. It claims to contain ethylene glycol. Tomorrow I will visit the local motor factor. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 It is not normal ethylene glycol - the pink stuff is called OAT (Organic Acid Technology) in all Td5s and later Tdi engines like mine. AFAIK you should not mix it with anything else - it is bloody expensive and available under a LR part number from dealers but possibly cheaper elsewhere. As said it is mixed 50:50. I don't know if there is a reason why you should not use old style blue or green antifreeze in a Td5 - not even sure what benefit this stuff is supposed to give. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 If your going to use the green stuff then make damn sure you've flushed all the pink out of the motor. They use the pink stuff because it lasts much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nas90 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Chris, after you have found the correct antifreeze, consider using de-mineralised water rather than tap water. The nas uses de-min (same as you buy for battery top-up) but then I make the de-min on-site for the lasers works out at about £20 for 900 litres, if I was in Scotland the same £20 of crystals would do about 3 times the volume but thats the crummy tap water we have down south! The advantage of de-min is to reduce the conductance and the relative potential difference between aluminium and copper in the cooling circuit. Much more concerning with so much aluminium in a V8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 AFAIK you should not mix it with anything else - it is bloody expensive and available under a LR part number from dealers but possibly cheaper elsewhere. As said it is mixed 50:50. oooopppss! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 oooopppss! Que? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat_pending Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Land Rover part nos' for OAT A/F. STC50524=25ltrs STC50530=5ltrs STC50529=1ltr About £7 a ltr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 The Texaco Extended Life coolant is identical, as it's what Land Rover used to use as the factory fill. It will have something like "based on extended-life organic acid Carboxylate Technology" which means OAT on the bottle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Red antifreeze has a longer engine life - 5yrs or 150k miles. Blue antifreeze is supposed to be replaced every 2-years. I would have thought that red antifreeze is recommended for your engine, Chris. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Que? Oooopppss, - as in me mixing pink and blue anti-freeze. Don't think I've done it on the TD5 yet, but I've certainly done it on others in the past. Another one to add to the knowledge bank. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiny Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 There's a simple way to avoid draining your coolant onto your drive (or anywhere else really). I'm not familiar with the routing of TD5 coolant hoses however with 300 TDIs and earlier engines, this system works a treat. Using a length of clear plastic hose (about 10mm internal diamater), siphon off the coolant in the reservoir into a bucket. Undo the hose from the bottom of the reservoir and lift it as high as you can to avoid spillage. Shove the length of clear plastic hose into the coolant hose, lower the complete assembly to a more comforable level and siphon it out into the bucket until no more fluid comes out of the hose. By now you would have removed enouh fluid from the cooling system to avoid making a mess. Remove the clear plastic hose from the radiator hose, reposition the bucket under the vehicle and lower the radiator hose into the bucket. Gravity will drain whatever's left. Always worked a treat for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Job now done, thanks guys. Halfrauds £21, Main Stealer £32 (IIRC), Motor factor £17.25 for 'Comma' brand. All for a 5l can. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Best i put my price up for ours then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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