Antifreeze

Please could somebody advise me on what antifreeze I need to get for an X19 Gran Finale and where best to buy it from? Also, is there a special solution to flush the system out as I notice the water looks a bit rusty? I've not had the car long. Thank you in anticipation. Nick

Hi Nick,

To drain the system there are a couple of screws on the metal pipes underneath the car to the front of the central tunnel.
Undo these and drain the fluid.

I tend to pull off a few hoses and then flush out the system using a hose pipe until clean water comes through.
It is a good idea to pull off the hoses for the feed and return for the heater circuit and flush out as well.

When ready to refill, put the two screws back in to the metal pipes and refit any removed hoses.

Then raise the front of the car to a point where the top of the radiator is higher than any other part of the cooling circuit, including the water thermostat on the carburettor.
You get to the bleed point from under the bonnet. Depending on whether you have a carpet or not you may need to roll it back.
You will then need to locate a rubber grommet on the top of the radiator cowling, on the left hand side of the car and underneath the nose cone.
Pull the grommet out and the bleed screw is under there. You will need an Allen key to open it.
Don't over tighten the screw after bleeding.

Once you have found the bleed screw, loosen it a turn and fill up the system from the expansion tank until coolant dribbles out of the bleed screw. Re tighten the screw.
Take the car for a short run, get it warm and the water circulating.
Do the procedure again.
You will know it is fixed when the temperature is correct and stable, no periodic fluctuations which are air bubbles in the system.

Also, as per flushing out the heater circuit, I fill that up separately and reconnect the hoses when filling the system up. This is to try and get rid of any air in there.

When I last replaced the fluid I put in 11 litres with a 50-50 mix of coolant and water.

Also, when refilling it is important to use the BLUE coolant rather than the red. Apparently the red does nasty things to some of the seals.

I think that covers most of it. Be prepared for a mess on the driveway

Cheers
Andy

I’ve been hearing good things about Prestone antifreeze. It’s compatible with older cars and has a 10+ year life in the car also it’s compatible with whatever antifreeze is already in the car.

Prestone also make a coolant flush that will remove scale and silicate deposits in the system so depending on how bad your car is you may want to use that first then flush.

My approach is a little different to Andy’s, i’d leave the drain bolts alone as they can shear off if corroded and just remove the front hoses trying not to get soaked in the process. Remove the rear hoses as well and flush through, if you want to go the full monty you can drop the rad and flush that off the car as it clears better. Remove the thermostat housing from the engine and disconnect the large hoses and flush the block and pump.

Open the heater valve and flush through the heater , the heater feed and return pipes.

Filling, uses a 50/50 mix of anti freeze and deionised water, I always put the nose down of the back of the car up when filling so the expansion tank is well above the radiator and the radiator bleed. Fill until coolant escapes the bleed, nip it up and run the car up to temp with the expansion cap off. and the heater valve fully open. Put the cap on and drive a few miles, air will have got into the radiator and you will need to crack open the bleed on the radiator several times to clear it. Don’t over tighten it especially when hot….ask me how I know!

Good luck.