looking to change the coolant in my car soon

[jayno20]

first off its a 2000 chrysler sebring LXI with 90k on it and to my knowledge has never had its coolant changed... now i am leaning towards the G-05 but im not sure if it will be ok to use in my car or not (opinions?) and i also have a flush kit made by BG (which makes good stuff im told) and an addative to called super cool, would it be good to use these? and how am i looking for the G-05?

 

[Ray H]

If your current fill is orange, it's Chrylser's G-05. The only difference between that and Zerex G-05 is the marker dye color - the Zerex syrup is a pale yellow once diluted.

(I'm not sure what Chrysler's people were smoking when they decided on an orange marker dye that's all but indistinguishable from that used in GM licensed DEX-COOL...)

 

[jayno20]

well i cant really tell whats in it now it doesnt look orange tho.. it shouldnt really matter what i put in it right? i'd like to use the G-05 because of the good things i've heard about it... but in order to flush my coolant system i just drain and add distilled water until its clear correct?

 

[Buford T. Justice]

You might also remove your lower radiator hose going into the engine carefully to get most of the old coolant out of the engine block. Put the hose and radiator drain plug back in. Fill the radiator with distilled water. Leave the radiator cap off. Turn you car on with the heater on hot and hi fan speed. Fill the radiator again with distilled water once the thermostat opens. Once you are sure it is full, put the radiator cap back on and let the car run for 15-30 minutes. Keep your eye on your temperature gauge. Remove the radiator plug and hose again and drain. Repeat the above 5-10 more times until the water that drains out is nice and clean.

When the water drains clean, do the above one last time, but only drain the radiator. Fill the radiator with G-05 only. This should allow about a 55/45 mixture of coolant to water with the distilled water left in the engine block. Keep your eye on your overflow tank and fill it to the cold mark when the engine is cold with a 50/50 mixture of coolant and distilled water.

 

[Big Jim]

If I remember correctly G05 was factory fill on your car. Even if it wasn't, G05 is an excellent choice.

You don't need the Super Cool. It's just snake oil. The flushing kit is probably more than you need, but shouldn't hurt anything.

 

[jayno20]

alright thanks i will do this soon

 

[jmacmaster]

I agree with Buford, with the exception that since you're going to drain the block AND radiator with each drain, heatup, and refill cycle, it shouldn't take 5 cycles for it to run clear. And, I'd get an antifreeze temp tester device that sucks water into a tube of balls and shows how low a temp the antifreeze is good for depending on how many balls float in the tube. You can get one at any auto parts store cheap. Then use the tester after the final radiator/block fill (after you've run the engine a while to mix the two together). An alternative, which allows you to get the mix you want on the first try, is to read the owner's manual to see how much coolant the vehicle takes and on the final fill use whatever percent of distilled water/antifreeze mix is good for where you live, which is probably 50/50.

 

[jayno20]

yeah i am in PA so it doesnt get too overly cold here

 

[labman]

If you have little kids or pets, I would seriously consider Sierra or Prestone Low Tox. Same price as regular, slightly less efficient, but much safer. The -26 F at 50/50 should be plenty good in Indiana, PA.

 

[jayno20]

i dont have either one of those, and i heard that the G-05 is the best kind of coolant to use, is this true?