How fast do you go through radiator fluid?

[peepsalot]

Just looked under my hood and saw that the radiator resevoir has about a milimeter of fluid in it. I run pretty much stock, and have had the car about a year(13k miles). I guess it's one of those things I've never been in the habit of checking, but I will now.
Just curious how often others go through fluid, or change it out. Should I just go ahead and get the whole thing flushed while I'm at it, or just add a bottle of distilled water?

 

[mspdfreak]

If you've had it a year, I would go ahead and do the whole "flush and fill" thing. I'm coming up on a year myself, and plan on doing it mid-september. I like to think a year between this process is just right.

 

[Rawyzf]

Well....since my leaks a little, I go through it pretty fast. I need to fix those stupid stock hose clamps. It's getting my Injen intake a little green.

 

[Black Majik MSP]

The stock clamps suck ass, but I am leak free now with the Samco hoses & screw type clamps.

There are a lot of things that most people don't check often enough: coolant level, oil level, tire pressure, etc.

 

[Rawyzf]

diapers

The stock clamps suck ass, but I am leak free now with the Samco hoses & screw type clamps.

There are a lot of things that most people don't check often enough: coolant level, oil level, tire pressure, etc.

 

[peepsalot]

Does this sound like a normal loss though? Anyone think I could have a leak?

 

[peepsalot]

The stock clamps suck ass, but I am leak free now with the Samco hoses & screw type clamps.

There are a lot of things that most people don't check often enough: coolant level, oil level, tire pressure, etc.

Isn't some oil light supposed to come on when/if it ever gets low? Or is that light for something else?

 

[peepsalot]

How hard is it to do the flush yourself? How do you dispose of the old fluid? I wonder if I should just go to jifffy lube and be done with it.

I know, so many questions...(blah)

 

[Chewbacca]

Same thing happened to me... I noticed a little leak in one of the lower hoses and it was dripping coolant all over the engine... So I took it to the dealer and had them replace it... Of course, they didn't have it in so I had to go back 2 days later and they got it fixed... flushed and refilled the coolant...

But then the next afternoon, I opened up my hood and there was friggin coolant sprayed all over creation! Turns out that as they were replacing the leaky hose, they messed with the clamp on the upper radiator hose... So since they didn't have that hose available, either, I had to go back again. DAMN FOOLS! Don't they have anything in stock!?

Anyways... I'm running leak-free now... and it was all covered under warranty... So just hit up the dealer and they should take care of it. It might take a while, though.... hehe... how frustrating.

 

[Rawyzf]

I could do that...but I don't want to have to the the MBC off, I know it's easy, but I am lazy .

-Ryan

Same thing happened to me... I noticed a little leak in one of the lower hoses and it was dripping coolant all over the engine... So I took it to the dealer and had them replace it... Of course, they didn't have it in so I had to go back 2 days later and they got it fixed... flushed and refilled the coolant...

But then the next afternoon, I opened up my hood and there was friggin coolant sprayed all over creation! Turns out that as they were replacing the leaky hose, they messed with the clamp on the upper radiator hose... So since they didn't have that hose available, either, I had to go back again. DAMN FOOLS! Don't they have anything in stock!?

Anyways... I'm running leak-free now... and it was all covered under warranty... So just hit up the dealer and they should take care of it. It might take a while, though.... hehe... how frustrating.

 

[Black Majik MSP]

How hard is it to do the flush yourself? How do you dispose of the old fluid? I wonder if I should just go to jifffy lube and be done with it.

I know, so many questions...(blah)

I flushed my coolant system when I changed my hoses. You can probably do it yourself in under an hour, but it's easy to end up spending much longer because there are lots of steps & you have to keep flushing until all the color is gone. Only then can you fill it back up with your choice of coolant (antifreeze or distilled water/Water Wetter mix like me).

Here is the service manual How-To:

 

[Black Majik MSP]

I should have taken a picture, but I ended up with like 4 gallon jugs & 4 2.0L bottles...all FULL of coolant. Just take it to any local place that does oil changes or a place like Discount Auto. If you ask inside, they usually have a place to take it or you can just leave it outside if they are closed.

 

[mspdfreak]

Isn't some oil light supposed to come on when/if it ever gets low? Or is that light for something else?

If your oil light ever comes on, pull over immediately!!! That sucker comes on about five miles before your engine blows.

 

[1338]

The stock clamps suck ass, but I am leak free now with the Samco hoses & screw type clamps.

There are a lot of things that most people don't check often enough: coolant level, oil level, tire pressure, etc.

where did you get these hoses at? I looked at their site and found then for the p5 is that the kit you ordered and how much were they, i could not find a price.

 

[03MSP]

If your oil light ever comes on, pull over immediately!!! That sucker comes on about five miles before your engine blows.

I was just about to say the same thing. The low oil light is not a friendly reminder that your oil is getting low, it is a mean scream telling you that you are 1 minute away from being ????ed.

 

[girth]

Does this sound like a normal loss though? Anyone think I could have a leak?

You have a leak my friend.

 

[peepsalot]

Ok, thanks for all the info y'all.

I was thinking about this on the way home though, why would you need to change out your fluid? It is a closed system(when its not leaking that is), so it seems like it would stay clean indefinitely. Does the cooling system corrode on the inside? The antifreeze breaks down?(big woop, i'm in austin) Is the water actually dirty when you flush out the radiator, or is the whole thing a big scam created by evil corporations that own the lube shops?

 

[terbow]

mabye the heating of it and cooling takes it toll on it, like oil. im sure it breaks down chemically and loses its cooling efficiency. thats my take on it lol