recommended Coolant on V6

[shane wescott]

Hi Guys

Any suggestions on recommended Coolant for the 2.5 V6 engine. Obviously not some of the cheap brands but looking for proven brands and ratios for this engine.

Thanks in advance

Shane

[NSharpley]

Hi Shane,

I'm not 100% sure on the V6s but in the 4 cyls it is imperative to have an anti-corrosion element in the water.  Reason being the main bolts that the cylinder head slides on to run all the way through the block and hold the bearing caps on for the crank as well.  These run inside the water jacket and can corrode very badly.

This causes severe problems with getting the cylinder head off ...

I had a 2.5ltr V6 in an Alfa75 but never needed any major engine work so don't know if this is a problem.

Cheers

Nick

[Beatle]

I normally use Castrol antiboil/antifreeze at 50%.  Don't go any stronger than this as it can actually induce corrosion.

I ran one 4 cyl on Alfloc 2000 for about 4 nyears with no probs, but this is only an anti corrosion fluid, not an anti boil.

Glycol antifreezes actually reduce the heat transfer-ability of your cooling system, compared to 100% water (ie:  the engine runs hotter).  However this is countered by the fact that they raise the boiling point by a bit more.

You can now buy water based anti-corrosion fluids which should keep things a couple of degrees cooler, raise the boil point, and reduce corrosion !!  I'd look into these for competition work.

[shane wescott]

thanks Guys. I will change my coolant (old stuff looks old) and see how I go.

catch ya

Shane

[Sir Lancelot]

Just reading through old posts - here's something you may/may not be aware of.

After 4 summers of dealing with the heat while driving (after 20 years, the air conditioning doesn't work in the GTV6 and just drains power, so I disconnected it), I finally got the a/c repaired. As I wasn't running anti-freeze at the time (why would I?) the a/c unit in the dash froze the coolant in the heater core due to it's proximity, resulting in cracked pipes and no more coolant. A right b*** to get out of the dash, and more of a problem than I'd like to deal with. So be aware! You'll be needing that anti-freeze if you have a properly working a/c.

On the other hand, removing the heater/cooler box means I can finally fix the dodgy wiring behind it all...

[shane wescott]

hi Alex

Thanks for the heads up but I ripped out the compressor when I was mid timing belt change, gave me a heap more room, and also makes it real easy to change the oil filter for service.

Dodgy wiring behind the dash of an Alfa, what sort of baseless allegation is that :-) My GTV6 has some lovely electrical personality.

If you drive at night with the headlights on, the stereo going, and the blinkers on, when the thermatic fan kicks in the stereo goes blank and resets it self. Strangely enough if it is playing a cd (have a Sony 10 stacker) when it switches back on a few seconds later it carries on from mid song just like nothing ever happened.

Makes me smile every time is does it.

I love Alfa electricals. My favourite was a dodgy wire to the starter on my Old 1750 Berlina. At home one night with friends , car parked in the drive, mid story one of the mates says "whats that noise" open the door to find the Berlina bouncing around on the spot like it was possessed. I had a few drinks in me so when it didnt respond to voice commands, I kicked the front tyre and it stopped instantly :-)

It was a few days later when i realised it was the starter and fixed the prob with a starter wire bypass.

Gotta love Alfa's.

Shane

[Sir Lancelot]

You've trumped me on the electrical problems there!