We have spoken about which oil to use in your Mini before,but which coolant ?, if any, is best to use in a Mini, a month or so ago I blew a head gasket, and have only got water in the radiator, at the moment, thanks for any help Tony

i bought 5L Nulon Concentrated Coolant: $33 a bitch of a price but i have four cars
im not too sure about car companies making auto stuff (eg. Toyota, Honda coolant, engine oil transmission fluid - someone enlighten me on this) so i went with this one

also chose the concentrated coz theres: 1:1 option with water for normal conditions
or 3:2 for extreme conditions
you can vary for crappy side mounted radiators and cast iron blocks

one question: can too concentrated be bad for cooling properties of the fluid?

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Yup, the higher the Ethylene Glycol content, the higher the surface tension of the coolant, and the less contact with the metal of the radiator. Sounds dumb, I know. Ethylene Glycol's quality is that it doesnt boil like water and produce steam which can reach phenomonal pressures at times.

Water Wetter is a saturating agent, and causes the surface tension of the water to relax, which in turn means more contact with the metal of the radiator, and the passing air(which really cools the engine).

Enough Technocrap. If I could get Water Wetter here i'd use it, but I cant so I use 33% Glycol coolant. And yes, I still have overheating problems. I'll see if the bigger carby makes a difference. I reckon the 1 1/4 causes a massive lean out, and gives me all of my drama

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yeh ive been told to increase the fuel conk in summer

oh and the guy at the auto store told me a year ago: the more concentrated the better
he was also the one who said my 3.4L Prado would take 3.4L of engine oil,
and my 998cc mini would take 998cc of engine oil

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this stuff is excellent - expensive, but excellent. My mechanic mate who preps rally cars and all sorts of things gave me a bottle before I took my Cooper S to Winton, ran cooler all day at 6500-7000 rpm than it did driving around town a couple of days before

http://www.minimania.com/web/Item/WATER ... Detail.cfm

plus it's the oinly coolant you're allowed to use on a race track - not that they check for it on club sprints with road cars

Quote unquote Dr mini "Anything will do so long as it isn't plain water"

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what about water with abit of salt
or even better, acid!

looks like ive stumped the Doc!

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There he goes, misquoting me again..

I use Nulon concentrated glycol in mine too, 25%-33% mix. You don't need more. And I change it every 2 years or sooner.

Beware of the premixed stuff they sell in stores- some is little more than coloured water.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Geez, I meant any coolant will do so long as it aint plain water! Gosh Duc, go for it, use acid!

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

okay!

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Dont bother with the new fangled red coloured stuff, its designed for more modern cars. I dunno what the difference is, but it's specifically recommended that you only use the colour coolant that your car originally came out with.

So stick with the ol' green Ethylene Glycol Mix.

And I agree with Doc. 33% - 50% is the best everyday mix.

The original mini owners handbook recommends a 66% mix, but that was more for the antifreeze qualities in colder climates.

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"He's always been a dickhead, He always is a dickhead, He will always be a dickhead. So stop complaining when he acts like one."

Thanks guys for all the help, I think I'll go to Supercheap and look for some Nulon concentrated glycol coolant , thanks again Tony