Astra mk3 1.4 8v coolant?

[N1ova]

Hi im just about to change the coolant in my m reg 1.4 8 valve astra. What colour antifreeze should i buy for it? I have always used red in the fronty. Also anyone got any ideas as to how much coolant it holds? Cheers Adrian

[Drift]

Not sure on the amount but I just used the blue stuff you get in any garage or shop when I had one.

[RatCav]

The older 8v engines use the blue stuff. Just change it annually.

[Dave_RAYNET]

from memory, from empty when i did the head gasket on mine it was about 5 litres. I've always used the red stuff. Last december the blue stuff i had in my astra froze solid. Luckily it didn't take any hoses.

[RatCav]

Blue stuff degrades after a year or so and loses its quality hence changing it annually. Also a lot of people suffered from frozen engines as the mixtures were incorrect. A lot of garages just chuck some in to change the colour and that cannot cope with the -18 degrees we had temperature wise. That sort of temperature you need a 50/50 mix or more to prevent freezing.

[N1ova]

So if i use 4 litres of blue i should be ok? I might buy the red from some comments on here. Confused now

[Drift]

Seriously the different colours do not matter for that engine, just get the mix correct

[N1ova]

Cheers Drift, Can i put 4 litres blue in?then 1 litre water?

[Drift]

I would use two litres of water at least

[fogman]

50/50 is normally the ratio warm in the winter & cooler in the summer

[RatCav]

The mixture levels for ambient temperatures are usually printed on the blue stuff bottles

[MrTom]

Just out of interest why can't you just put full concentrate in? Surley that would ensure no engine freeze???

[N1ova]

That's what i was thinking. Would 100% mix damage it?

[Drift]

Im not 100% sure but I think the water and anti freeze have a chemical reaction to produce the best cooling and antifreezing plus lubricating also anti rust qualities.
A lot is going on with the mix but I am no chemist.

[john boy]

If you use 100% antifrezze there is a chance it will frezze i know it sounds crazy but it's do with the chemical reaction when the water added. Also i know there is a difference inthe vw blue g11 and pink g12 as when i was vw if you mixed the it turned to a glopp and we had to flush the system with chemicals.

[MrTom]

Fair do's mate. It dosn't make sense to me but you sound like you know what your on about.