alright guys
firstly thanks for all ur help with my threads of recent:worship:
cars almost runnin like new just one more thing!!

i was wondering...with winter on its way i wana sort out my coolant/antifreeze...its gettin abit murky and iv had a radiator leak recently cured so was toppin up with water regularly so i think my cars in need of some coolant.
i need to know how to remove all the old water/coolant from the system and how to replace it with fresh...also what ratio of coolant to water should i use? plus do i have to flush the water system after removing the old stuff? if so how do i do that?

cheers guys

drain by removing bottom rad hose. flush with a hose pipe. fill with 50/50 coolant and water. i would fit new thermostat now whilst its going to be drained anyway

It's best to use distilled water, no tap water.
And, according to Fiat, it's ok to use the orange/red long life coolant (after a good flush!) even if the engine was cooled with the green/blue stuff before.

Peter Pick-Up said:

It's best to use distilled water, no tap water.
And, according to Fiat, it's ok to use the orange/red long life coolant (after a good flush!) even if the engine was cooled with the green/blue stuff before.

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I strongly suggest you don't, the rust inhibators etc in red/orange coolant can cause serious damage to pipes, water pumps etc. Stay with the recommended.

As for distilled water, yeah thats a good idea, stops the green mould growing inside the system.

To drain...

1. Switch Ignition on turn heater controls to max heat. Then turn off.
2. Remove bleed screws, expansion cap and lower radiator hose or radiator drain plug (JTD).
3. Drain coolant.
4. Switch Ignition on Turn heater controls to cold. Then Turn off.
5. Flush coolant out with hose pipe if you want.
6. Switch Ignition on Turn heater controls to max heat. Then turn off.
7. Refit Drain Plug/Lower Radiator Hose.
8. Refill with new coolant.
9. Press pipes to push fluid round. As soon as coolant starts running out of the upper bleed screws without bubbles, tighten the screw.
10. Repeat for other bleed screws.
11. Put the expansion cap back on. Start engine and continue to renew coolant and squeeze the coolant pipes to push the fluid round.
12. Get the car to a temperature the thermostat opens and the fluid continues around the heater matrix.
13. Unscrew bleed screws and check there are still no bubbles.
14. Once satisfied the air is out, lock the upper bleed screws.
15. Fill the coolant to MAX.
16. Refit expansion tank cap.

To help fluid go round the system, I blew into the expansion tank. It does work but I wouldn't suggest it once engine is to temperature as you may do it wrong and get hot coolant in your face, mouth etc. Best to not do it at all, so do at own risk.

cheers joske
one more question mate .. where are the bleed screws on a 1.4?
im a novice but can turn my hand to anything with a few pointers.

also is the 50/50 coolant to water mixture correct and would it be this mixture all year round?

also whats the need for turning dials on heater matrix?

Well, I'm sorry to disagree here....
It IS completely safe to switch to the (orange) long life coolant, no problems are to be expected.
In fact, you don't have any choice today, as long as you keep it original.
The old fashioned green Paraflu G11 is no longer available at any Fiat dealer, (they ALL use orange/red long life coolant today in all engines).
Instead ALL Fiat engines can run on orange, long life Paraflu Ulta Protection ( G12) which is currently the only coolant on sale at any Fiat/Alfa/Lancia/ Iveco dealership. ( although you may find some old stock somewhere if you try hard.....).
I have converted many Fiat and Alfa engines to the new long life coolant without ANY problems, just flush it very good!!

The reason why the heater dial has to be turned into the "on" or "heating" position, is because by doing so, the ( small) heater radiator will be emptied and filled with fresh coolant as well!!

(Btw long life coolant means changing every 5 years instead of two years....)

Oh, and DON'T use the plastig bleeder screws, they probably WILL brake when closing warm....
You don't need them at all.

Peter Pick-Up said:

Oh, and DON'T use the plastig bleeder screws, they probably WILL brake when closing warm....
You don't need them at all.

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you do have to bleed with them, but like on any system you should bleed cold and not running. its no good bleeding hot when coolant has expanded



are you sure bravo has a cock? a lot of fiats dont have one and heat is controled by flaps

I broke a few of them, hot and cold... those plastic parts are so fragile, I don't use them anymore, bleeding goes well though....!

Peter Pick-Up said:

Well, I'm sorry to disagree here....
It IS completely safe to switch to the (orange) long life coolant, no problems are to be expected.
In fact, you don't have any choice today, as long as you keep it original.
The old fashioned green Paraflu G11 is no longer available at any Fiat dealer, (they ALL use orange/red long life coolant today in all engines).
Instead ALL Fiat engines can run on orange, long life Paraflu Ulta Protection ( G12) which is currently the only coolant on sale at any Fiat/Alfa/Lancia/ Iveco dealership. ( although you may find some old stock somewhere if you try hard.....).
I have converted many Fiat and Alfa engines to the new long life coolant without ANY problems, just flush it very good!!

Click to expand...

I still disagree. If you don't believe what i've said, try googling it. You'll find page after page reinforcing what I have said. LINK. Don't change to orange/red coolant, stay on the recommended green/blue coolant. Newer cars use the red/orange coolant because the properties of the water pump, radiator, pipes, etc in newer cars are different to those on older vehicles.

Its always good practice to change your engine coolant more frequently, like you would with your engine oil and not wait for the dealer specific intervals.

The original Paraflu for the Fiat Bravo is readily available at Fiat/Alfa, even if Paraflu stop making it you can still buy other brand names with the same chemical properties. I bought several bottles of Paraflu a month back from Fiat for when I had the cambelt changed.

bravo project said:

also whats the need for turning dials on heater matrix?

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As previously mentioned its to drain the coolant in the heater matrix. You don't want to flush the system with a hose pipe with the heater matrix open as crud can get stuck inside and cause air blocks. So its best to open the heater matrix when you drain, close it when you flush, open it when you refill.

Peter Pick-Up said:

I broke a few of them, hot and cold... those plastic parts are so fragile, I don't use them anymore, bleeding goes well though....!

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I would still use them to bleed the air out. Eliminates possible air lock problems.

OK Joske, did you actually face problems yourself after converting to the new coolant...??
Because I did convert several older Fiat's and Alfa's and never had any problems!!
But it's only been about four years ago, so maybe the problems will arise in the future, you think...???

Anyway, I dug deep into this when I had to change the coolant in my 1,6-16V about 4 years ago, and I did read the horror stories about what can go wrong as well.
Remember, there are many more coolant brands out there, I'm only speaking about Paraflu UP G12 in Fiat engines.
The technical service dep. of the Dutch Fiat importer told me it was absolutely safe to use Paraflu UP long life coolant in any Fiat engine.
So I did, and it's been going well for more than 80.000mls now!
So it's OK to use orange/pink Paraflu Ultra Protection G12 coolant in any Fiat engine, even if it used to run on blue/green Paraflu G11 coolant.
On the other hand, the importer told me NEVER to use green/blue Paraflu G11 coolant in a Fiat engine that's designed to run on orange/pink Paraflu UP long life coolant.

I can't speak for other brands coolant or car brands, and I'm aware that the "old" blue/green stuff is for sale at many car part shops.....

Peter Pick-Up said:

OK Joske, did you actually face problems yourself after converting to the new coolant...??

Click to expand...

Im clever enough to not change the type of coolant used in my vehicle. I take care in the maintainance of my car and not once have I had a problem with the green/blue coolant.

Peter Pick-Up said:

Because I did convert several older Fiat's and Alfa's and never had any problems!!
But it's only been about four years ago, so maybe the problems will arise in the future, you think...???

Anyway, I dug deep into this when I had to change the coolant in my 1,6-16V about 4 years ago, and I did read the horror stories about what can go wrong as well.
Remember, there are many more coolant brands out there, I'm only speaking about Paraflu UP G12 in Fiat engines.
The technical service dep. of the Dutch Fiat importer told me it was absolutely safe to use Paraflu UP long life coolant in any Fiat engine.
So I did, and it's been going well for more than 80.000mls now!
So it's OK to use orange/pink Paraflu Ultra Protection G12 coolant in any Fiat engine, even if it used to run on blue/green Paraflu G11 coolant.
On the other hand, the importer told me NEVER to use green/blue Paraflu G11 coolant in a Fiat engine that's designed to run on orange/pink Paraflu UP long life coolant.

I can't speak for other brands coolant or car brands, and I'm aware that the "old" blue/green stuff is for sale at many car part shops.....

Click to expand...

It really doesn't matter how many cars you've put that stuff into or the fact your using it in your car, your not supposed too, fact is fact. Unless you pour acid into the coolant, you wont notice any effects straight away, the problems will slowly appear over time. The Fiat Bravo/a and Marea engine and components will last longer on the recommended green/blue coolant. The only advantage of the new orange stuff is it that it doesn't need changing for an extra year or two and does its job fractionally better BUT the disadvantages are that it could lead to severe problems and its not for our vehicles. Would be a shame to have a water pump fail.

Alot of people here have had lots of bad experiences with Fiat and there technical team. Majority of people here have been misinformed and have wasting X amount of money on repairs, fixes and solutions which inevitably could of been avoided. This is why forums like this exist, most people want answers to problems. So I would take what a Fiat employee says 'like a pinch of salt'.

You've also mislead other members of the forum in other similar posts...LINK. I am really happy your running this stuff, but in all honesty you should be on the green/blue ethylene glycol based coolant. Not the organic chemical based orange coolant.

Dear Joske, it's obvious you didn't use Paraflu Ultra Protection Coolant yourself, you're only talking what others told you, one of the more common and big mistakes on any forum, I'm afraid.
Pink Paraflu UP G12 and blue Paraflu G11 are both ethylene glycol based, so who is misleading who here....???
I got the feeling you really don't have a clue what you're talking about....????
(Anyway, everbody is free to use what they want, I just give my own experiences here.....and you better respect that!)
Sharing knowledge and expieriences, that's what's a good Forum is all about!!!!