General Distilled water in coolant?

[marc4242]

I hadn't done collant before and I just drained the rad and replaced the coolant with a 30% antifreeze/tap water mix.

I've just found out that I should have used distilled water :bang:. How important is this on the 899cc Cinquecento engine?

 

[rallycinq]

Depends on where in the world you are.

Hard tap water will cause a problem, soft won't

Cheers

SPD

 

[marc4242]

I'm in a hard water area. So, should I redo it, or is it liveable with for 2 years?

 

[rallycinq]

I'm in a hard water area. So, should I redo it, or is it liveable with for 2 years?

Change it next year.

Cheers

SPD

 

[inki]

Hi, it is recommended that you us distilled water as it reduces the buildup of scale in the cooling system,(just like a kettle) but this is in the extreme cases, I used tap water for many years without fault so wouldn't worry & I live in the South where the water is hard. I would suggest that if you need to topup add antifreeze/coolant neat to bring the mix upto 50% as recommended by most manufactures you can buy a antifreeze/coolant tester at Halfords for £1.99p to make sure of strength for the winter.

 

[marc4242]

Thanks for that. I did have the percentage higher but it went the lower when I started the engine and the old engine coolant mixed in with the new stuff I had put into the rad. I'll add some neat stuff as you say.

Marc

 

[fingers99]

De-ionised water, the ice you chip off when defrosting the freezer, or rainwater will do fine, too. Filter as appropriate.