G11 or G12

[big ben 10]

i have just replaced my radiator and have just thrown in tap water for now. Obviously i want to flush it, add coolant and better water mixed up.

 

what water should i add?

what coolant?

best way to flush it?

 

done a search but couldnt find much tbh...

 

cheers

Ben

[mimjed 0]

g12 plus plus is what they sell now. de-ionised water is what your supposed to add.

 

vw sell flush out for the coolant system too i believe.

[big ben 10]

so is G12 better than G11, you can still get G11?

 

and where can i buy some de-ionised water then? never heard of it :lol:

[davidwort 0]

battery top up water, get a 5L bottle from halfords

G11 is blue old style 'sweet' glycol based antifreeze

G12/+/++ is purple/red/pink etc and better for the environment, corrosion properties lasts longer

[mimjed 0]

yeah g12 ++ superceeds the rest. there was issues when changing g11 i think so they changed it.

 

"Deionized water is a type of purified water with mineral ions (salts) removed. These mineral ions include sodium, calcium, iron, copper, chloride, and bromide. Deionized water is created by taking conventional water and exposing it to electrically charged resins that attract and bind to the salts, removing them from the water. Because most of the impurities in water are mineral salts, deionized water is mostly pure, but it does still contain numerous bacteria and viruses, which have no charge and therefore are not attracted to the electrified resins."

 

i dont bother with it though, tap water is good enough for me.

[Jim 2]

Yeah - G12++ with tap water is fine.

 

Check the bottles for instructions on what sort of mix you want (percentage of coolant to water). You'll need 2 or 3, 1 litre bottles to do the job properly and to have some spare.

[big ben 10]

and as i have g11 at the minute, be best to flush it correctly with the stuff from VW?

[mimjed 0]

yep, its good stuff.

[Jim Bowen 1]

H20G++

 

is that the formula for mixed coolant :lol:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

G11's corrosion inhibitors weren't very good, so I wouldn't use it personally.

 

G12+ mixed to the correct dilution will keep all cooling parts immaculate internally.

[big ben 10]

thanks for the replies everyone, will get on it

[JMC 0]

Something my old man asked me the other day - he needs to top up the coolant on his Polo which uses G12, and he was wondeing whether he could just use generic coolant from the local motor suppliers? Will there be any issue here with incompatibility of differnet makes of coolant?

[davidwort 0]

Something my old man asked me the other day - he needs to top up the coolant on his Polo which uses G12, and he was wondeing whether he could just use generic coolant from the local motor suppliers? Will there be any issue here with incompatibility of differnet makes of coolant?

 

If it's genuinely the original G12 then don't risk it, needs a fulll fush out with water and then totally new coolant

 

if it only needs a top up then just put some water in, more than a litre and I'd change the coolant though, winter coming up and all.

 

G12+ can be mixed with anything though, and if the polo has had a cambelt/waterpump change recently then it should have G12+ in it or a generic pink coolant.

[JMC 0]

If it's genuinely the original G12 then don't risk it, needs a full fush out with water and then totally new coolant

 

if it only needs a top up then just put some water in, more than a litre and I'd change the coolant though, winter coming up and all.

 

G12+ can be mixed with anything though, and if the polo has had a cambelt/waterpump change recently then it should have G12+ in it or a generic pink coolant.

 

Cool, thanks. I have a horrible feeling it's never been changed (he says he's never done it and I owned the car before him, and I never did it, lol), so chances are it's the original G12. He's off to the local VW garage in a couple of days, so I'll tell him to get some while he's there.

[harryc 0]

Wheres the best place to get G12 (or G12+ or ++?) and how much should i pay?

[davidwort 0]

Wheres the best place to get G12 (or G12+ or ++?) and how much should i pay?

VW or the likes of GSF

around 3 or 4 quid a bottle I think, need 2 for a 5-6 litre system roughly