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What kind of coolant am I supposed to use in a 1984 12A

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Old 06-17-06, 04:49 PM
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What kind of coolant am I supposed to use in a 1984 12A

I have not had to touch it since I have had the car. The coolant light has come on and I am wondering what brand and type of coolant do I need to use.

How hard is flushing the radiator, or can I just mix with the old brand, as long as they are the color right?
Old 06-17-06, 05:02 PM
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flush rad and block its not that hard
prestone makes a little kit for coolant system flushing that kinda makes it easier
DONT USE THAT ORANGE COOLANT!!!!
i tore apart a 12a that had had dexcool or whatever it is in it and it was a mess inside!
the seals literally crumbled in my fingers!
use green.
cuz thats my favorite color
Old 06-17-06, 08:13 PM
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oh I know not to use the orange color, my step dad is a mechanic. He even sais its ****.

so Ill use a good green kind. thx for the info.
Old 06-17-06, 09:14 PM
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There is a bolt on the bottom driver's side of the engine, 10 or 12mm. Remove that and it'll drain the coolant. Open the radiator cap and it'll gush out of that drain. That will remove the coolant in the engine that way.
Old 06-17-06, 09:23 PM
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thanks legokcen, I was gonna ask that next.

Also, nice RX8.
Old 06-18-06, 01:49 AM
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Coolant

After you have thoroughly flushed the system fill it with the green Ethelene Glycol coolant mixed 50/50 with distilled water. The few bucks for distilled water may save you a bunch later on by reducing scale, corrosion and sediment.
Old 06-18-06, 02:56 PM
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oh boy,,,, your gonna think im an idiot.......

The bolt came out of the plate the holds the ground down. I had taken it off to get all the rust off. All it was , was a ground.

stupid me. ah well...... I will do that in a month or two, I will get the Ethelene Glycol, is it already mixed with the coolant?
Old 06-18-06, 09:44 PM
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Ethelene Glycol is a type of coolant. In fact, it's pretty much the *only* type of coolant nowadays. It's the regular green prestone stuff you see used in almost every car. No special anything to it.

The reason we specify "Ethelene Glycol" is because older types of antifreeze weren't aluminum -friendly, but Ethelene Glycol is.

You can buy "premixed" 50/50, which is better than trying to find distilled water and mix it yourself. You just pour in what you need, and top up whenever you need to without worrying "did I put water or antifreeze in last time" or "what's my ratio right now" or "am I going to get scale buildup because of the water?"

All the premixed stuff uses demineralized water, no scale buildup. It's awesome stuff. Yes it's a bit more expensive, and *yes* you're paying for water, but it's conveniant as all hell and I'd never go back to mixing my own anymore.

Jon
Old 06-18-06, 10:58 PM
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Thanks jon.

Why is the orange stuf so bad. all ive ever heard is rumors.
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