I have a 2005 MCS Convertible with only 4,500 miles on the odometer, I was wondering how often should I change the coolant and what type of coolant do you recommend, I was thinking of using Evans so I don't have to replace it anymore but if I stick with the OEM, how long can I go without replacing.
Anyone interested in an 05 with 4,500 miles? it is black on black with all options except limited slip diff. and has Bilstein PS9, brake rotors upgrades with SS lines and brass caliper bushings, camber plates and adjustable rear bars, (I forgot what to call some of these items), I also have the M7 Bar between the 2 front shock towers, rear stabilizer bar upgraded.
The car is still brand new, I have over $50k Can. into it and was wondering what it is worth???
It has never been outside except when I drove the 4,500 miles now and then, it has never seen rain or snow and doesn't have a scratch or rock chip yet, I have the 3M film on the front.
It keeps on depreciating and decided to sell it before it's not worth anything.
Thanks,
Al

 

Speaking for OEM coolant (which we carry), it's usually recommended you flush it out every 2-3 years. A project car we had a few years back had old coolant that caused corrosion to some critical engine components.

 

Was the engine components the head gasket, head and top of block?
I've seen this in ZR1 engines way back that had the same coolant for over 10 years.

 

I've been trying to find a thread on coolant replacement for the last 3 hours and can't find one, I type Coolant in the search and get all the topics that have the word coolant in them but can't find anything more specific...

 

What specifically are you looking for? Threads recommending coolant brands? How-To articles?

If it's the latter, we have you covered:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...ant_Change.htm

 

Radiator, heater core, head gasket and a few others I believe.

 

I tried to follow these instructions today but there are a few things that didn't work the way I wanted, first I drained the coolant as per your instruction but only found 2 litres came out, I had the lower hose disconnected, the cap off the expansion tank, the bleed screw removed and the bleed screw on the heater hose loosened, all I got was 2 litres.
At this point what I decided to do was to fill with water and again following the instruction, I also first bled the heater hose as I was filling the tank, then tried to fill the tank till water came out of the upper rad hose bleed screw but I filled the tank till it leaked over the neck and nothing came out of the bleed screw, I started the engine and it took at least 5 minutes to get anything out of the bleed screw with the tank full to the top and cap on, not what I expected.
I repeated this procedure 10 times and each time got 2 litres out and put 2 litres in, each time I got it to full operating temperature to get the thermostat open and kept the heater to full heat, fan on low.
It took over 3 hours to repeat this 10 times and always got 2 litres out only.
I did the 6th flush with 3 table spoons of baking soda, followed by 4 more flushes, not once have I seen water coming out of the bleed screw by filling only, the engine had to warm up before water got to the bleed screw.
After 10 flushes the water was almost clear, very little blue tint to it.
I drained it again and left it as I didn't have any coolant with me.
Since I have only water in there and only need 2 litres to fill up, I will use 2 litres of straight coolant but if the system holds 6 litres, I will have 4 litres of water with only 2 litres of coolant, meaning I will have to drain 2 litres again and add straight coolant again in order to get closed to 50/50.
I can't see any other way to get it cleaned out and filled.
What do you think?

Thank you,
Al

 

You should always premix coolant adding water and then adding coolant concentrate is not optimal.

Also regarding issues of corrosion. If you are not buying premixed coolant you need to dilute with distilled water. do not use tap water as it has minerals and salts that will act as agents of corrosion over time.

Long lasting coolant is good for about 60K. if you have distilled water as a base and you do not see gunk in your overflow you should be fine. just change it every 5-7 years for the hell of it.

 

If you want to try and drain most of the system you'll have to remove the 14 mm bolt from the block however you would need to remove the power steering fan and possibly the starter motor if you can't fit your hand in the small space. It's almost impossible to drain the system 100%, the dealers use a vacuum system to flush the coolant and it's still nearly impossible to do a 100% complete flush.If you change your coolant consistently per Mfg you shouldn't have any issues. Were adding the steps to the existing article late this evening to show how to drain more of the coolant from the block. Make sure you don't use just "any" coolant in your car as it could cause damage.
Trinidad

 

And as stated before, mini's do not use long life coolant....
the mini/bmw blue stuff is sold at bmw/mini dealerships....
Zerix sells (i think) g-05 coolant, a mini compatible euro coolant, but imo if you flushed it, a good conventiol coolant is fine...since it is almost impossible to drain 100% of the oldcoolant,evans imo would be a very poor choice...
If you stay ontop of changing the fluid, just drop the lower rad hose, and refil the 2 liters of coolant, and bleed every 2 years....always use demilerlized water...tap is better than "spring" water, but can still be mineral ladden....
bleeding is a pain...a bit of driving helps...
There a 2 bleed locations on a s...use them both?
Can you hear a slight girgle when you tirn on the car, windows shut, fan, radio, etc off in a quiet spot? If it sounds like a "mini" waterfal, air is stuck in the cooling system....in the heater core...