Where abouts are you, country wise?
Add like for like or add water. If you don't add the same as what's in then you can potentially causes problems with blockages.
As it's gone totally empty there is potential that you've now got air in the system. Keep an eye on that.
Find the leak.
Use WATER until you find the leak ...
There is a leak, because that's where all the coolant went ...
De-ionised would be cheaper I think. And fine. You just don't want the chalky minerals from hard tap water clogging up your channels...
A little bit of tap water won't do much harm as a one off
Datatek
Well-Known Member
As long as it will mix with what is in there without turning to jelly.
I'd just top up with distilled water until the problem is sorted then drain ad refill with any antifreeze approved for alloy engines which is almost all.
Anti freeze should be changed regularly anyway.
FEI
Active Member
Ive been using Liqui Moly KFS12. That should be available pretty much anywhere.
I wouldnt use tap water, it will leave deposits in your coolant system.
Deionised is the best and distilled is second best. You should be able to get distilled for reasonably cheapish from your local hardware store.
There's lots of places for a leak. Heater matrix/o-rings, radiator, so the pipes and connections, throttle body, head gasket, cylinder if you have a cracked block, but those last 2 would prioritise the coolant system.
What's easy to miss is a leaking joint or radiator that's evaporating/blown away by the fan before you can spot it
What's easy to miss is a leaking joint or radiator that's evaporating/blown away by the fan before you can spot it
Cracked expansion tank, some leaks don't show till the pressure in the system is up ...
Datatek
Well-Known Member
Water softners use salt and indeed the water is judged to be bad fo consumption if for instance you have high blood pressure due to the high salt content, unless it's a new form of softner that works like a dehumidifier and produces condensate.
brianp38dse
Well-Known Member
The salt in a water softner is only used to back flush and clean the resin that does the softning bit, the bit they say was bad for you was a slight sodium content but they have decided that it is ok to drink now, i know all this as i have been subbing for Kinetico fitting softners for nearly a year now,
They wanted to pay me very good money to work for them so i took them up on it
Datatek
Well-Known Member
Either way, a softener does not eliminate calcium carbonate and other minerals from the water so it's not suitable for topping up the RAD.The salt in a water softner is only used to back flush and clean the resin that does the softning bit, the bit they say was bad for you was a slight sodium content but they have decided that it is ok to drink now, i know all this as i have been subbing for Kinetico fitting softners for nearly a year now,
They wanted to pay me very good money to work for them so i took them up on it
brianp38dse
Well-Known Member
We have three taps in the kitchen. Hot & cold softened water plus cold straight from the mains for filling up the kettle. We would never have considered fitting a water softener which was already installed when we moved into the house. It's a nice to have & only costs a quid or two a month for the salt although we use less soap & shampoo as the soft water lathers up so easily.
I haven't needed to top up since the engine was completely rebuilt 18 months & 15K miles ago. I actually have an unopened litre of ready diluted OAT in the boot if the level ever drops.
Now you've jinxed it
