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Antifreeze ?

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9K views 35 replies 10 participants last post by  06JcSTI  
#1 ·
Hey folks i was checking my fluids oil etc today and i noticed im almost completly out of antifreeze so i was wondering if i can just refill it with the one i got already but is not the same it already has, the one in already is a blue color and the one available is orange does mixing the colors damage it in any way or does it not matter?? The one i have is peak antifreeze & coolant all and any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks to all and sorry if this is a dumb@@@ thread its my first car and im 19 so bearly learning :p
 
#2 ·
Blue as in the subaru blue coolant?

I was told by a head tech to never mix their coolant last time I was at a dealership. I'll check back when I get home on the bottle, but iirc Prestone says you can mix... But I wouldn't personally.


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#10 ·
I never add any.

There are several ways coolant can be lost. Having your coolant system pressure checked can tell you much about the condition of your coolant system and engine.

If your radiator is full of coolant and the overflow tank is between the empty and full marks leave it alone.

If your overflow tank is below empty, after the car has cooled down, then coolant should be added to the lowest line in the overflow tank only. Then check the overflow tank before the car is started and keep a record if coolant is at the bottom line or below it. If below it, then coolant is either draining out of the system or the engine is burning it. You might be able to just keep filling it. But an underlining problem exists that should be corrected. This could be an early sign of head gasket problems or your heads lifting under boost conditions. Better to check the symptoms now and deal with it if the coolant keeps being low.
 
#12 ·
Do you have any modifications like a heated AOS from Crawford for example? Anything that requires removing and installing coolant lines will sometime result in a bad seal and coolant will steam out over time. Check for white residue by any of the coolant line connections. You should never lose coolant, as it is sealed.
 
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#14 ·
Depending on your car it will either have blue or green.. my 2010 came with regular green coolant.

I've also had to add coolant to it twice now in the 25k miles it has on it. Everyone I've spoken to says its normal for water cooled turbo cars to use a bit of coolant.

Also make sure your checking it when its warm, mine is usually almost or completely empty on a cold morning and will be at the full line when it warms up.

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#15 ·
Mine leaked from the filler cap that's near the turbo side. Likely if it's leaking at the turbo, it's the heat cycles that are allowing some coolant to steam off. Again, just have a look at the connections for any white crusty residue. Coolant will only go low due to a leak of some kind, it doesn't just "burn off" like oil can. Head gasket is a possibility, but likely it's just a bad connection somewhere. A good worm clamp could help seal if you find a leaky connection - the OEM ones don't always have enough pressure.
 
#19 ·
-Get the distilled water and fill up to that bottom mark with a cold engine.
-check the level inside the overflow every few days (with a cold engine) and see if you keep losing antifreeze/coolant, that bottom line is where you want to see it everytime (with a cold engine).
-keep track of how low it is and if you need to add more distilled water (keep track of how much water you add, but you shouldn't need to).
-let us know how things look like an a few weeks

Also, you should check your oil level everytime you fill up with gas. These cars do burn some oil and each car is different. Mine burns more oil when using 5/30 cause I have forged pistons (keep reading through all these threads and you'll learn why), so I use 5/40 and burn almost none between oil changes.
 
#22 ·
Soo i finally put distilled water in the coolant airflow to the lowest mark and within an hour of driving it vanished all the way to the very bottom where it was bearly visiable again so im sure its a leak or something i was able to find this one but not sure if its the only one i have
Image


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#27 ·
Thiss, i probably havent been any good at giving information of whats going on, my radiator has always been completly full have never needed to add a drop into it its my overflow tank that seems to have a leak somewhere cause it drains whatever i put into it within an hour or so but it doesnt leak anywhere so idk?? Ill try and take it out tommorow fill it up and see if it leaks somewhere

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#32 ·
Coming in a little late here, but here is the deal with the coolants and what not:

Orange- never use in a subaru. That. Is the dextron coolant for GM vehicles. It can. React badly with the internal metals of the engine.

Green- used in imprezas up to mid-'08 and legacies up to the end of '07 this coolant is good for 30k miles and should be drained and filled during your 30k service. Subaru calls this the "long life coolant"

Blue- used on the newer subies, can be used in the older ones as well, this is good for 100k miles. This coincides with the timing belt interval which is good because you drain the coolant system when you do the timing belt service. Subaru calls this the "super long life coolant"

If you are losing more than a cup or 2 every few months there is an issue somewhere in the coolant system.

Mike
 
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#35 ·
06JcSTI said:
Lost an inch or two off the overflow tank on a 200 mile trip i took up north yesterday

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Was the temp the same both times you looked at it?

If you looked when it was warm the first time and cold after the trip, that could account for the difference.

-mike


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