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MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - Anti freeze in a ZT160

About a month ago I bought a ZT160 (1.8 turbo) with 1263 miles on it.

One of the fist things I did on getting it home was check the water level in the cooling system. It was just a little low so I topped it up with half a cup of anti freeze. I didn't have any of the pink stuff so I used ordinary blue anti freeze.

Someone has told be that this is a great diaster,my head gasket should have already blown and I must drain the cooling system straight away and refill it using the pink anti freeze.

Is this true?

Thanks in advance.

David
David Witham

The pink stuff is OAT coolant - which has a long service life. The blue stuff you've added is probably a standard ethylene glycol antifreeze. Unfortunately, the two aren't compatible.

As a general rule, you should probably only top up with water unless you've got the correct antifreeze.

What should you do now? You're car isn't about to blow up, fortuantely - and no, you head gasket isn't about to fail either. But it may be a good idea to book the car in for a coolant change at a dealership (they ought to have the correct vacuum assisted kit).
Rob Bell

This thread was discussed on 14/06/2006

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