Morris Minor Owners Club

What are the issues with pink long life OAT antifreeze being used in a Minor please?

Take a look at this link, written by the FBHVC

https://www.mg-cars.org.uk/imgytr/hints ... freeze.pdf

Well some websites, blogs etc say it doesn't matter so long as you don't mix them, but I don't think those places go far enough back in the technology.
Halfords say

A general guide to antifreeze

Cars made after 1998 normally need antifreeze that uses silicate-free, organic acid technology (OAT). These types of antifreeze offer better corrosion protection so that parts don't need to be changed as often.

Cars made before 1998 usually need antifreeze that isn't OAT-based and that does contain silicate.

But they don't explain why older cars need silicate.
https://www.halfords.com/advice/motorin ... r-your-car

This perhaps explains it a bit more, though it is US info. https://fuelandfriction.com/weekend-war ... f-coolant/

Thanks to you both. It’s difficult to know now with all these products, even Bluecol appear to have a long life product, so maybe this has this OAT as well. Halfords do a product with silicates so I’ll go for that. Europarts do a blue triple X antifreeze which I think has silicates but cannot be sure.
OAT is not too clever for gaskets and seals, apparently, maybe modern vehicles have neither. Why keep things simple if you can make them complicated.

Maybe a blanket over the bonnet?...like we used to do.

Much too simple!

Yeah, get the right stuff....please?

Some years ago I ran a fairly unscientific test, one Minor with Bluecol, the other with long life modern OAT. Both cars had silicone hoses and were standard and the same in all other respects. The one with modern AF suffered from salts appearing around rthe heater tap and thermostat housing, and also lost water even though no leak (pressure tested) could be found. The one with Bluecol had no problems. Changing the OAT for traditional Bluecol solved all the issues with that car. For me, that tells me all that I need to know: Do not use OAT in a Minor.

Interesting test. How long did you have the OAT in there for?

Just under a year.

Further to this, only soft water should be used in the cooling system. Those of you unfortunate to live in hard water areas should use clean rainwater.

If you want the ultimate corrosion protection there is always waterless coolant.

Now there’s a good way to waste your money, it’s almost as daft as having a pool in England.

Depends where you are coming from, if you have something like an elan where the head costs £3000 to replace £150 for coolant which eliminates the risk of corrosion and boiling over seems pretty good value.

kevin s wrote: ↑Sun Oct 13, 2019 10:22 pm Depends where you are coming from,

From the land of the Minor where heads are £30 on ebay and the cooling system is more than adequate. I get your point about alloy heads on exotic stuff though.

Well, this is an interesting topic for me, as I run a 2003 MINI Cooper (R53) as a daily driver, which has always had pink/red coolant since I bought it, and has intermittently lost some from time to time, hence I check it at least once a week. Reading up on R53 forums suggests it should have blue coolant, so it looks like I shall have to drain it off and refresh it before winter sets in...