The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Recently speaking to the engineer that did all the machining on my engine we discussed antifreeze.
Being in the trade myself and working on Peugeot/Citroen, I've noticed that just about all cars reach three years old and the coolant resembles the colour of larger! Apart from the 107/C1, this uses the three cylinder Toyota engine, and has pink coolant ( Citroen is blue ) and no matter how old the vehicle it never discolours - ever!

So, the engineer chap said he uses Toyota pink extra long life antifreeze ( don't mistake Toyota red as this is long life ). Apparently it's in the vehicle for life ( was called for life coolant ) and never turns acidic and will never attack aluminium.

Originally I was going to use Evans waterless but as I've found out it's highly flammable and banned on race tracks?? - I may stand corrected on this. And expensive I thought I'd try the Toyota one unless anyone can suggest reasons not to. I think it's glycol based....

Welcome any opinions on this.

If it's not glycol based, don't use it is the only advice I can give.

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BWJ
1966 Triumph 1300 Royal Blue
1966 Triumph 2000 Blue
1965 Triumph 2000 black and rust
1967 BSA B40wd green
2018 Jaguar E pace 2018
NOBODY expects the Canley Inquisition!

Big can of worms opened here!

Firstly Yes, Evans is not allowed on competitive race tracks but because it's extremely slippery when it leaks out everywhere. A McLaren sprung a leak a few weeks ago at Nürburgring and it closed the track after there were multiple accidents, this was a road car I should point out.

You'll find that most Japanese manufacturers specify a non-silicate formula coolant/anti freeze for their older cars but this is usually ethylene glycol based. Silicate free formula is kinder on water pumps and hoses they found years back, I think it also has something to do with their water. More modern cars including Japanese cars tend to use a type of coolant based on Organic Acid technology or Hybrid Organic Acid technology (OAT and HOAT). OAT should not be used on older cars like Dolomite's, it's debatable whether HOAT which is usually glycol based can be. Personally I have used HOAT with no problems and on dismantling an engine which had run it for 5 years and sat for another 3 I found no ill effects, others may disagree.

The world of antifreeze/coolant is a minefield. The colour should not be taken as a guide to content/suitability. Far better to either stick in some 'Bluecol' type or if you want to experiment then look very closely at the ingredients on the datasheet.

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Mark

1961 Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier Sportswagon
1980 Dolomite Sprint project using brand new shell
2009 Mazda MX5 2.0 Sport
2018 Infiniti Q30

I second what Bruce has said. Even though the head on a Sprint is aluminium alloy, the block is cast iron so it will need a glycol based antifreeze.

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Toledo Man

West Yorkshire Area Organiser & forum moderator
Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month at 8.00pm at The Old Brickworks, Wakefield Road, Drighlington, Bradford, BD11 1EA

1972 Dolomite 1850 auto (NYE 751L - Now for sale)
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"There is only one way to avoid criticsm: Do nothing, say nothing and BE nothing." Aristotle

It is the antifreeze component that is flammable.
Therefore for racing purposes, Evans produce a version without the antifreeze.

If you decide to use Evans coolant,
for a road going Sprint (or any Dolomite in fact) the version to use is Powercool 180,
not the classic or vintage types.
This is what I use myself. I was swayed by looking at who specifies it for their vehicles.



Ian.

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For years I have used 4-Life coolant in my V8 MGB which as you know is an aluminium engine. 4-Life is very long lasting (it's been in my car for 8 years and 31000 miles, and is still clean) and it has an indicator in it so if the red colour goes yellow, your system has become acidic. It is claimed to be safe for all metals and has a boiling point of 180C. It is not a waterless coolant, but I have never found out what the formulation is. You can buy it from Demon Tweeks.

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Mike
(1969 MGB GTV8, 1977 Dolomite 1850HL, 1971 MGB roadster now all three on the road)

A friend of mine has a late Yaris, this is what the book says.
So if this extra long life coolant is glycol and silicate free it should be ok in a Dolly? The Toyota engine is ally and iron liners....think I'll give it a try unless anyone else spots something I'm not seeing.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=32823&hilit=morris

Tony

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The Glycol based coolant has served our cars well for over 40 years. I can see no justification to use anything different, especially Evans, which costs a lot of money.

I know of a Stag which overheated with Evans with little warning and by the time the owner was aware there was a problem the engine was so hot than he burnt his hand on the cam cover.

The thing is that that very scenario can and does occur with any coolant type in a Triumph V8 or slant four.

There is a warning about it in both the 1850 and the Sprint BL workshop manuals,
when the coolant level drops the temperature sensor will still read "normal" because it is being cooled by air flow.
This is a drawback of sighting the sensor so high up at the front of the engine.
(I have not seen a BL workshop manual for a Stag but presumably the same warning is printed there?)

Rather crudely you can keep the heater set to hot and periodically check it hasn't turned cold,
or you can avoid this occurrence by using a suitably positioned header tank that has a low level warning.




Ian.

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PLEASE help us to maintain a friendly forum,
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