Mk 1 Coolant Queries from Newbie

[Shimmers]

Hi fellow Forders from a Newbie! Nice to be on the Forum. Long story short, last year my good ol Toyota Corolla was written off just as I was about to do a coolant change. Resulting in me replacing it with a Good nick 04 Mk 1 Focus 1.6 Auto. It has a very comprehensive service History, not all Ford, which unfortunately I cant keep up do to money issues. But I do what I can, so have just changed the oil and filter. A nice easy job...except for the rounded off Sump Plug! Aaaargh. So had to get a local garage to weld a nut onto the old one to loosen it. Then the oil change was doddle...inc new sump plug.

Now I want to change the coolant. It looks in good nick inside the overflow and is a Pale Red Colour. I wouldn't call it Pink however. Bearing in mind every penny counts at the moment, here's my query...I have a nearly full 5L Tub of Toyota LONG LIFE RED Concentrate  left from the Toyota, still in date. So, simply, can I use it for the Focus? Its make up is different from Ford in that it contains  Hydrated Inorganic Acid, Sodium Salt along with the main Ethylene Glycol and 2% Diethylene Glycol.

I will be doing a thorough flushing of the old (as I dont know what it is) until I have clear run out of de-ionized water. Probably 3-4 flushes.

I read that the Ford Coolant Super Plus Premium covers my older Focus, but I did note it's make up is including the controversial 2-EHA (Ethelhexanoate) which was similar to the GM Dexcool that caused problems with gasket and seal leaks. Can anyone comment on this?

COMMA SUPER LONG LIFE RED comes up as match for the Ford spec and also contains 2-EHA. It's cheaper than the Ford stuff also. They also do their new (expensive) XSTREAM G30 which I think came out recently and matches spec.

So, just wondered if I could use the Toyota Red to save wasting it, and any comments on the Ford Stuff would be much appreciated. I admit that I have a tendency to start reading about stuff, only to find I end up more confused than I started!

Regards, Shimmers.

[JohnF]

Why change it?  If it's a nice clean pinky reddish colour I wouldn't bother.  It is a sealed system and corrosion needs oxygen, which will be used up by now.  If you change it, you will introduce more.  The coolant in our  18yr old  Focus is original, nice clean pinky reddish, and I have no intention of changing it.  In our 14yrs of ownership I have topped it up only once, a year ago, only 250mls needed.  

[Shimmers]

Thanks for the reply John. I take your point and am considering doing just that. I have read though that colour does not indicate the quality and effectiveness of the the inhibitors, which do deteriorate slowly and I'm not sure what life it has left. I know it was changed back in Sept 15 as I have receipt for new Water Pump and timing belt from an Independent, not Ford Garage. It shows 'add antifreeze' 3 @ total £14 plus vat but does not indicate qnty. It doesn't sound like a flush and total refill to me though, which is shown at 5 Litres in fluids. In other words, I do not know it's history and make up. What I have read is that failure to change coolant when required or earlier is one of the biggest causes of problems, along with mixing unsuitable matches of coolant. I figured better be safe than sorry. Coolant seems to be one of those things that should be simple, but Manufacturers seem to have gone out of their way to muddy the waters. Ooops, no pun intended! Let's see what others say.