Dumb question about Kia Pride radiator

Hi all,

I've inherited a Kia Pride, and I need to sort out anti-freeze for the
winter. I know very little about cars. The reservoir that feeds the radiator
is nearly empty, so I was going to mix some antifreeze with water and put it
in there. But someone who knows about as much as me suggested that I needed
to put the antifreeze in the radiator directly, and putting it in the
reservoir wasn't good enough. Are they right?

Furthermore, the instructions on the bottle of antifreeze suggest it should
be mixed with de-ionized water. This surprised me - I know that the battery
has be topped up wth de-ionized water, but I thought tap water was fine for
the radiator.

Thnaks!

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 15:09:51 -0000, "John Rowland"
> wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>I've inherited a Kia Pride, and I need to sort out anti-freeze for the
>winter. I know very little about cars. The reservoir that feeds the radiator
>is nearly empty, so I was going to mix some antifreeze with water and put it
>in there. But someone who knows about as much as me suggested that I needed
>to put the antifreeze in the radiator directly, and putting it in the
>reservoir wasn't good enough. Are they right?

Putting it in the reservoir isn't good enough for two reasons.

1. The reservoir is exactly what is implies, a reserve supply of water
to top up the water in the radiator if it drops for whatever reason -
maybe a small leak, or usually evaporation through the expansion pipe
which feeds into the reservoir.
Until the water in the reservoir finds its way into the cooling system
your car won't be protected.

2. The reservoir is likely to be quite a small % of the overall
capacity of the cooling system. Even if you put neat anti-freeze in
the reservoir and it all found its way into the cooling system, it
would become heavily diluted and not give you the protection you
probably need.

Top up your radiator directly with whatever % of anti-freeze your
manual suggests. You may need to drain some water out to make room for
the anti-freeze. It

>Furthermore, the instructions on the bottle of antifreeze suggest it should
>be mixed with de-ionized water. This surprised me - I know that the battery
>has be topped up wth de-ionized water, but I thought tap water was fine for
>the radiator.
>Thnaks!

This is probably being ultra cautious, and a sign of the times we live
in where everything we attempt to do is heavily caveated to avoid
potential liability claims.

I've never ever bothered with de-ionised water in a radiator.
I'm somewhat surprised anyway, since de-ionised water is looking for
ions and if your radiator is aluminium then the de-ionised water will
gradually corrode the aluminium. AIUI.

Regards




__
Richard Buttrey
Grappenhall, Cheshire, UK
__________________________

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 15:09:51 -0000, "John Rowland"
> wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>I've inherited a Kia Pride, and I need to sort out anti-freeze for the
>winter. I know very little about cars. The reservoir that feeds the radiator
>is nearly empty, so I was going to mix some antifreeze with water and put it
>in there. But someone who knows about as much as me suggested that I needed
>to put the antifreeze in the radiator directly, and putting it in the
>reservoir wasn't good enough. Are they right?

Putting it in the reservoir isn't good enough for two reasons.

1. The reservoir is exactly what is implies, a reserve supply of water
to top up the water in the radiator if it drops for whatever reason -
maybe a small leak, or usually evaporation through the expansion pipe
which feeds into the reservoir.
Until the water in the reservoir finds its way into the cooling system
your car won't be protected.

2. The reservoir is likely to be quite a small % of the overall
capacity of the cooling system. Even if you put neat anti-freeze in
the reservoir and it all found its way into the cooling system, it
would become heavily diluted and not give you the protection you
probably need.

Top up your radiator directly with whatever % of anti-freeze your
manual suggests. You may need to drain some water out to make room for
the anti-freeze. It

>Furthermore, the instructions on the bottle of antifreeze suggest it should
>be mixed with de-ionized water. This surprised me - I know that the battery
>has be topped up wth de-ionized water, but I thought tap water was fine for
>the radiator.
>Thnaks!

This is probably being ultra cautious, and a sign of the times we live
in where everything we attempt to do is heavily caveated to avoid
potential liability claims.

I've never ever bothered with de-ionised water in a radiator.
I'm somewhat surprised anyway, since de-ionised water is looking for
ions and if your radiator is aluminium then the de-ionised water will
gradually corrode the aluminium. AIUI.

Regards




__
Richard Buttrey
Grappenhall, Cheshire, UK
__________________________

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 15:09:51 -0000, "John Rowland"
> wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>I've inherited a Kia Pride, and I need to sort out anti-freeze for the
>winter. I know very little about cars. The reservoir that feeds the radiator
>is nearly empty, so I was going to mix some antifreeze with water and put it
>in there. But someone who knows about as much as me suggested that I needed
>to put the antifreeze in the radiator directly, and putting it in the
>reservoir wasn't good enough. Are they right?
>
>Furthermore, the instructions on the bottle of antifreeze suggest it should
>be mixed with de-ionized water. This surprised me - I know that the battery
>has be topped up wth de-ionized water, but I thought tap water was fine for
>the radiator.
>
>Thnaks!

Open the radiator cap when the car is cold. If the radiator is not
filled with coolant then you should add some. Depending on how low
the coolant is....

If it's less then an inch low just put the undiluted anti-freeze in
till it's full. Then fill the overflow reservoir with undiluted AF up
to the cold mark on it (or about halfway if there is no cold mark).

If it's more then about an inch low, then mix the AF 50/50 with water.
I've never bothered with de-ionized water, just use tap water. Fill
the radiator and overflow with that.


If it's not low at all, then just fill the reservoir with undiluted
AF.

When winters over, and if you are going to keep the car for a while,
you should probably drain and refill the cooling system with a 50/50
mix so you know it will be set for the summer months and that it's got
fresh additives in it.
--
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts:

"What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the
establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . .
Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of
the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order
to raise a standing army upon its ruins." -- Debate, U.S. House
of Representatives, August 17, 1789

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 15:09:51 -0000, "John Rowland"
> wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>I've inherited a Kia Pride, and I need to sort out anti-freeze for the
>winter. I know very little about cars. The reservoir that feeds the radiator
>is nearly empty, so I was going to mix some antifreeze with water and put it
>in there. But someone who knows about as much as me suggested that I needed
>to put the antifreeze in the radiator directly, and putting it in the
>reservoir wasn't good enough. Are they right?
>
>Furthermore, the instructions on the bottle of antifreeze suggest it should
>be mixed with de-ionized water. This surprised me - I know that the battery
>has be topped up wth de-ionized water, but I thought tap water was fine for
>the radiator.
>
>Thnaks!

Open the radiator cap when the car is cold. If the radiator is not
filled with coolant then you should add some. Depending on how low
the coolant is....

If it's less then an inch low just put the undiluted anti-freeze in
till it's full. Then fill the overflow reservoir with undiluted AF up
to the cold mark on it (or about halfway if there is no cold mark).

If it's more then about an inch low, then mix the AF 50/50 with water.
I've never bothered with de-ionized water, just use tap water. Fill
the radiator and overflow with that.


If it's not low at all, then just fill the reservoir with undiluted
AF.

When winters over, and if you are going to keep the car for a while,
you should probably drain and refill the cooling system with a 50/50
mix so you know it will be set for the summer months and that it's got
fresh additives in it.
--
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts:

"What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the
establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . .
Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of
the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order
to raise a standing army upon its ruins." -- Debate, U.S. House
of Representatives, August 17, 1789

In message >, Richard Buttrey
> writes
>On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 15:09:51 -0000, "John Rowland"
> wrote:
>
>>Hi all,
>>
>>I've inherited a Kia Pride

>Putting it in the reservoir isn't good enough for two reasons.

1. It might pollute the water
2. There aren't any deep enough to be sure nobody will ever find it.

:0)

--
Steve Walker

In message >, Richard Buttrey
> writes
>On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 15:09:51 -0000, "John Rowland"
> wrote:
>
>>Hi all,
>>
>>I've inherited a Kia Pride

>Putting it in the reservoir isn't good enough for two reasons.

1. It might pollute the water
2. There aren't any deep enough to be sure nobody will ever find it.

:0)

--
Steve Walker

Richard Buttrey ) gurgled
happily, sounding much like they were saying :

>>I've inherited a Kia Pride, and I need to sort out anti-freeze for the
>>winter. I know very little about cars. The reservoir that feeds the
>>radiator is nearly empty, so I was going to mix some antifreeze with
>>water and put it in there. But someone who knows about as much as me
>>suggested that I needed to put the antifreeze in the radiator
>>directly, and putting it in the reservoir wasn't good enough. Are they
>>right?

> Putting it in the reservoir isn't good enough for two reasons.

> Top up your radiator directly

How?

Clue :- There's very few cars from the last couple of decades that have a
cap on the rad itself. Virtually all have the cap on the header tank.

While I could care less about whether a Kia Pride is one of these (and I'm
sure Steve Walker has the right idea on what to do with the loathsome
device), I'd be very surprised if it had a "radiator cap"

Richard Buttrey ) gurgled
happily, sounding much like they were saying :

>>I've inherited a Kia Pride, and I need to sort out anti-freeze for the
>>winter. I know very little about cars. The reservoir that feeds the
>>radiator is nearly empty, so I was going to mix some antifreeze with
>>water and put it in there. But someone who knows about as much as me
>>suggested that I needed to put the antifreeze in the radiator
>>directly, and putting it in the reservoir wasn't good enough. Are they
>>right?

> Putting it in the reservoir isn't good enough for two reasons.

> Top up your radiator directly

How?

Clue :- There's very few cars from the last couple of decades that have a
cap on the rad itself. Virtually all have the cap on the header tank.

While I could care less about whether a Kia Pride is one of these (and I'm
sure Steve Walker has the right idea on what to do with the loathsome
device), I'd be very surprised if it had a "radiator cap"

>I've inherited a Kia Pride, and I need to sort out anti-freeze for the
>winter. I know very little about cars. The reservoir that feeds the radiator
>is nearly empty, so I was going to mix some antifreeze with water and put it
>in there. But someone who knows about as much as me suggested that I needed
>to put the antifreeze in the radiator directly, and putting it in the
>reservoir wasn't good enough. Are they right?

First, look at the owner's manual to see what it says about adding water to the
radiator.
If you don't have a manual, look at the overflow tank. Does it have markings on
it that say Min and then Max? Is there a warning on the cap not to open when
hot? If yes, just add new fluid to the overflow tank to bring it up to the Max
level. The tank is part of the pressurized system. It's not really an overflow
tank in today's cars but an expansion tank. The fluid continually recirculates
with the rest of the water in the radiator.
Add a 50-50 mix of anti-freeze and regular water. The mix protects better than
anti-freeze alone.
Lots of good info he
http://www.partsamerica.com/Auto101Cooling1.asp
http://www.prestone.com/tips/index.html
You've lost a lot of antifreeze somewhere along the way. That means there's a
leak somewhere in the system. Buy a bottle of radiator stop-leak and add that.
The stop-leak does need to go directly into the radiator if there is a cap on
the radiator. If not, add it to the expansion tank.



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