Sooo...

My bro was in from out of town, and I lent him the car for a day while he was in. He noticed my coolant was low, so he figured he'd take it upon himself and add coolant, as my coolant reservoir was empty, and he filled it with Orange coolant to the fill line (50/50 mix).

Should I worry about something?
What should I do?

 

You should flush it out. Drain it all. Fill radiator with distilled water. Run for a few min on idle. Flush again. Repeat process til only water is coming out. Fill with new coolant of proper type.

 

Unfortunate the color of the dye used in coolant may not tell you much: Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Purple , and Green.

All coolants have the same {+-} % of ethylene glycohol............the 1-6 different additives are what counts.

People are often confused with the old problems associated with aluminum heads on iron blocks which were very very finicky about type of product.
All aluminum engines are more tolerant, however the thermostats and water pumps may not be?

The additive chemistry and reserve alkalinity are important for longevity.

The best way to be sure is just to replace coolant every year just before summer [May] and to drain away all the residual tiny [microscopic] pieces vibrated free from radiator and heads interiors.

Otherwise be sure to test coolant Ph+ and connductivity and watch out for ground loops.

"Previous work to establish compatibility of coolant mixtures documents that potential coolant deterioration of the corrosion protection may occur in the ASTM D 4340 [1] Aluminum Heat-Rejection Test when mixing coolants with different additive chemistries. Compatibility testing has been conducted on various universal coolants with traditional high silicate, traditional low silicate, hybrid (phosphate free), hybrid (phosphated), and OAT-only technologies" ...... http://www.astm.org/JOURNALS/JAI/PAGES/JAI100521.htm

 

Chances are if it was a quality coolant you are ok. However since you are concerned I would purchase piece of mind for a couple of reasons. One is to make sure the chemistry of your coolant is fine. Do a complete flush and replacement. Second by doing the flush you may be able to pick up why your brother was doing you a favor in the first place such as contaminates.

Just make sure that the system is fully 'burbed' after the flush.

 

how do you burb it? because i am having a heating problem


first off my 05 g coupe auto....the heat only turn on when i drive or rev the engine...


i did a flush today. but still the same problem does anyone know why?