Bargain Basement Motoring

[CitroJim]

Having now seen Cornwall Neil, I shall be returning It is a stunning place...

[NewcastleFalcon]

Another day/night of floods so the BB Micra got the nod again. Ploughed its way through a couple of unavoidables from field run offs to get us home. Well worth the £100 I paid for it 4 years ago, and the minimal maintenance and MOT ing all documented on this thread, and deserving of a celebratory picture for its performance in tonight's awful driving conditions.

On holiday in the Lakes!

Neil

[MattBLancs]

Too dark on that picture to ascertain if you've both doors open to let the flood water out the cabin!

[myglaren]

Practicing for Rufford Ford.

[CitroJim]

Practicing for Rufford Ford.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Finally got round to fitting the new radiator to the BB Micra. I have access to the Nissan technical manuals with the workshop procedure for replacing a radiator in the Micra K12, but went off piste.

The radiator is sandwiched between the radiator core upper support and the radiator core lower support. The official procedure drops the lower support and removes the radiator from undernearh the car. After surveying the scene I did the opposite removed the radiator at the top after unbolting the upper support...far easier.

Main reason...only two bolts to remove each side to free the upper radiator core support and two headlight mounting bolts each side to free up enough space to raise the support enough to pop the radiator out of its rubber mountings. In contrast the lower radiator core support mounting bolts had spent their lives under the car soaking up the salt of 18 winters without ever having been undone, and were probably screwed up into a blind hole. Fair likelyhood they would nightmarishly shear off.

Exhibit A

The lower radiator core support mounting bolt
(one each side) No attempt at undoing, official procedure rejected.

Exhibit B

Upper radiator core support bolts
two each side 10mm heads, one under headlight but enough clearance to remove.
The Falcon choice-far easier to undo.

Job done, not completely need to get some antifreeze.

New radiator installed

Neil

[CitroJim]

Excellent!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Excellent!

Thanks Jim, as a post acknowledger and responder you are second to none, and its a simple thing to keep the forum flowing. I'm sure everyone notices a dip in forum activity when there are no usual posts from Citrojim. I certainly do.

Welcome back, even though its only been a couple of days

Neil

[CitroJim]

Welcome back, even though its only been a couple of days

Thanks Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Decent value from Halfords for 5 litres of 50/50 OAT Antifreeze and coolant for £14.99. Website unhelpfully tells me that it may be incompatible with my vehicle? What is so special about the cooling requirements of a 2005 K12 1.0L Petrol...nothing I would have thought.

So this is an Ethylene Glycol based coolant with OAT tech.

What has the Nissan Manual got to say...

Official Manual
Use Genuine Nissan Anti-freeze Coolant (L250)] or equivalent in its quality, in order to avoid possible aluminum corrosion within the engine cooling system caused by the use of non-genuine engine coolant.
Note that any repairs for the incidents within the engine cooling system while using non-genuine engine coolant may not be covered by the warranty even if such incidents occurred during the warranty period.

What is special about L250....Ethylene Glycol Based coolant with anti-corrosion additives.

I am concluding that the Halfords OAT will be compatible enough to make no difference.

Neil

[CitroJim]

I am concluding that the Halfords OAT will be compatible enough to make no difference.

Be careful Neil, it is my understanding that OAT and EG (Ethylene Glycol) antifreezes do not mix and even small amounts of EG, left in the system when drained, say, will have a detrimental effect.

EG causes OAT to clot and thus block waterways. It can be the very devil to clean it out again.

I've seen it and struggled with it...

If the manufacturer says use EG then do. Also. in some cooling systems of older cars I believe OAT may not be compatible with some materials.

[Sloppysod]

Another tip.. Neil, from my motorcycle days, buy undiluted antifreeze and mix with deionised/distilled water, as this is much better for aluminum and will not clog water ways with calcium(limescale) , even more important if you live in a hard water area.

[NewcastleFalcon]

I am concluding that the Halfords OAT will be compatible enough to make no difference.

Be careful Neil, it is my understanding that OAT and EG (Ethylene Glycol) antifreezes do not mix and even small amounts of EG, left in the system when drained, say, will have a detrimental effect.

EG causes OAT to clot and thus block waterways. It can be the very devil to clean it out again.


If the manufacturer says use EG then do. Also. in some cooling systems of older cars I believe OAT may not be compatible with some materials.

Thanks Jim

From the tin...the 2023 "OAT" is an Ethylene Glycol Anti-Freeze. Nissan L150 is also an Ethylene Glycol Anti Freeze.

The OAT bit is just newer Organic Acid Technology anti corrosion additives as they call it, for corrosion suppressant effects on Aluminium and Cast Iron. The general wisdom of the internet regards post 2000 cars as generally compatible with OAT anti freeze. The Micra is 2005.

The Nissan spec stuff is also an Ethylene Glycol Anti-Freeze but with the Nissan "magic formula" of corrosion inhibitors, but not specifically OAT because how could they, that was originally a GM spec of such things.

I am quite happy to take the risk .

Neil

[Gibbo2286]

Inorganic Additive Technology (IAT)
IAT is the traditional coolant used in older cars, filled with inorganic additives that provide fast-acting corrosion resistance. However, it’s now rarely used as the default in modern cars, since these additives deplete quite quickly, resulting in a short lifespan for the coolant.

The liquid is usually bright green and will need changing roughly every 2 years or 24,000 miles.

Organic Acid Technology (OAT)
OAT coolants are used for most cars manufactured after 1998 and last a lot longer than IAT coolants thanks to the lack of silicate additives. Instead, they use organic acids and corrosion inhibiters, which, while increasing the coolant’s lifespan, does give it lower corrosion resistance.

OAT coolants are typically orange, red or pink in colour, and won’t need to be changed for around 5 years or 50,000 miles.

OAT coolant is also more popular in modern cars due to changes in the manufacturing. While IAT coolant works best in older engines made of steel and iron, OAT coolant is better suited to aluminium engines, which is what most modern cars are made of.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Another tip.. Neil, from my motorcycle days, buy undiluted antifreeze and mix with deionised/distilled water, as this is much better for aluminum and will not clog water ways with calcium(limescale) , even more important if you live in a hard water area.

Thanks Stu.

I usually go for the concentrated stuff, but this time the pre-mix 50/50 5 litre was the same price as 2 litres of concentrated. Both were £14.99 at Halfords.

I would normally use finest Chinese owned Northumbrian Water out of the tap, but with the pre-mix I can only presume of course that Halfords on this occasion have given me 2.5L of finest distilled for nothing

On the subject of distilled water a job I have never got round to finishing is to re-route the condensate drain pipework from the gas boiler following a freeze-up last winter. Over the summer it has just been dripping into an open water butt outside. Collects a fair quantity of what must effectively be distilled water. Obviously dripping into an open water butt it soon looses its purity but should I wish to collect some pristine distilled it wouldn't be too difficult to collect it in a 5L container

Neil