Antifreeze Probably too late to worry...

[daveO]

How do you bleed it? I just do what you wrote (empty, flush, fill with water, run for a couple of minutes, empty, flush, then refill with mixture)
then run it and top up.
I always change the thermostat too.

There's a how to guide on youtube for bleeding the Bongo and it's in 3 parts of 10 minutes each. Basic idea is you have to attach a large funnel onto the bleed hose and seesaw the water level back and forth between the funnel and the header tank until the thermostat opens and then seesaw some more until no more bubbles appear while revving the engine to force air out of any corners. If any air gets sucked back in at either end then you have to start again and at the end you have to remove the funnel full of boiling water and cap the pipe without letting air in or burning all of the skin off your hands. Some have suggested that this is a poor design

 

[Janne]

I have never owned a Bongo, but other cars with questionable design. Most are not DIY friendly.

Ever tried to change a headlamp bulb on a Mercedes A class as they were 12 years ago? ( do not know if the 'design' got changed)
Step one: Remove the front wheel......


For coolant, I have just filled water/coolant through the expansion tank and the vent on top of the radiator.
Never blead. Maybe I should have.......

 

[Robson Valley]

I watch the front fans on 747 engines compressing -60C air to push me onwards.
One time, coming home from the UK, we were over Greenland in the sunshine.
The fans spin and the coastal mountain scenery was breath-taking.

I think of the crankshaft in my 454 turning over at -30C in synthetic lube.

Janne: do you all realize that to change a headlight bulb on a Burb,
you have to take off the ENTIRE front grill work, first?
How freakin' stupid is that?

The Brits have got it made. A few weeks of really bad winter snow then it brightens up again - Spring!

 

[santaman2000]

.....For coolant, I have just filled water/coolant through the expansion tank and the vent on top of the radiator.
Never blead. Maybe I should have.......

It actually needs to be completely changed every so often. Most maintenance schedules (on the vehicles I've owned) are about every 2 to 3 years. It's now the "anti freeze" itself that deteriorates but the anti corrosion additives usually.

 

[santaman2000]

////What sort of oil are you using? The wrong kind that gets really gooey like tar overnight in the cold?
I use synthetic jet engine lube in the 454 V8 in the Suburban. The viscosity does not change with temperature.
That is a very big piece of iron (even with a block heater) to crank at -30C.

Don't forget that at a cruising altitude of 32,000 - 35,000 feet, jet engines are usually sucking in -60C air.
Mighty chilly. Mighty chilly.

Ummm, we still use multi grade (viscosities in aircraft engines as well. It's gotten better over the years but it does still change with the temperature. The air temperature at altitude is irrelevant as the oil will be at the same temperature as the engine. What matters (regarding air temperature) is the temperature (and associated viscosity) at start-up.

 

[Robson Valley]

Consider the tremendous range of temperatures for a jet engine in flight. -60C at the front fan and thousands(?) at the cone.
Mine is synthetic (polyester?), as multigrade as it gets. Costs me about $3/can more.
I sure do notice the improved cranking speed at starting block temps of -30C.

For some place like the UK, antifreeze coolant is just a good thing to do.
That's all-season.

 

[santaman2000]

Consider the tremendous range of temperatures for a jet engine in flight. -60C at the front fan and thousands(?) at the cone.....

In flight the oil is only exposed to a single temperature, the engine's operating temperature, regardless of outside temperatures.

 

[Janne]

It actually needs to be completely changed every so often. Most maintenance schedules (on the vehicles I've owned) are about every 2 to 3 years. It's now the "anti freeze" itself that deteriorates but the anti corrosion additives usually.

That is exactly what I do. A total change with a flush.

I believe this is even more important on aluminium block engines.
I have one car where the mechanic changes the coolant every other year. Belts ( engine out jobbie) every 4 years.

 

[Tengu]

My Micra had the crankshaft belt go; Bang! Dead car!

 

[Janne]

They use elastomer belts instead of chains because they are cheaper to make and they make a $hitload of money when we have to replace them and even more when they snap.

That is the nightmare that wakes me up, when I dream of my engine breaking the belt.......

 

[mrcharly]

I do wonder how electric cars cope with cold like this and how effective their cabin heaters are. i imagine if they're plugged into your home supply then you can get them to pre-warm and defrost before you get in which would be nice. Eventually one will get stuck in the snow overnight though and you can't run the engine to stay warm.

I have a couple of friends who own electric cars (Nissan Leaf). The cars have a heater (heat source pump) that runs off the battery. It is very efficient - a guesstimate calculation was that a half-charged battery would run the heat pump for 24hours.
The batteries do suffer in the cold and when the cars are made for cold countries, they include a heating circuit; it is more efficient to use some of the power from the battery to warm the battery than to leave the battery cold. UK market cars don't have this as we have too few days where it is cold for it is to be considered worthwhile (personally I'd argue with, particularly if I lived further north).

 

[Janne]

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1082048_nissan-leaf-range-how-much-does-it-lose-in-the-cold


Buyers in Europe should demand the battery heater is standard. The graph shows you will lose mileage even in warm-ish Britain.