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MG MGF Technical - MGF COOLANT

Hi folks some advice please from you knowledgable ones.Following on from my spectacular HGF I got some MG Rover coolant from an(ex) MG dealers just in case I had to top up. The plastic carton is quite specific saying MG Rover coolant but there is no mention of the BS number on the blurb on the back of the pack.The invoice says ZLA000003 Coolant.It looks the same as I have had previously ie pink and haven't actually used it yet.What do you think?Should be ok?Mose
mose

It depends on what coolant was used when your Head gasket was replaced, the repairer should have OAT / Longlife coolant which is Orange in colour and the part number you've got in my list says it's Longlife and should say so on the label of the bottle. Hope this is of some help.
Steve T

Early vehicles up to VIN No: 512771 use
UNIPART Superplus 3 Anti-freeze and Summer Coolant GEC1020 - 20 litre and GEC 1002 2 litre
to protect the cooling system. The coolant is yellow/green in colour.
CAUTION: No other ’universal’ or Organic Acid Technology (OAT) anti-freeze should
be used with UNIPART Superplus 3 Anti-freeze and Summer Coolant. If UNIPART Superplus 3 Anti-freeze and Summer Coolant is not available, use an ethylene glycol
based anti-freeze containing no methanol with non-phosphate corrosion inhibitors which meet
specifications BS6580 and BS5117 suitable for use in mixed metal engines. To ensure the protection of the cooling system against corrosion, these anti-freezes must be renewed every 12 months.
Vehicles from VIN No: 512772 to Vin No: 520012 use
UNIPART AFC Longlife Anti-freeze and Summer Coolant AFC GEC6025(25 litres)
to protect the cooling system. The coolant is blue in colour.
CAUTION: No other ’universal’ or Organic Acid Technology (OAT) anti-freeze should
be used with UNIPART AFC Longlife Anti-freeze and Summer Coolant. If UNIPART AFC Longlife Anti-freeze and Summer Coolant is not available, use an ethylene glycol based anti-freeze containing no methanol with non-phosphate corrosion inhibitors which meet specifications BS6580 and BS5117 suitable for use in mixed metal engines. To ensure the protection of the cooling system against corrosion, these anti-freezes must be renewed every 12 months.
Organic Acid Technology (OAT) anti-freeze GEC5025 (25 litre)
Vehicles from Vin No: 520013 use Unipart OAT (XLC) coolant which is Orange/Pink in colour. Vehicles using OAT anti-freeze are identified by a label attached around the expansion tank filler neck
CAUTION: The anti-freeze used in the cooling systems of later cars contains
OAT corrosion inhibitors. This anti-freeze must not be used with any other anti-freeze and
must not be used as a replacement in cooling systems which previously contained anti-freeze
not of this type. Use UNIPART OAT Anti-freeze and Summer Coolant or any ethylene glycol based anti-freeze (containing no methanol) with only OAT corrosion inhibitors, to protect the cooling system. Only anti-freeze containing OAT corrosion inhibitors should be used. Do not top-up or refill cooling system with any other type of anti-freeze.
In an emergency, if anti-freeze to this specification is not available, top-up the cooling
system with clean water only, but be aware of the resultant reduction in frost protection. The
correct anti-freeze concentration must be restored as soon as possible.


Hope this is of help

Tony
Tony Harrison

ZLA000003 is no *official* P/N ... IMO
Looks more like an dealer _internal_ number.

.. and if it wound be always so easy we only would have to post the WS-manual content to this BBS or on a website ;)

Anyway, I'd confirm, pink to pink is OK.
Dieter

Thanks for all that.I am a bit confused as to what applies to my car.It's a July 97 VVC but the VIN number is a big long string of letters ending in 18848.(It's an ex Japan import if that makes a difference).The present coolant after the HGF rebuild is light bluey-green in colour.I also have a pot of Halfords universal coolant which definitely meets the BS and has all the OAT info on the blurb.I have used this before on the very rare occasions that it needed topping up before the HGF and it seemed fine.I think you could be right that the number I quoted could be the dealers own system identifier.Mose.
mose

Had another look at the plastic container for the MG Rover antifreeze as supplied.The title is MG Rover Antifreeze Longlife and at the bottom of the bottle is a tiny ZLA00001AF but nothing on the back to indicate its BS or OAT content.It's definitely pink.Any further thoughts anyone?Thanks again.Mose
mose

Mose, I bet it's a Volcano coloured, rare colour, is it ?
Export model then and made in app January 1997 and shipped abroad though. With old fabric hood (two seams RH and LH of the doors).

Standard _was_ the old coolant (green) but as said, no problem to flush the system with water and swap in the new pink OAT coolant.
Dieter

Hi Dieter,thanks for that.Yes you are correct the VVC is Volcano(how on Earth did you know that?) July 97.The stuff that has been put in after the HGF rebuild is blue/green and I suspect is actually Nissan "concentrated" antifreeze which is the latest spec they use.Please don't get me wrong,I know the technician who did the job well and I trust him to do a good job as he always has done.Its just that the dealership was MGR up to last year and are now Nissan but have kept the same staff and equipment so are fully capable of doing MG work.A few days after I got the car back I called in at the garage on a Saturday on the "off-chance" to see if they had some coolant just to top up the expansion bottle which had settled a bit low.One of the mechanics just handed me a botle of said Nissan coolant saying this would be fine even though he knew the situation and it was an F.So far,I have done over 1000 miles since the job with no coolant loss or anything else untoward."Touch wood " he says.I now have an interesting collection of coolants viz Nissan-blue/green, MGR -pink and Halfords OAT Advanced(purple I think,haven't opened that yet.Can't wait.)Bye for now,Mose.
mose

> VIN number is a big long string of letters ending in 18848
;-)
> yes you are correct the VVC is Volcano
:)
Amazing, isn't it ? :)))
.. from the "statto" and http://www.mgfcar.de/vin/index.htm

Nissan Coolant
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=AccessoryCatalog&catalogid=622&siteid=213775&categoryID=626
IMO it should work and is OAT (like) if marked as *longlife*
Dieter

This thread was discussed between 06/02/2006 and 16/02/2006

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