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MG TD TF 1500 - radiator fluid to use?


I'm about to replace my fan belt.

Of course, I need to drain my radiator to get to the area of work.

But, for a 1951 TD, is there any particular fluid I should be using for this new car of mine?

Just regular old anti-freeze or?

Thanks, Joe.
J Holman

No need to drain. Just loosen the generator, swing it in, take the belt off over the fan blades and reverse. See David DuBois's article on the correct belt and tension somewhere in the archives. George
George Butz

Joe,
If you want to change the anti freeze while you are in there, YES, plain anti freeze will work just fine.
But as George indicates, there is no reason to drain the system just to change the belt.
SPW
Steve Wincze

joe, if you believe and your own research indicates that the anti-corrosion additives in regular anti freeze gradually deteriorate i would suggest you use extended life anti-freeze. if you don't believe that then i would suggest propylene based rather than ethylene based..safer for pets, the environment and just as good at preventing your cooling system from freezing. one brand name is sierra. regards, tom.
tom peterson

Joe - Since the car is new to you, it would be a good idea to drain, flush and refill the cooling system. You can open the tap at the bottom of the radiator and let all the old coolant drain out (it is best to catch it in a oil pan and recycle it). Fill with plain water and run the car until the engine is well warmed up and again drain everything out (no need to catch it this time). I generally do this two or three to get the majority of the old stuff out, along with any sediment. You can try opening up the drain tap on the side of the block, below the carburetors and see if anything will come out, but it is usually closed off from the inside by hardened sediment and I don't usually bother with it. Close the drain tap at the bottom of the radiator, get yourself a gallon of unmixed antifreeze and fill an empty gallon milk jug or such with 2 quarts of antifreeze, and fill to the top with distilled water (the tap water in your area is probably pure enough that you won't need the distilled water), shake it and then pour it into the radiator. This won't fill the cooling system completely so fill the antifreeze container with the unused antifreeze in it with water, shake and continue to fill the radiator until it is full. Again run the engine until it is hot, turn the ignition off and check the coolant level. If it has dropped below the level of the top of the core, pour some more of the mixed coolant in until it is about half way to the top of the filler neck (any higher than that and the coolant will be pushed out the overflow tube when the engine is hot), put the radiator cap back on and you are done. Mark the antifreeze jug with a grease pencil as 50% mixture and keep it on hand for when you need to top the cooling system up. You can get premixed, 50% coolant, but it is more expensive and you can also get 5 or 10 year coolant, but I prefer to use standard antifreeze that I mix myself and change it every two years to flush the system out. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

From the archives:

Car and Driver
"Top it up with green? Or orange? Which antifreeze?"
BY PATRICK BEDARD
June 2002

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/02q2/top_it_up_with_green_or_orange_which_antifreeze_-column

"The promise of OAT [orange] is long-life corrosion protection, on the order of six years/ 100,000 miles for the initial fill instead of the two years/50,000 miles that was typical with the old green stuff. The GM Dex-Cool formula works fine in systems designed for it. But it eats old-style radiators with lead solder, and the inhibitors work too slowly to protect against the sort of corrosion that happens so fast it actually erodes metal—for example, the cavitation likely in the imperfectly designed water pumps of older cars."

"Cars born with green coolant shouldn't be changed to orange."

Larry
Larry Shoer

Joe,
Most important thing, (far as I am concerned) is be aware of what Tom says: "safer for pets"! (see my post of few minutes ago " Thread: Radiator fluid change interval?")

Lots of our K-9 buddies bite the big one every year from this!

Personally I use 50/50 mix and add a bottle of "Water-Wetter" in my cars.
Cheers,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

Oh yea... and the "GREEN STUFF" for reason Larry sites!
Cheers
David Sheward

The newer Prestone 'All makes, All models' long life antifreeze is claimed to protect all metals including aluminum. It is formulated with Ethylene and di-Ethylene glycols. Does anyone have experience with this or is it too early? I am pretty sure that this formula was not included in the Car and Driver article.
Ron Coates

This thread was discussed between 02/09/2009 and 04/09/2009

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