what the hell is this green fluid

[1985bmw325e]

when i came home, i parked my car and i turned around to glance at my car and i saw a puddle of green fluid below the car. I pop the hood and i see the liquid leaking from a rather large hose that is connected to the head. what is this fluid???

[bwanac]

Uhhhhh... COOLANT! ;)

Most likely that is what it is. Does it smell sweetish?

[theberglar]

coolant?

[KenC]

Are you serious?


















It's anitfreeze.

[Jand3rson]

Are you serious? It's anitfreeze.

Like all of us knew EXACTLY what antifreeze whas the first time we saw it.

Jesus you guys, give the guy a break. :roll:

[1985bmw325e]

hah, thanks euro. Yah plz, give me a break.

I better go get that fixed then.



So it's antifreeze? :shock:

how serious of a problem do i have? (plz give me a break again lol)

[nando]

Are you serious? It's anitfreeze.

Like all of us knew EXACTLY what antifreeze whas the first time we saw it.

Jesus you guys, give the guy a break. :roll:

I always knew what it was. I think following my dad everywhere and asking him tons of questions when I was a kid probably helped though.

in any case, why are you running green coolant? I hope you like corrosion. I suppose if you didn't know what it was, you wouldn't know not to run the wrong type..

[bwanac]

What is wrong with green coolant? :?

[1985bmw325e]

yah what is wrong with green coolant :?

oh and btw, bwanac, i don't smell anything sweetish. As a matter of fact, i dont smell anything at all.

[nando]

What is wrong with green coolant? :?

our cars have aluminum heads and cast iron blocks, the chemical composistion causes the green coolant (which has phosphates in it) to act as an electrolyte. this will corrode the water channels in your head, and you don't want that. ;)


BMW or Mercedes coolant isn't exactly super expensive and it won't damage your engine.

[E30godz]

as long as it says its safe to use on aluminum, i think we're fine.

the last 130k with the green stuff and tis fine!

[nando]

it's not that it isn't safe to use on aluminum, it's the combo of aluminum and cast iron that makes it deadly.

it's like $7 for a gallon.. come on guys. :)

it also depends on water chemistry of course, and if it was corroding your head you wouldn't know until it was too late.

[1985bmw325e]

yah, well looks like for me that i'm off to the mechanic this week.

[nando]

you could probably fix it yourself if it's just a hose. all you'd need to do is drain the coolant and replace the hose. it doesn't require anything more than a screwdriver, the only "hard" part is bleeding the coolant system, but that's actually easy if you can follow simple directions.

[Jordan]

... who takes their car to a mechanic to have a hose replaced or the clamp on it tightened? seriously.. that is a 5 minute job.