Coolant and tap water ? Dealer says ok ?

[britdave]

Realizing that it could be troublesome & create air in the line (s) problems ,I decided to take my 2002 911/996 C2 into the dealer for a coolant change, where they use the "special" vacuum machine etc. (Orlando Porsche $258.00 & Tax "ouch" ,however Brumos Porsche in Jacksonville wanted over $400 !!! )

Anyhow , when I asked the service manager, what type of water they would be mixing the genuine Porsche coolant (he also said it's the same exact type used in VW & Audi ,and it's red, is that correct also ? )

He said "Just plain tap water" . Now from what I have read all over the internet ,you DO NOT use regular tap water, your suppose to use distilled,or purified. One Porsche site said use "deonized" water "only" and NOT distilled or purified ??? What's up with all this confusion ? I asked him if I could bring in my own bottled distilled water for the mechanic to use and he said ok,but it makes no difference. Anyone know the story on this coolant /water type dilemma , I'm taking the 911 in this Friday for the coolant flush,please let me know, I'm totally confused now Is it regular, deonized, purified , or distilled ? And is that correct about VW and Audi using the same stuff ? Cheers Dave

[therock88]

Realizing that it could be troublesome & create air in the line (s) problems ,I decided to take my 2002 911/996 C2 into the dealer for a coolant change, where they use the "special" vacuum machine etc. (Orlando Porsche $258.00 & Tax "ouch" ,however Brumos Porsche in Jacksonville wanted over $400 !!! )

Anyhow , when I asked the service manager, what type of water they would be mixing the genuine Porsche coolant (he also said it's the same exact type used in VW & Audi ,and it's red, is that correct also ? )

He said "Just plain tap water" . Now from what I have read all over the internet ,you DO NOT use regular tap water, your suppose to use distilled,or purified. One Porsche site said use "deonized" water "only" and NOT distilled or purified ??? What's up with all this confusion ? I asked him if I could bring in my own bottled distilled water for the mechanic to use and he said ok,but it makes no difference. Anyone know the story on this coolant /water type dilemma , I'm taking the 911 in this Friday for the coolant flush,please let me know, I'm totally confused now Is it regular, deonized, purified , or distilled ? And is that correct about VW and Audi using the same stuff ? Cheers Dave

If you are low on coolant, you can just use distilled water. It is pure enough and will not harm your cooling system. There are lots of discussions about the coolant and I would just stick with Porsche as if you mix it you will get gel...and not worth the risk. Unless you have contamination, I would see no reason to flush the system.....You should be fine...

Good luck.

DC

Edited January 12, 2011 by therock88

[JFP in PA]

The advantage of using distilled water rather than tap is in the fact that distilled water is free of any impurities or minerals, which starts the cooling system out on the best possible footing. Using tap water typically shortens the coolant's "life expectancy" as the contaminants break down or react with the coolant's corrosion preventative additives, reducing their effectiveness.

As for the "wizz-bang" vacuum device, RennTech's Amazon "store" sells them for about $100, and they work on any liquid cooled engine, making it a worthwhile addition to the tool box...........

Edited January 12, 2011 by JFP in PA

[kbrandsma]

Realizing that it could be troublesome & create air in the line (s) problems ,I decided to take my 2002 911/996 C2 into the dealer for a coolant change, where they use the "special" vacuum machine etc. (Orlando Porsche $258.00 & Tax "ouch" ,however Brumos Porsche in Jacksonville wanted over $400 !!! )

Anyhow , when I asked the service manager, what type of water they would be mixing the genuine Porsche coolant (he also said it's the same exact type used in VW & Audi ,and it's red, is that correct also ? )

He said "Just plain tap water" . Now from what I have read all over the internet ,you DO NOT use regular tap water, your suppose to use distilled,or purified. One Porsche site said use "deonized" water "only" and NOT distilled or purified ??? What's up with all this confusion ? I asked him if I could bring in my own bottled distilled water for the mechanic to use and he said ok,but it makes no difference. Anyone know the story on this coolant /water type dilemma , I'm taking the 911 in this Friday for the coolant flush,please let me know, I'm totally confused now Is it regular, deonized, purified , or distilled ? And is that correct about VW and Audi using the same stuff ? Cheers Dave

I recently added a third radiator, 150 dgree thermostat and a new waterpump to my 98 Boxster. I replaced the old coolant with original Porsche Antifreeze from Sunset. It was reddish pink when mixed. The old fluid was yellow. Both are ok.

The part number is:

000-043-301-05

The cost was $21.07/gallon at Sunset Poesche

a 50/50 mixture with distilled water provides protection to -34F or -37C

Here is a link to Mike Fock's Web page on antifreeze replacement where he talks about other alternatives than Porsche Antifreeze. Mike Fock's Webpage

Regardless of your replacement coolant, getting all the old fluid out is difficult as you will have old antifreeze in radiators and hoses and this is sometmes difficult to get all the old fluid out. I purchased a UView Airlift Tool (Whiz-bang vacuum device) to add my replacement coolant as JFP suggests. I've used it once. PM if you would like to borrow it.

Also, reading Loren's DIY article on adding a third radiatior is useful , as he talks about how to remove air from the system by leaving the bleed valve open. Here is the link to Loren's DIY. 3rd Radiator DIY

Happy New Year and good luck!

Edited January 12, 2011 by kbrandsma

[RF5BPilot]

I just had some of the coolant replaced in my 996. The shop just mixed Porsche coolant with tap water.

That said, the tap water in the Seattle area is mountain run-off. You might want a different source if your city water was coming from wells that had high calcium or other elements.

Edited January 12, 2011 by RF5BPilot

[JFP in PA]

What the dealer's techs should do, and what the actually do, are often quite different. Use distilled water, costs about a buck a gallon at the supermarket.

[britdave]

What the dealer's techs should do, and what the actually do, are often quite different. Use distilled water, costs about a buck a gallon at the supermarket.

Thanks that's what I intend to do tomorrow,take my own distilled water for them to mix it with,since he said they use "Tap water" the distilled is about a buck a gallon. However,one one Porsche web site someone professed the use of Deonized water, NOT distilled ? This is the type of stuff you use in steam irons , etc. Would the distilled make any difference ? What does Porsche have to say about this ? Does it make a difference ? Another guy said use only "PURIFIED WATER " all are available at the supermarket, except for the deonized (sorry not sure of the spelling ? ) type water. Does anyone know for sure ? Thanks Dave....

[JFP in PA]

Distilled water is the purest, DI water still has some containments in it, purified, has even more. For a buck a gallon, go with the distilled, it will also give you the best cooling system life...........

[Loren]

Distilled water has been produced by a process of distillation and has an electrical conductivity of not more than 10 µS/cm and total dissolved solids of less than 10 mg/L. The minerals do not get passed as distilled water is made by a steam process where the steam is captured as pure distilled water.

Deionized water is water that has had its mineral ions removed, such as cations from sodium, calcium, iron, copper and anions such as chloride and bromide.

I don't think you want "mountain water" or tap water as that will contain minerals that could combine to cause corrosion with the metals in the system.

Both distilled and deionized are probably fine as Porsche officially refers only to "water" in the service manuals I have.

[britdave]

Thanks everyone. I'll be taking two gallons of distilled water with me to the dealership tomorrow.

[fpb111]

Whether or not using Tap water is a good idea will depend on the water quality. Where my folks live the tap water is very soft. At our house the dish washer is essentially slurry blasting the dishes clean, which is great until all of the glaze is worn off.:D

Some years ago I ran a group of gem (YAG) LASERs in a manufacturing setting. At the time DI water with resistance above 1.5 Meg ohms was specified. I found that if we used any metal plumbing to/from the remote, water cooling system the pipes would "dissolve" very quickly and it was almost impossible to keep the DI resistance in spec. Because of this I would be hesitant to use DI water in our mostly metal engines.

Below are some excerpts from answers to questions that I asked at the time:

Deionized water is exactly that - water that has essentially been stripped of all of its ions. Water likes to be balanced in its natural state, however, and this means that it adds ions to itself to achieve that goal. Therefore, DI water grabs ions from everything it touches that can be dissolved or absorbed. It is about a close as you can get to a Universal Solvent. In your case, it will extract metals from all of the brass fittings you have, and will also pull carbon dioxide from the air - you get the drift.

Distilled water is not nearly as aggressive as deionized, and it is essentially balanced. It still has very little ions in it, but it is less aggressive than DI, It also is not corrosive to most metallic internal parts on your equipment.

Edited January 18, 2011 by fpb111

[phillipj]

Wow that's great info... Thanks for that!:clapping: