Pink Coolant?

[sweetangel15941]

Sorry this is like my 3rd time posting about this but I think I found where its leaking out of. My car runs really hot(even though i got the thermastat replaced 4 months ago) and it looks like its boiling right over the overflow tank. Now i heard that whatever color your overflow tub cap is is what the color antifreeze that should be in there. My cap is pink and ive never heard of pink antifreeze so I called Saturn to see what theyd say and they say to flush the green coolant out and put pink coolant in...Does that sound right to anybody? I have a 96 Sc2

[mysatilac]

Uh...My cap is black (well, painted silver now), but I'm not going to use black coolant.

For most saturns (all 91-02 S-series) just use a 50/50 mix of non-phosphate ethylene glycol base antifreeze and water (read the ingredients)

But if Saturn told you to flush and refill, I'd probably do it anyway. Can't hurt, and it might help!

[sierrap615]

mid-year 1996 saturn switched to GM's Dexcool coolant, it is redish/pink in color.

[mysatilac]

Haynes manual didn't tell me that,
But I believe you completely...Seems like mid-year '96 was a test car for all there wierd thoughts...
When did they switch back...'97? cause I don't use pink coolant

Off topic what else did they switch up in the mid-'96
Spark Plug gapping,
coolant,
I know there is more....

[sweetangel15941]

well thanks guys. Its just frustrating..saturn tells me one thing, napa tells me another, and the place i take my car to tells me something different so its like no one really knows. I am gonna get it looked at again but we'll see what happens after that.

[sierrap615]

Originally Posted by mysatilac

Haynes manual didn't tell me that,

Haynes doesn't tell you alot, thats what happens when you cram 10 years of FSMs, which are 10 books each, from 3 different body style and 4 powertrain combinations in a $17 book. at least its not as bad as chiltons talking about distributors, spark timing adjustment, countless others. but every now and then i catch a few problems in hanyes too(throttle valve cable for one)

Originally Posted by mysatilac

When did they switch back...?

they didn't

Originally Posted by mysatilac

Off topic what else did they switch up in the mid-'96
Spark Plug gapping,
coolant,
I know there is more....

many chances where made for the 96 model year(entire, not mid-year) (OBD2, sedan/wagon bodys, countless others). one of the changes in 96 was the spark plug gap, from 0.040 to 0.060. ideally and on paper the larger gap would help the engine run cleaner and smoother. in the real world, it didn't. no matter how much testing a manufactor puts a car thru, hand that car over to the public and all bets are bets are off. thats why the whent back.

Dexcool was phased in to all GM cars and truck around 95/96/97. why saturn did it mid-year i don't know.

Originally Posted by sweetangel15941

well thanks guys. Its just frustrating..saturn tells me one thing, napa tells me another, and the place i take my car to tells me something different so its like no one really knows. I am gonna get it looked at again but we'll see what happens after that.

call saturn, give them the VIN, then use what they say, hell they built the damn thing, i hope they know whats should be in there.

[mysatilac]

Originally Posted by mysatilac

When did they switch back...'97? cause I don't use pink coolant

Originally Posted by sierrap615

they didn't

Well then I don't belive that this is the/a problem,
seeing as how I use green coolant in my '97 Saturn, having never heard otherwise, and I've never had any overheating problems.

What is the difference in the makeup of the two coolants?
Green = non-phosphate ethylene glycol base antifreeze
Pink = ?

[sierrap615]

major difference is the additive package. Dexcool(pink) is designed to last longer 5years/100,000miles they claim. i don't know if i would trust my coolent that long. they are basicly interchangable(Saturn only had to change one part when they switched over, other models may vary) but they are not mixible, if you do both additive packages will be shot.

[emkay4597]

you should in theory be able to run your car on straight water w/o it over heating, this in mind, i'd check for another cause...

[Osteonis]

Originally Posted by sweetangel15941

Sorry this is like my 3rd time posting about this but I think I found where its leaking out of. My car runs really hot(even though i got the thermastat replaced 4 months ago) and it looks like its boiling right over the overflow tank. Now i heard that whatever color your overflow tub cap is is what the color antifreeze that should be in there. My cap is pink and ive never heard of pink antifreeze so I called Saturn to see what theyd say and they say to flush the green coolant out and put pink coolant in...Does that sound right to anybody? I have a 96 Sc2

Yes you use pink coolant, I just bought some today.

[tibbany418]

I have a 98 SL1, and I am only supposed to use the "pink" or reddish looking antifreeze. A mechanic told me if I put the green kind in, it can really mess stuff up. Not sure if this is across the board with all Saturn cars, but I would really be careful so it doesn't cause major damage!

[AUTOUSA]

I was told that pink fluid is supposed to be used to prevent gaskets from detiriorating.

[oldmanwalking]

and what ever you use DO NOT MIX the pink and the green coolant.. you'll land up flushing the car out and starting from scratch.
my 97 calls for dexcool and a gap of .040 on plugs

[AUTOUSA]

??That simply is not true.The only reason they recommend dexcool is that it is non corrosive to aluminum heads and components of saturn.It will not kill it if you use it .

[sierrap615]

mixing Dexcool and standard green antifreeze will neutralize the additive package in both fluids, rendering the coolant worthless, in such an event the system should be flushed out with pure water at least two times or until all coolant is removed.