What kind of coolant do I put in my 348?

Yellowish brown is not normal. Drain it, and replace and bleed the system

 

Don't just drain it, power-flush it. Most any quality auto repair shop or radiator shop will have a power-flush machine. It first pumps out the old fluid, pumps in a cleaner and then pumps fresh fluid in. I do it to all my cars that way every two years. It cost less than $100 and well worth it. You would not believe the crap a power-flush will get out of your cooling system. I like BMW coolant too as it is designed by Germans for aluminum engines which is perfect for Ferraris. .

 

I dunno about power flushing. Does not the "green buildup" actually help/aid seal the water pump?
I bet a good "power flush" on your 348 might inadvertantly create some other problems....
just my 2cents

dave
indy

 

daveyjones, not hardly. Any build-up in the cooloing system will adversly affect the system's efficiency. The more build-up, the less temp drop you get. I had a 1994 348 Spider that only had 12k miles when I bought it in 2000. I had the cooling system power-flushed a few weeks after my purchase and you wouldn't believe the crap that was flushed out! A power-flush will do nothing but good for any car.

 

Check it again after you do a run and cooldown.

Definitely flush.

That goes for your commode, too, pal. Nobody likes to see yellow/brown when they lift a lid, be it a toilet or a coolant reservoir.

 

348sstb, you are taking quite a risk by just adding coolant to the yellow/brown coolant you have in your cooling system. The yellow/brown color indicates either the properties of the coolant has been used up or you have a leak of some type allowing combustion material to get into the cooling system. Power-flush it, fill with a fresh 50/50 mixture and check after going through a hot-cool down cycle. Keep checking it and if it gets yellow/brown again in a few months, have the system checked for combustables in the cooling system.

 

Dave,

If your coolant has not been flushed recently, you should definitely do it.

The general rule is to flush all fluids annually.

Regards,

-n

 

interesting... I'll have to think on this one...

 

One of the techs that used to work on my previous 308 swore by the BMW coolant....but the regular Prestone is probably fine, esp. if you change it at least every two years. I always use distilled water too.

 

Hey Tech Pros!

Am I correct in thinking that the Ferrari 348 thermostat is initially set up in reverse, with the thermostat staying open until the water temp warms up?

Will that fact, if accurate, need to be taken into consideration when flushing coolant in these vehicles?

 

Just out of curiosity I wonder why you would think that.

The Ferrari tstats like many others have a function to open a passage when cold that allows the water to recirc through the motor alone to be sure it warms up evenly and once the temp is achieved the bypass port is closed and it directs the outflow to the rad.

Flushing should always be done in such a way that the water is allowed to be hot enough to have an open tstat so the entire sys is flushed or the tstat needs to be removed.

 

Thanks. I was hoping for that kind of answer in that we either need to have hot coolant (engine on??) or the thermostat removed, but if the 348 thermostat is removed will we need to then block that thermostat port for an engine-off flush?

Or is an engine-off coolant flush even possible considering our heater-core?? The heater needs to be on for a proper coolant flush, right?

 

Would be best to remove the thermostat i reckon. If the engine is hot and you start to flush with cool water,it will eventually close the thermostat and then be pointless. Remove the thermostat and flush your life away

 

348 thermostat being reverse??

Corvette. Before buying my 348 I was driving an LT-1 Corvette that used reverse coolant flow and a reverse (initially open) thermostat. The previous generation Corvette used the more traditional (initially) closed thermostat.

 

Can we reach our 348's thermostat by removing the right rear wheel, or do we need to (gasp, I hate the thought) lay on top of our engine to remove the tstat??

 

If it is not running the bypass makes no difference but the passage to the rad needs to be open in some way for water to flow through it.

The heater valve in the newer cars can be open with the key on, the heater on, and the motor off and is what should be done when filling the cooling system the old fashioned way anyway.

 

I do not know why that would be done but if I had a schematic of the cooling system I am sure it would make sense.

A reverse flow rad just means they are pushing the water the other way and needs no changes to the motor or tstat.

Either we don't know the whole story or something is being misunderstood.

 

Dont do that man,you may damage your headgaskets remember

 

OK, thanks.

To rehash (hopefully accurately):
So to properly flush a 348 the thermostat should be removed (thermostat port then blocked or left open??), key in Run position, heater on, motor off, and coolant/flush-water drained from (left radiator drain??)?


50/50 Prestone pre-mix coolant acceptable?

 

Yeah, yeah, very funny...VERY FUNNY.

You know, you lay on top of your engine 1 time, start her up and blow a head gasket, then you are going to be paranoid about being on top of the engine (even if that wasn't the cause).

Wise guy!

 

Thats a little paranoid alright

 

...sigh...

Guilty as charged.