Question on Coolant fluid...urgent!

[Luck e 1]

I have a hard time with colors (red-green-orange can all blend on me).

I was checking my fluids and noticed my coolant reservoir was basically empty...wups.

So my car calls for orange coolant and says "mixing green and orange COULD decrease the service life expectancy of the coolant." I check out the stuff I have (a 50-50 pre mix) and it looks orange enough for me.

Thinking I was putting in orange coolant I filled up the reservoir...only to have my wife come out and tell me it is green coolant I put in. [PoorWordUsage]! Stupidly I should have asked her before I put it in but its too late.

Do I have to drain it all?

Does "mixing green and orange could decrease the service life expectancy" really mean "you are in big trouble if you mix orange and green"?

Will driving on it for a few days wreck my car?

Thanks guys.

[Phred52]

Luck e 1, If you haven't started the engine yet, you can very easily detach the hose that is by the radiator cap and most of those reservoirs just slide into a mount. At the very most there's a couple screws that hold in on. No major ordeal to remove. Mounting depends on make of vehicle. Just take it off, dump it out, remount it, and have the wife aim you toward the orange coolant at the auto parts store. Easy fix, nothing to panic over. By reading your post, it appears that you have driven it,thus mixing the coolants. Maybe 'airjer' will chime in with current knowledge of the modern coolants and what can be mixed. My experience is with the old green ethylene-glycol antifreezes. AIRJER....Ya out there??? Phred52

[Macgyver55]

Read the jug it came in, lately many of them will say "compatible with all types of antifreeze" if they are. If not, siphoning out what is in the reservoir is fine. Its not the end of the world if they mix a small amount, its just better if they dont. You'll do far more harm running it low than having a bit of the wrong type in there.

[Jeremy airjer W]

You don't want to mix green (regular old coolant) with any extended life coolant. If you did you have two options. Flush the cooling system with extended life or Flush it with the green stuff.

Since you mentioned your takes the orange stuff you either drive a GM wich uses "dexcool" or a chrysler.

We convert just about everything over to the green stuff anytime we do a major service to the cooling system and have had no ill effects from doing this. Just remember that you need to service the green stuff every 36k miles or so. The exceptions are Volkswagen/Audi/Mercedes/BMW.

To date there is;

green

yellow - ford

orange - GM and Chrysler

Dark Red - Toyota (regular coolant that is died red)

Light Red - Toyota Extended life

Pink - Audi/Volkswagen

Blue - Honda

All I know for sure is that mixing extended life coolants with regular coolant is not good! Especial in GM's

[Luck e 1]

I have a 200 mazda 626...

It was basically dry when I noticed (I know...terrible). I am sure there is still some in the engine...but I don't know.

I will probably just have it flushed and filled at a shop just to be sure. The only problem is I am leaving tomorrow at 4:30am and my wife will have it for a couple days.

Praying nothing bad happens...

[deadeye]

Its not ideal, but its better than having nothing in there.

If it was just the resivoir and you were still getting heat than there is some in there still.

Just get it in as soon as you can to get it flushed and your set. Like airjer said most places will switch to the green stuff. Its easier to find and cheaper. You do have to change it a little more often but I think that those extended intervals are too far out anyway.

[LOTWSvirgin]

Get the green put in if you have it flushed. I had two intake gaskets go out of in my car. The first time the dealer fixed it and put the red back in it. Then a year later it happened again and I had a mechanic fix it and he told me the red has been known to eat gaskets so I agreed to go green and not a problem since. If the red really eats gaskets I dont know but I do know I have not had a problem since.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Oh yeah, I forgot about ford using the red stuff for a little while (Mazda/ford same thing). I'm not sure exactly what the red stuff was except it was an extended life product and it sure turned some pretty colors in the tauruses....NOT!