Coolant type

hi all

I have a C3 1.4 manual petrol with a 08 plate. The coolant in the car at the moment is clear, looks like water.
What coolant should there be in the car as by the specification?
Any advice welcome

"Out of the factory" Citroen only seems to use a corrosion inhibitor, as the coolant colour is very insipid. However, if your car is second hand, there is no way of telling what is in the cooling system.
Officially, Citroen specifies the new blue OAT type of additive.
If your are concerned about it, the very least I would do is flush the system with fresh tap water and replace it with demineralized water.

Ozvtr wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2019 3:06 am "Out of the factory" Citroen only seems to use a corrosion inhibitor.

I think this is very doubtful.

Ozvtr wrote: ↑ Flush the system with fresh tap water and replace it with demineralized water.

I wouldn't do that. Just fill it with antifreeze solution. You need a minimum of corrosion protection, which demin water won't give you, and as temperatures are dropping antifreeze is essential. It was some time ago, but I certainly have had a cooling system freeze. If that does happen it could be extremely expensive ( I got away with it). It also acts as a lubricant for the water pump, which demin will not.

No matter what your local climate, 'coolant' is much more than water. It has the correct properties for hot and cold weather plus anti-corrosion and lubricating properties as routemaster1 says.

If you are at all unsure what's in your cooling system at the moment and also when the fluid was last changed, I would definitely recommend draining and then a good flush out. Over time sediment can build up in the cooling system, this leads to poor efficiency, wear and tare, corrosion and I've even seen cars where the cabin heater has stopped working because of all the 'crud' in the heater matrix.

There is a whole topic on the right coolant for a C3 and the right way to refill the system here - Citroen C3 Coolant

There are basically three types of coolant. Blue, Red and Green. PSA uses the green stuff.

Im using this one, https://www.kroon-oil.com/en/catalogue/ ... sp-14/539/

*Oh and yes I know there can be diffrences in quality and some brand specific additives, but on common cars liek these its fine looking at the colour

headlight wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2019 7:22 pm There are basically three types of coolant. Blue, Red and Green. PSA uses the green stuff.

Im using this one, https://www.kroon-oil.com/en/catalogue/ ... sp-14/539/

*Oh and yes I know there can be diffrences in quality and some brand specific additives, but on common cars liek these its fine looking at the colour

Have a look at this.

https://fuelandfriction.com/weekend-war ... f-coolant/

Choosing based solely on colour is not a good idea!

routemaster1 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2019 7:47 pm

headlight wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2019 7:22 pm There are basically three types of coolant. Blue, Red and Green. PSA uses the green stuff.

Im using this one, https://www.kroon-oil.com/en/catalogue/ ... sp-14/539/

*Oh and yes I know there can be diffrences in quality and some brand specific additives, but on common cars liek these its fine looking at the colour

Have a look at this.

https://fuelandfriction.com/weekend-war ... f-coolant/

Choosing based solely on colour is not a good idea!

I read the artical, though it is a nice read about the diffrent types of coolant I dont see it explaining why it would be a bad idea to use the color as a reference. The artical actually says;

"Rule of thumb, if your car was born with a specific coolant color, you shouldn’t change it"

C3CAR wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2019 1:50 pm There is a whole topic on the right coolant for a C3 and the right way to refill the system here - Citroen C3 Coolant

on this topic it says you use the pink / red stuff

I am thinking of flushing the whole system and fill it with pink stuff