I bought a 2001 Verada 3.5L couple of months back. As I will be travelling to snow, is there anyway to make sure that the coolant that I have right now is with antifreeze? Also, if not, then can I just top it up with antifreeze fluid from market?

Also, I couldn't find the brake fluid reservoir. Can anybody guide me where would I be able to find it?

Thanks in advance.

If you check the coolant expansion tank or take the cap off the radiator filler neck, it should be a luminous green colour.

As long as this is the case you will be fine as it shows a good mix of water and coolant. It doesnt get cold enough in the mountains here to need a higher mix than that.

I bought a 2001 Verada 3.5L couple of months back.

If you don't know what is in the cooling system, or how old it is, change it anyway. First thing I do when I buy a car, is change oil, filter and coolant. Look for a coolant that has antifreeze properties, or just use the Mitsu one.

Brake fluid reservoir - invariably under the bonnet, against the firewall, in line with the brake pedal. Attached to the brake booster, which is a big metal can type of thing. Can't miss it. (usually lol)

You can buy a bottle of test strips which you dip in the coolent and it tells you the concerntartion and if it has turned acidic. The ones I have are made by Castrol.

You can buy a bottle of test strips which you dip in the coolent and it tells you the concerntartion and if it has turned acidic. The ones I have are made by Castrol.

Didn't know they existed. Must get some.

Didn't know they existed. Must get some.

Very handy to have to catch it before corroding the water jackets and making that heater core leak, I test every 10000kms cause i cant afford the heater core leaking cause tassie to bloody cold not to have one lol

Very handy to have to catch it before corroding the water jackets and making that heater core leak, I test every 10000kms cause i cant afford the heater core leaking cause tassie to bloody cold not to have one lol

Trouble is that it's usually the "O" rings that fail.....don't think there is anything you can do to prevent them failing.

Not running shit coolant through it will help

Not running shit coolant through it will help

I always ran the best coolant that nulon makes for my car. changed every 40,000ks or 24 months which ever comes first and still the o rings went on my heater core ( 03 veranda ) in the middle of removing the dash to get to heater core. lol fun :(

You can't tell the concentration of coolant by colour alone, although it is just a guide. The coolant is typically green, and ideally you run it with a 50 percent mix.

Coolant can also be a light pink colour, but NOT red in these cars :)
Pink coolant: http://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/engine-coolants/5_year_extended_drain_concentrate_

Yes, it is the right coolant for the Magna's/380, as stated by the Penrite product recommendation pages.

You should never mix coolants, even if they are green! This is because one brand (say Castrol) use different additives to say, Tectaloy, and the mixing can cause frothing (apparently), as well as reduce the effectiveness of each product. Also you should only use demineralised water, never tap water or even rain water (rain water contains dissolved solids as well). That said, filling up a radiator that has leaked after a burst hose pretty much means you have to do a full coolant exchange anyway, unless you specifically fill it up with the exact same coolant you have in there at the proper 50/50 mix.