Pontiac Sunbird Owner's Manual page 211

Service & Appearance Care
Engine Coolant
The following explains your cooling
system and how to add coolant when it
is low. If you have a problem with
engine overheating, see the Index under
Engine Overheating.
The proper coolant for your Pontiac
will:
Give freezing protection down to
Give boiling protection up to 262°F
Protect against rust and corrosion.
Help keep the proper engine
Let the warning lights work as they
-34" F (-37" C)
.
(128" C).
temperature.
should.
What to Use: Use a mixture of one-half
clean water (preferably distilled) and
one-half antifreeze that m e e t s "GM
Specification 1825M
,"
which won't
damage aluminum pasts'. You can also
use a recycled coolant conforming to
GM Specification 1825M with a
complete coolant flush and refill. Also
use GM Engine Coolant Supplement
(sealer) with any complete coolant
change. If you use these, you don't need
to add anything else.
If you have a 2.0L LA engine, your
engine coolant system will have a
coolant recovery tank.. If you have a
3.1L V6 engine, your engine coolant
system will have a coolant surge
tank.
There are important differences between
these two cooling systems. Read this
section carefully.
A
Adding ody plain watex t o
dangerous.
Plain w a t e r , or some
other liquid like
alcohol,
can boil
Your vehicle's coolant warning
system. is
set
for
the
proper coolant
mix.
W i t h plain water or
the
wrong
mix,
p u r engine could get
too
hot but
you
wouldn't get
the
cwerheat warning. Y o u r engine
could catch
fire and you or othm
could be'burned. Use
a 50150
mix
of clean water and a proper
-mtifkze.
your
m l i n g system can
be
before the proper coolant mix
will.