radiator: 100% water vs coolant

[mbeige]

*hitomi: Aluminum will still corrode if you don't use coolant. Must be a fluke. Another mechanic was complaining of extensive corrosion in an aluminum block because pure water was used. If there is significant corrosion in that Honda's engine, the guy wasn't changing his coolant often enough. Whatever coolant you use, if you don't change it often enough, it can't prevent corrosion.

While water has a higher specific heat capacity, pure water or 70:30 water/coolant mix will boil over more easily than a 50:50 mix. Coolant resists boiling and pressure rise better than water. At the same temperature, pure water will be at a higher pressure, and more likely to be "puked" out at high engine loads and temperatures. Also, there is always the danger of flash points (don't know the exact term) inside the engine, sometimes at the water pump, or at any protruding edge which bubbles can cling to, wherein water is converted instantly to vapor... all of a sudden, you have a cooling system bubbling with hihg-pressure steam, which ain't a good thing.

I think Top Gear or Tech&Tuner Philippines did an article on this, and they found that higher coolant levels gave better cooling than higher water levels. I can't find that article online, though, and it was two years ago.

Some new automotive systems, like on the Focus, use pure coolant, and are touted as completely maintenance free, as no corrosion (theoretically) can occur in the system.

Higher coolant levels means higher boiling point due to the ethylene glycol having a higher boiling point than pure/distilled water. Even if coolant is called "antifreeze" it is recommended in temperate climates as well because it allows a higher margin of error for overheating.

[Lancie]

hmmm.. so ano pong recommended niyo po sir sa mga lumang makina to prevent corrosion or rust? what coolant? iron block po yung engine ko.. thanks!!!

[2Dmax]

hmmm.. so ano pong recommended niyo po sir sa mga lumang makina to prevent corrosion or rust? what coolant? iron block po yung engine ko.. thanks!!!

50:50 coolant:distilled water. but first, do the proper flushing to remove all rusts and latak that maybe present inside your cooling system.. prestone coolant is a good brand. around 600-650 php, 3 liters concentrated. so at 50:50, may 6 liters coolant ka na..

[Lancie]

thanks po sir! siguro para sure, ipa overhaul ko na ulit yung rad ko.. then pagkauwi, flush the water away.. hehehe.. tas lagyan ko na nung mixture na sinabi ni sir 2Dmax.. another question.. Off topic, meron naman kaming galon na container dito, saan kaya may water station ng distilled water? mostly kasi puro purified eh.. hehehe.. juz kidding! thanks po sir!

[4JGtootsie]

Badkuk,

Kukuha na lang ng kulang na water sa expansion tank when engine cools down. But dont let it run for long distance. Kung matapang ka naman you can open the radiator cap when it is already in operating temp. Let the steam out carefully before you fully open.I suggest caution.

Battery water is the same as distilled water.

[speedyfix]

before you start preventing it, make sure wala syang kalawang ngayon palang.

a good indication is where the upper and lower radiator hoses meet the engine. normally kung may kalawang na yung part na yun then pati loob ng makina nyo meron narin.

[niky]

And be sure you get all of the old coolant out before you put the new stuff in. Different types of coolant aren't supposed to be mixed.

Matagal paalisin ang rust. I think there was a Servitek around here that had a machine to run fluid through the coolant system till it was clean (parang dialysis machine para sa cooling system). I tried it at home before, and I wasted a lot of water and still saw rust coming out...

[1997]

Question lang po... Lagi po nag babawas ng water... although I use my car for short trip lang kaya lang baka maubusan ng tubig pag long drive na... Radiator po wala namang leak Water pump Bago po... Yung mga fan umaandar naman po ng maayos. Ano po kaya Problem?

[userfriendly]

Question lang po... Lagi po nag babawas ng water... although I use my car for short trip lang kaya lang baka maubusan ng tubig pag long drive na... Radiator po wala namang leak Water pump Bago po... Yung mga fan umaandar naman po ng maayos. Ano po kaya Problem?

check your radiator cap and hoses.

[alwayz_yummy]

Question lang po... Lagi po nag babawas ng water... although I use my car for short trip lang kaya lang baka maubusan ng tubig pag long drive na... Radiator po wala namang leak Water pump Bago po... Yung mga fan umaandar naman po ng maayos. Ano po kaya Problem?

run your engine w/o the radiator cap till working temp. (1/3-almost 1/2). at idle, tumataas ba ang tubig? if so, have the thermostat checked, baka di na nag-oopen ng maayos yan.

if the water in your radiator spurts out violently(like what happened sa liteace ko) have your cylinder head resurfaced, valve reseating and re-lapping and cylinder head gasket replace(in short, have a top-overhaul)..

kung *idle slowly parin ang pagakyat ng tubig despite na napalitan/ni-remove mo ang thermostat, its a sign na either weak ang waterpump mo/may bara sa system at di makacirculate ng maayos/ sign na premature/humihingi na ng top-overhaul..

na-overheat mo na ba nga pala ride mo? its one of the causes kaya isipin mo mabuti..

basta ko, mga MAY, total flush na ako sa cooling palit na ako sa usual mix ko -> 80/20 coolant/water mix (liteace ko: 6liters=4.5liters coolant+1.5liter manila pure d.water)