coolant question

"psy93" wrote in news:1156956166.760396.111510 @m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:

I would suggest you drain & replace the coolant, as the plain water used by the breakdown guy will have diluted the strength significantly. As it has already been filled up, you won't be able to add enough antifreeze to get it back to the required strength.

Stu wrote: I would suggest you drain & replace the coolant, as the plain water used by the breakdown guy will have diluted the strength significantly. As it has already been filled up, you won't be able to add enough antifreeze to get it back to the required strength.

-- Stuart Sharp

thanks for that, is it much of a job to drain it?

"psy93" wrote in news:1156959665.189776.54230 @h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

Draining is easy, just undo the bottom radiator hose :-) The difficult bit is refilling it without trapping air in the system! You must fill it slowly and most systems have one or more bleed screws, which you need to identify and remove whilst filling. They allow air to escape whilst you fill it. They can be found in the form of a small bolt in the side of the engine block (usually with a label) or a plastic plug in the wall or end of a hose (not usually labelled - if you see one, just remove it!). I don't know where they are in your car, but we've had a 1.1 Seicento and on that car it had just one in the end of a small hose protruding from the bulkhead. HTH. OTOH, some cars (like my Volvo) have none and you just have to fill them slowly, but if they are there then the chances are you will need to make use of them, so look carefully! Once coolant begins to escape from the hole(s), you replace the screw(s) and continue to (slowly) fill the system until full. Once you've filled it, run the engine without the filler cap on until it gets warm, then give all the hoses a squeeze. This helps to work out any air pockets that may remain. Replace the cap and you're done. Keep an eye on the level for the next few days thereafter - it may drop slightly as the last bits of air work their way out.

Don't attempt the job unless you are confident doing it because trapped air can cause overheating and head gasket failure! It in any doubt, get a mechanic to do it!

Good Luck!

Stu wrote in news:44f5e587$0$3605$ snipped-for-privacy@ptn-nntp-reader04.plus.net:

Forgot to mention - set the heater control to 'hot' before you start. This opens up the valves to the heater radiator and ensures that it is included in the draining and refilling process.

SNIP

again,thanks for that Stu,

How likely is it to freeze in August?

Not very. However, "antifreeze" should really be re-named as "coolant". Its use is essential all year round because it contains anti-corrosion additives. These are required when any elements of the engine or cooling system are aluminium, and desireable in all other cases.

The antifreeze also raises the boiling point of the coolant; again this is needed on modern vehicles because they run so hot.

Thirdly there are additives that help to lubricate the water pump bearings.

With the milder winters we often experience now, the "antifreezing" properties of antifreeze are arguably not its most important property!

HTH

Chris

All true. But I don't see any urgency, and I don't see why you should

*drain* the cooling system.

I'm not sure anyone mentioned that a drain and refill should be done

*urgently*

If an unknown quantity of coolant had been lost and replaced with water, how otherwise would the OP ensure that he ends up with the correct dilution ratio?

The OP's car is 10 years old. The maintenance of it may not have been recorded accurately. The advice to drain and refill is surely very sensible?

Chris

I'd have said the dilution ration was hardly critical so long as there was enough antifreeze.

Huh?

Chris

Ian Dalziel wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I can see that you are questioning the necessity of a full coolant replacement and you are right in saying that the OP would save a little time & money by not doing it. However :-

1) How would you know what how much 'enough' anti-freeze is when you don't have any idea how much (or little) remains in there? 2) If you put too much in (i.e. more that 50% concentration), the freezing protection will actually be less than at the ideal mix. 3) Coolant is much cheaper when bought in a larger quantity, so unless the car has had a full coolant replacement very recently, it would be false economy not to do a full replacement now.

Do you still not agree that it's worth doing the job on this ocassion?

The recommended ratio usually varies depending on season and intended usage, doesn't it? If I'd watched the water going in, I'd have an idea how much had been added - I'd add roughly enough antifreeze with a bit more for luck. If it wouldn't fit, I'd let some out. All right, so I'm a slob - but I'd be fairly relaxed about that. It's a Cinquecento, not a Formula One Ferrari.

[..]

No. That may have been the case when using antifreeze was optional, but not now it's use is pretty much essential. The dilution ratio will affect all aspects of it's properties, not just it's ability to prevent freezing.

The OP didn't add the water, the breakdown guy did.

So it seems :-)

In which case the use of the correct coolant mix is at least as important, maybe more so!

Chris

Double huh?

If the system is at a normal level, the dilution ratio and the quantity of antifreeze are very closely linked.

As Terry Wogan once said: 'Doesn't matter if you're rich or poor as long as you've got enough money'

Surely they are one and the same thing if you are only mixing the two things together? My bewilderment was caused by the statement "I'd have said the dilution ration was hardly critical so long as there was enough antifreeze."

:-)

Chris

Well, "ration" was a typo, obviously. I remain to be convinced that too much antifreeze is a problem - some engines use 100% glycol mixtures, after all.

AFAIK water has a higher specific heat capacity than antifreeze (and just about anything else?) which basically means its temperature doesn't change so much when transferring a certain amount of heat energy.

Nope. The dilution ratio is just a number, often expressed as 1:3 for 1/3 of one part to 2/3 of the other.

The quantity will be either a calibrated measure, e.g. litres, or a proportion such as 'half full'.

There will be an equation linking the ratio and the quantities of water and anti freeze, but they aren't the same thing.

My second huh was backing yours up. I feel your pain.