DEX-COOL, Conventional Green, & G-05... My Experiences

Yes, but that pressure is not caused by steam, but by the liquid trying to expand when heated. A liquid under pressure caused by heating is trying every thing it can to boil, but because of the enclosed space, it can't. "Buford T. Justice"

Except that it ISN'T. Any residual minerals have the potential for screwing up the corrosion inhibitors in the coolant OR precipitating out and clogging the radiator. Hard water (calcium) typically doesn't upset corrosion inhibitors and in fact my help inhibit corrosion by keeping the pH high... but it also precipitates out. Sulfurous water won't precipitate out, but tends to lower pH and override corrosion protection. Iron precipitates and "binds up" some of the corrosion inhibitors. Chlorine and amine added to municipal water are corrosive to iron engine components. Basically, any impurity commonly found in north American tap water is at best a non-helpful thing to have in the coolant.

The safest course of action is to flush with hose water, drain completely (including the block drain plugs), and fill with a mix of distilled water and antifreeze.

Nice answer to a question that was never asked.

Let me re-phrase: Name one car that pumps engine coolant back to the transmission BY DESIGN.

Of-frickin-COURSE antifreeze can get into the transmission when the heat exchanger in the bottom of the radiator fails, everyone knows that! The original claim was that some cars have a heat exchanger in the transmission which recieves engine coolant from the radiator, rather than having the heat exchanger in the radiator where it recieves oil from the transmission. I don't believe I've ever read about such a design and I've CERTAINLY never seen one, and I asked for an example.

Sheesh.

Slicknick wrote:

transmission. In this case,

radiator coolant is

See the part where I said "a fixed pressure" in the quote below?

See again the part about "a fixed pressure." Real-world radiators operate at a fixed pressure limit (say, 15 psi).

. I still to this day

That is ONLY true in a narrow band of temperatures around the freezing point of water. From about 2-3 degrees C on upward, water expands with increasing temperature, just like everything else. From about -3C on downward, ice contracts with decreasing temperature, just like everything else.

Not quite, but they're related and the effects are almost identical.

Cavitation damage occurs anytime a void (bubble) surrounded by a liquid collapses violently, producing a pressure pulse that can damage metal.

In micro-boiling, the "bubbles" are caused by water flashing to steam and they collapse violently when they migrate into cooler water and the steam re-condesnes almost instantly. This is the "hissing" sound you hear when you heat a pan of water on the stove BEFORE it begins to boil visibly.

In a water pump, the bubbles aren't caused by true "boiling", but are actually caused by the process of cavitation (local reduction in ambient pressure to a point below the vapor pressure of the fluid) caused by the motion of the impeller blades. But when the bubbles collapse, the pressure pulses still erode metal.

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote: > However, I do have a question.

My completely S.W.A.Guess is that pulling back from DexCool now would be a tacit admission that it really IS a potential problem... which might support class action lawsuits against them... which might in turn cost more than just handing out the occasional free engine when DexCool kills one.

Honda gained about 75% of its mythical "quality" reputation by quietly fixing defective cars for free under the radar rather than risking the bad publicity of recalls or letting customers get unhappy and start banding together. Maybe GM actually DID learn something from Honda, but its not what everyone thinks :-p

"Steve" wrote

Audi

Audi

Ian

I would still think any liquid in the situation would boil if it got hot enough.

BTJustice

Thanks for the information in this and the post 5 minutes before. Good information.

BTJustice

Because of that? Don't be silly. Show me 1 mechanic that knows everything. None of them. Everyone has to learn from someone that knows more hopefully. That is where I got that information; from someone who knew more at the time. Someone just posted that the car is an Audi.

BTJustice

"Buford T. Justice"

Am I reading this right? The Audi pumps coolant through the tranny? Learn something new everyday.

"Buford T. Justice"

That is the make that "shiden_kai" says does it.

BTJustice

Me either.

BTJustice

Yeah you would think pressure would eventually become meaningless and, technically, it is in cars since most are fixed at 15 PSI.

BTJustice