coolant oil or water ?

Why can't we use transmission oil as a coolant for our radiator ?Even a modified coolant based on oil .It seems so many water pumps wear out or corrode ,radiators leak ,engines and head gaskets are destroyed by water and still have issues when glycol is used . If a non flammable oil was used costs would be down as well as potential damage . Serious question serious answer please .

Reply to
Jon Robertson
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I believe water/glycol has a much higher heat carrying capacity than oil. It's also a lot less messy when it leaks, it is non-flammable, and it will boil instead of burn if the engine does overheat.

I don't think water pump wear has much to do with it being used to pump water, rather it has a relatively small bearing area compared to the length of the shaft and the stress placed on it by the drive belt. If it had a bearing on each side of the impeller it would likely last a lot longer.

Most coolant related head gasket problems have to do with improper coolant being used. If you use the right stuff with the right additives, it's rarely a problem.

Reply to
James Sweet

Reply to
Jon Robertson

You can always use Fluorinert:

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But it's a bit pricey:

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At $2,134 for three gallons, it makes gasoline look positively cheap.

Gary

Reply to
Gary Heston

The water/glycol cooling method for the internal combustion engine has had a long time to mature. Honestly, I think it works pretty well, is relatively clean and easy to deal with, it's cheap, I think effort would be better spent coming up with alternative energy sources.

I know I'd rather have water leak than oil leak. Leaked and spilled oil makes an awful mess when it picks up dirt and turns into engine grime, and that's not even considering the environmental impact.

Reply to
James Sweet

Having spent some time messing with air cooled engines, I can say that while they do offer advantages, they are no panacea. It's just hard to remove enough heat using air alone, so they tend to run hot, and it's even more difficult to provide even cooling, so some parts run a lot hotter than others. The air cooled VW's and Porsche's are fun for sure, and granted they are relatively simple to work on, but the catch is that they *need* to be worked on frequently.

Reply to
James Sweet

Actually I use a well known brand of glycol pure with clean pure water so I have had no issues .I see many are using diluted glycol with any water when they even think of it .In Tasmania I saw normal water used only with the thermostat taken out ,so imagine on a below zero morning what happened besides engine wear and LPG gas problems .Hot water is needed to stop the LPG gas from freezing .When a sudden cold morning hit the water would flow so quickly it didn't cool so parts froze and other parts boiled .Besides the fact the heaters didn't work too well .

Reply to
Jon Robertson

I was told last night at a Volvo car club meeting the Japanese are using

100% glycol with no problems and very corrosion free motors after importing them to Austalia .I had heard using 100% glycol caused temperature to rise ,but if it works according to a Volvo tech I am happy .Any thing to stop corrosion as my car sits a lot nowdays .We get the Japanese motors which are low milage as the cars are taxed off the road as the car gets older, so very good engines can be got for a song.They are right hand drive as well

Reply to
Jon Robertson

Pure glycol will work, although the boiling point is lower and the freezing point higher than a water/glycol mix, and it is less effective at transferring heat. Volvos tend to have oversized cooling systems though so you *may* not have any problems. I don't see much of a corrosion problem running the standard mix though.

Reply to
James Sweet

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