Technical What coolant do you run?

I've always used house brand green coolant and mixed it with distilled water. However, my iron FE with aluminum water pump and aluminum radiator, copper/brass heater core is showing some corrosion in the radiator.

This rad is a fabricated Alumitech and I'm seeing white corrosion through the cap on the passages. Also when I put dual fans on last winter I removed the upper rad hose and noticed some corrosion around the hose neck on the radiator. This bothers me....

I recently had to rebuild my wife's engine in an OT Japanese car which uses blue pHOAT coolant and everything in and around the 15 year old aluminum engine was spanking clean.

Got me wondering what if any compatibility there would be of putting a different coolant in my FE equipped 59. The water pump (used) started leaking last fall so I need to replace the seal in it which would allow a good flush if I were to use a different coolant.

Thoughts?
What do you run in the rad?

 

I been using Prestone for a lot of years,seems to lub the water pump an protect alum parts. So never hunted for others. 50x50 to water.

 

The green stuff. I've had my Champion alum rad for about a year now, looks good still.

 

I use regular old green stuff , buy name brand or off brand.
But what I do is drain the rad every year and refill, so roughly 1/2 your coolant is replaced every year.
For the amount I drive it’s always worked for me to keep the coolant system clean and working correctly
I use regular tap water, but the water where I live is very low in minerals and deposits . So it’s a YMMV type deal on the water ..

 

Prestone 50/50. Dig the old baldy valve covers!

Joe

 

DEXCOOL, distilled water and NOROSION in my 40 with aluminum heads
and GRIFFEN radiator.

 

I buy the 50/50 greeen stuff and change every five years or so, no problems here.

 

I was taught to change the coolant and flush the system every five years as antifreeze turns acidic. You may want to contact the manufacturer of your radiator, see if they recommend a certain coolant or sacrificial anode.

 

need to run a anode sacrificial radiator cap, etc to help combat corrosion

 

Another thing to check is a good ground from the block to the frame to prevent grounding through the cooling system which adds to the corrosion.

 

There are many types of coolant now. The old traditional green works well in the old engines and copper/brass cooling systems. Newer alum heads and radiators can benefit from the new coolants, although the old coolants will work if you keep up on change intervals. Biggest benefit of the new coolants is longer life. Coolants do have corrosion inhibitors as part of the additives, and they do get used up.
Now the problem is that "green" coolant can be many types now. So if you have an older vehicle, look for the old style traditional green. Not the "all makes" green new stuff. I think some of the newer coolants are not a good choice for the copper/brass systems with solder. Stick to the traditional green, change it every couple years and no problems. If you have aluminum in your system, the new coolants are acceptable.

 

I use Peak 50/50 prediluted antifreeze. You guys have to understand, coolant technology has advanced far beyond what it was in the old days. Old skool coolant tech was barely sufficient for the times, and it's not good for aluminum components in the cooling system. Modern nitrite free extended life coolant (Organic Acid Technology or OAT) is what you should be using for the maximum anti-corrosion protection, especially for aluminum radiators, intake manifolds with coolant passages, water pumps, etc. And it's good for many years of use. With our customers we tell them it's good for a million miles of on road use in heavy trucks. There are several brands, I like Peak because it's made by a company that used to produce the coolants for the company I work for (there's only a couple of coolant manufacturers, that make all the different brands), and I got to know the technical guys there, and I respect them; they're good guys, really know they're stuff. Final Charge is another one, I think it's the same as Peak; silicate free, nitrite free, 2nd generation OAT technology, the best coolant technology there is.

 

Also, there is no industry wide color for coolants, you really can't go by the color, except for within 1 companies products; but across different companies the colors mean nothing. The color is nothing but a dye added to the coolant that has no beneficial properties. Any company can dye their product any color they wish, as I said, there's no standard. Green is common for old ethylene glycol base conventional antifreeze, but there is nothing that guarantees that's what it is just by the color.

 

WATER!

 

Ditto on the green stuff, 50/50.

 

I’ll admit it. I’m not a coolant changing guy. I should, but I am lazy. There I said it.

My 2002 Ford truck got its first coolant change the other day when I had to change the heater core. I probably shortened the life by 8 months. Dang….now it may not make 25 years.

 

Get a couple of these , put them in , quit worrying .

 

My understanding with anodes is that they only work where there is line of sight to surfaces. And that the byproducts of the degraded anode are not good to have laying around in the radiator. That is from my experience with water heaters.

 

Fabulous50's: What you said makes sense as I don't think the residue of the corroded anode remains in solution.
I assume it sinks to the bottom of the radiator.

However, without an anode, does the corrosion from the aluminum also sink to the bottom of the radiator.

Are we dealing with the lessor of to evils? Better to have the anode corrode instead of the expensive alum engine parts.

What do modern Corvettes use?

 

I've always run name brand green stuff in most of my "good rigs" and house brand green stuff or made for stuff in my not so good rigs. That was until I got my 98 BMW and it called for BMW blue antifreeze that isn't close to cheap at about 25 bucks a gallon but sure treats aluminum parts nice. I mix that 50/50 with distilled water. I'll use the same stuff in my flathead when I get it together.

 

Prestone, the green stuff, mixed 50/50. Nothing else, no anodes, no conditioner, no distilled water. I've had it in my Aluminum Boss heads since 1976 and the heads are like new inside. I do change it, not often, as the car doesn't get much use.

 

Prestone Universal 50/50. I change it annually because it sits around a lot.

Phil

 

If you use glycol based coolant, it doesn't matter which one you use, no matter what the advertising says. There are only three manufacturers of glycol coolant in the world. It is so dangerous to make, the United States banned it's production. Remember Bhopal India? Union Carbide had a glycol plant there that blew up and wiped Bhopal of the map! Glycol is clear in color and various sellers will request a particular dye be added to recognize theirs. Glycol is very close to glycerin and both are clear. Perhaps some will remember a few years ago when medical glycerin was mixed up with glycol and glycol found its way into pills distributed to India and a few other countries. So, when I buy a glycol based coolant, I buy the house brand because it's cheaper and is exactly the same as the expensive stuff except for perhaps color. Nowadays, some exotic and tree huddle brands don't use glycol. In that case, I refer to the car manufacture for their recommendations.

 

I run Final Charge in my Detroit Diesel truck engine with the aluminum head and radiator. Everything else gets Peak or Prestone.

 

Dex-cool. Has a long life, good on aluminum, etc., and I have it on hand for my OT rigs anyway.

I just read this about Dex-cool on the AC-Delco website … WTF??

• The backwards compatible formula can be used with conventional cooling systems and may also be used for service of all 1994-95 GM vehicles EXCEPT 1994 Cavaliers/Sunfires with 4-cylinder engines. Must be replaced every 2 years/30,000 miles (whichever comes first) whenever used in a vehicle not originally designed to use Dex-Cool

 

The trouble with DexCool seems to be that is has no protection for leaded solder....like we all have in the heater core. Also it, and some other long life coolants have a chemical 2-eha which softens silicone which is/was used in gasket materials, not just RTV stuff.

New stuff/Gaskets are formulated with materials which are not effected by this stuff.

I rebuilt my FE with the standard Fel-Pro gasket kit and I have no idea what is in them.

No one runs Evans waterless coolant in their rig?

 

I saw an article once that you can check the status of your cooling system with an Ohm meter buy checking the conductivity of the water...Think I remember anything above 4 ohms and the coolant should be replaced... I wonder if anyone else has ever heard of this...

 

A couple of things. First, magnesium anodes work better than zinc, especially in cooling systems with aluminum components. A simple check of the Galvanic Table will tell you why. RV's with aluminum water heater tanks always use magnesium anodes. Second, there are no particles as such involved in galvanic corrosion; it is an electrical process in which material from the anode is converted into electrons, that goes into the electrolyte (coolant) and is deposited on the cathode (usually the iron block). Where do you think that "crud" that builds up in the block comes from? Some of the electrons stay in solution and change the composition of the electrolyte, which is why it has to be changed regularly. Third, I have heard that Evans Coolant is quite expensive. It is also incompatible with anything else, so a slight loss of coolant requires a top off with more Evans, or a complete drain, flush, and fill with anything else. It is my understanding that it is a very specialized product designed for certain extreme applications and is impractical for regular use.

 

Rather have magnesium ?

 

Well said!
(It's the CHEMICAL guyz that's important..........NOT the name brand!)
6sally6