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Check
Engine Coolants During Winter
AUBURN, JAN. 22---Have
you checked your automobile or farm equipment engine coolant this
winter? If not, now is a good time to check the freeze level of the
coolant in the radiator of water-cooled vehicles. You may need to
change the mixture or add coolant.
Most antifreeze products
are ethylene glycol-based material with additives to prevent
corrosion, lubricate seals and water pumps, and aid in heat transfer
to the coolant from the metal of the engine, says Jim Donald,
Extension biosystems engineer with the Alabama Cooperative Extension
System.
Mixing antifreeze with
distilled water at a ratio of one part antifreeze to one part water
gives you freeze protection down to -34 F and boil-over protection
up to 265 F. Never use pure antifreeze in a cooling system without
using at least 30 percent water in the mixture.
Most antifreeze products
are green and are good for two to three years and up to 30,000
miles. The green antifreeze contains silicates, phosphates or
borates as corrosion inhibitors to keep the solution alkaline, says
Donald. As long as the solution remains alkaline, corrosion is
controlled, and the system is protected. Over time, the corrosion
inhibitors will be used up, and the corrosion protection is lost.
This is the reason green antifreeze should be changed every two
years or so.
Aluminum is especially
vulnerable to corrosion, and many vehicles have aluminum heads,
radiators and other components in the cooling system.
Many engine
manufacturers currently use a new product. This orange antifreeze is
an extended life antifreeze that increases the useful life of engine
coolant. It is ethylene glycol-based but contains a different type
of corrosion inhibitor that has a much longer life than silicates,
phosphates and borates. Orange antifreeze contains organic acids
that protect engine parts from corrosion.
Don't mix the green,
silicate-type antifreeze with orange antifreeze, Donald adds. The
organic acids in orange types will cause separation of silicates in
the green type, which greatly reduces corrosion protection.
Orange antifreezes are
useful coolants for five years or 100,000 miles in vehicles
manufactured after 1995. They can be used in older vehicles if all
of the green antifreeze mixture is thoroughly flushed from the
system first. Useful life is about four years or 60,000 miles in
older cars.
Toyota uses a red
antifreeze in many of its vehicles. Don't confuse this with orange
antifreeze. It is actually the green-type antifreeze that contains a
red dye. Contact your auto or equipment manufacturer and ask about
compatibility with your engine parts and cooling system before
switching from the red or green antifreeze to the new orange,
extended-life antifreeze.
Cummings diesel engines
have silicone seals in their engines and do not recommend using
orange antifreeze because the organic acids degrade the seals after
80,000 to100,000 miles.
The freeze-protection
level of a coolant mix has little to do with corrosion protection.
The freeze protection may test at a satisfactory level, but
corrosion protection may be depleted.
SOURCE: James O.
Donald, (jdonald@aces.edu),
Extension Biosystems Engineer, Alabama Cooperative Extension System
(334) 844-3544
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