coolant in an aluminum engine

[jrc2905]

After reading this section I realized that I know very little about coolants. I have an engine that is all aluminum in my car; it is from a Volvo, called a B-28. The water pump started leaking one day as I started it up. I has 20 k miles on it. I use whatever anti freeze I have in the garage. What should I be using and why? Thanks

 

[Farticus]

Make sure that whatever coolant you use, it's safe for aluminum engines. I also have an all aluminum engine, the Suzuki G10, and I use coolant that's aluminum compatible. I doubt that using non-compatible coolant would cause a water pump to leak, AFAIK non-compatible coolant would cause some corrosion, I don't know if it would cause your leak.

 

[Kestas]

One of our members, vvk, posted an excellent article on different coolants on this very forum. Here's the link again:

http://www.motor.com/MAGAZINE/Articles/082004_04.html

I believe the upshot of the article as it relates to your question is that you should look for an antifreeze that is high in phosphates, since phosphates have been reported as a "corrosion inhibitor for aluminum, and particularly effective in protecting water pumps from corrosion after cavitation erosion/corrosion". Plus, using distilled (or demineralized) water for the mix is doubly important, since hard water can inhibit this protection.

 

[seotaji]

What does Volvo reccomend?

So you have only 20k miles on your car? Take it to the dealer for a warranty repair.

See where the water pump is located and if it's an easy fix, just replace it and the seal?

 

[jrc2905]

Thanks for all the input, the engine is a 1982 model so I was concerned that cooling products made today may not be what was available in 1982.
I never really thought about what coolant to put in the engine.

 

[Kestas]

20K on a 22-year-old car?... sounds like a sweet old ride! Seal failure is the typical concern for an old, low-mileage car.

Seems to me that 10 or 20 years ago, there was only one choice for antifreeze. Now there's a lot of different antifreezes on the market. For myself I'd like to someday make a list of all the brands and products and note the formulations and compatibilities between each antifreeze. This would help me cut through the hype and figure out what's real. It's just too confusing at the store staring at the antifreeze shelf nowadays.

 

[jrc2905]

It is a Delorean.

 

[Big Jim]

I'm not sure that Volvo will cliam the engine the Delorean.

That V6 engine was actually a joint project between Pugeot and Cirteon (forgive my spelling, I've always had trouble with french names). If memory serves me correctly, Volvo was not part of the joint venture, but did buy the engine from Pugeot.

When that engine was current production, it gave a lot of trouble. As they aged, they gave even more. Volvo ended up wishing that they had never been involved.

Problems included head gaskets, cooling system corrosion in the engine, and valve train wear.

One of the Independent Volvo technicians that I talked with when they were current production said that if he owned a car with that engine he would make sure that he changed the coolant often. I asked if by that he ment anually, and he said every six months.

So for your collectors item, whatever oil and coolant you use, change them often enough and you may save yourself some of the pain that others have had.

 

[Ray H]

You were close, Big Jim: Pugeot and Citroen - now a joint company after Pugeot absorbed Citroen. The parent company also owns Michelin Tire and Rubber. (And, yeah, the French spell and talk funny. Pathetic - an entire nation whose population suffers chronic sinusitis and post-nasal drip...)

[ September 26, 2004, 01:23 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]

 

[sawed-off]

quote:

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Originally posted by jrc2905:
It is a Delorean.

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You can use Evans, and you'll be fine. You won't have any problems, especially for some reason if the cooling system is very prone to corrosion more than a regular cooling system.