At least not enough to matter. My Jeep has had Silicates in it's coolant since it was new. Just hit 124K on it's original WP today.
No leeks or play in the bearings yet.....
No leeks or play in the bearings yet.....
I don't think Silicates have any effect on WP life
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Recently, Toyota's WPs are failing left and right (seal failure) with low silicate "long life" coolants.
Silicates definitely affect water pump life. A large trucking fleet (thousands of trucks) had water pump failures drop by something like 78% after 1 year of running EC-1 Coolant. After 2 years it dropped to almost none.
I used to have to replace water pumps every 200,000-400,000 miles. I have had trucks with over a million miles on the water pumps since EC-1 came out. As a matter of fact since going EC-1 I havnt had to replace a single water pump.
I used to have to replace water pumps every 200,000-400,000 miles. I have had trucks with over a million miles on the water pumps since EC-1 came out. As a matter of fact since going EC-1 I havnt had to replace a single water pump.
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The Lubeguard company makes a coolant additive that has proven to perform well in fleet service with several police and city maintenance departments. After 5 years their wp failures have dropped to insignificant. Part of this is because they take the extra time now to check the ph of the coolant and dose it with the Lubeguard additive. This time forces the mechanic to look at the hoses and the pump while doing the ph check.
What PH should good coolant be? Is Lubeguard's coolant additive compatible with Toyota Super Long Life coolant? I ask as my water pump failed at 80K, and folks on the Toyota Hybrid forum are reporting a lot of WP failures, some even under 30K miles.
^That is crazy. Definitely would like to hear more about measuring coolant pH levels, and more about LG's offering honestly. What have you say, OneEyeJack?
FWIW, I don't have much knowledge about coolant/anti-freeze at all. Silicates are in most coolant?
FWIW, I don't have much knowledge about coolant/anti-freeze at all. Silicates are in most coolant?
I'll try to get some answers from their chemist that handles the tech side of this product and not sales. I'll be back home this weekend and I'll contact him on Monday. How's that?
My local "Honda/Acura only" shop used the green prestone coolant 3 years ago on our Civic when he changed the water pump and timing belt. Last week, I changed the thermostat and hoses and used the Peak global this time, since it was on sale on my local Walgreens for only $8/jug.
nitrites is what you need to worry about..its in most all antifreezes...use an anti freeze such as final charge by peak its a heavy duty antifreeze overkill for our cars but well worth it!! for protection.
As always, for every opinion, there seems to be a counter opinion. The often cited Paul Weisler papers on coolant technology states this:
"Silicates are related to sand, and there were questions as to their effect on water pump seals. Some old tests seemed to suggest they were harmful, but there has been no credible evidence to support that stance on late-model designs with reputable brands of coolant. In fact, today's carbide seals are about as durable as you can get, and silicates that remain in solution seem to produce no problem anywhere. In real-world evaluations, there's no evidence of any issue, as silicate inhibitors have been used successfully for many decades in all makes of cars. Where a seal-deterioration issue surfaces, it has been attributed to core sand, from failure to clean engine blocks properly. " Weisler, 2004
Besides being silicate free, the EC 1 coolants are also phosphate-free, nitrite-free and borate-free. They are an entirely different chemistry than the old coolants which required SCA additions and more frequent monitoring and service (in fleet diesal applications).
The original John Deere Cool Gard was a low silicate anti freeze that was successfully used in John Deere Diesel engines that are used not only in ag. tractors, but other heavy duty off road-construction equipment, forest harvest equipment, etc.. There's no talk of premature water pump failures in these circles.
So, for me, it's tough to pin the blame on just silicates when so many other variables were changed in the example cited by Gene K.
"Silicates are related to sand, and there were questions as to their effect on water pump seals. Some old tests seemed to suggest they were harmful, but there has been no credible evidence to support that stance on late-model designs with reputable brands of coolant. In fact, today's carbide seals are about as durable as you can get, and silicates that remain in solution seem to produce no problem anywhere. In real-world evaluations, there's no evidence of any issue, as silicate inhibitors have been used successfully for many decades in all makes of cars. Where a seal-deterioration issue surfaces, it has been attributed to core sand, from failure to clean engine blocks properly. " Weisler, 2004
Besides being silicate free, the EC 1 coolants are also phosphate-free, nitrite-free and borate-free. They are an entirely different chemistry than the old coolants which required SCA additions and more frequent monitoring and service (in fleet diesal applications).
The original John Deere Cool Gard was a low silicate anti freeze that was successfully used in John Deere Diesel engines that are used not only in ag. tractors, but other heavy duty off road-construction equipment, forest harvest equipment, etc.. There's no talk of premature water pump failures in these circles.
So, for me, it's tough to pin the blame on just silicates when so many other variables were changed in the example cited by Gene K.
Kestas
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I've seen antifreeze silicates (water glass) up close and personal with the microscopy I do. They are a soft mineral, unlike sand, which is a hard abrasive.
I don't know how much they affect water pump seals, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is at least some mild adverse effect.
I don't know how much they affect water pump seals, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is at least some mild adverse effect.
Originally Posted By: Kestas
I've seen antifreeze silicates (water glass) up close and personal with the microscopy I do. They are a soft mineral, unlike sand, which is a hard abrasive.
I don't know how much they affect water pump seals, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is at least some mild adverse effect.
Weren't silicates used to execute engines in the infamous cash for clunkers program (that was a very silly thing BTW)?
I've seen antifreeze silicates (water glass) up close and personal with the microscopy I do. They are a soft mineral, unlike sand, which is a hard abrasive.
I don't know how much they affect water pump seals, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is at least some mild adverse effect.
Weren't silicates used to execute engines in the infamous cash for clunkers program (that was a very silly thing BTW)?
Yeah, but those were designed to turn into glass when exposed to heat. Not quite the same stuff that's found in coolant.
good point!
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