Prestone All Makes .... my experience

[frankpc]

The car: '96 Nissan Maxima 92,xxx miles. Original owner (me) maintained.

Time for third coolant flush. Bought the Prestone "All Makes" as the owners manual says "ethylene glycol" only. Bought ten gallons of Walmart distilled water.

Drain rad, refill, repeat, repeat, repeat, ...

By Wednesday, the previous three drains were clear. Refilled with about three quarts of Prestone All Makes and distlled water Wednesday evening.

Thursday all was well.

Friday noticed a spot under the car. Huh?

Crawled under the car on Saturday - sure looks like the water pump is leaking coolant. Coincidence? Probably. I *hate* it when "preventive maintenance" breaks something ....

Now I know that after 9 years and 92,000 miles I shouldn't be too upset. The car has been bulletproof.

But I won't be trying Prestone All Makes again. If anyone needs a quart or so .... I have one.

Frank
Raleigh, NC

 

[Chris142]

I work at a radiator shop. It's very common for new coolant, regardless of brand to cause a pump to leak.

I dunno why. Maybe it flushes whatever gunk is in the pump seal out?

We have a Wynns block flushing machine. It uses small bursts of air to help remove loose scale in the cooling system.......Using this machine on a car almost guarantees a water pump leak.

 

[Drew99GT]

Driving with just water in the cooling system-lack of water pump lubrication?

maybe it's an awnser; race teams put a lubricant like water wetter in when they run plain water.

 

[Greaser]

quote:

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Originally posted by Drew99GT:
Driving with just water in the cooling system-lack of water pump lubrication?

maybe it's an awnser; race teams put a lubricant like water wetter in when they run plain water.

---

Just what I was going to say

..flushing ,IMO,is only for problem systems ie. very dirty .I only drain and fill and never had any problems on multiple vehicles.The Prestone "all makes" was put into my 2001 Jeeps's system last year after a rad change and everything is great...just drain and fill

[ May 23, 2005, 09:53 AM: Message edited by: Greaser ]

 

[George7941]

I had a similar experience with two trucks at work. After flushing the cooling systems manually by opening the rad and block drains and without using a flushing machine and refilling with fresh coolant the water pumps started leaking and I ended up replacing both water pumps. It definitely was very discouraging. In your case the fault might not be with the Prestone antifreeze. Check out my thread from a couple of weeks back titled 'Antileak properties of different antifreezes'.

 

[Drew99GT]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Greaser:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Drew99GT:
Driving with just water in the cooling system-lack of water pump lubrication?

maybe it's an awnser; race teams put a lubricant like water wetter in when they run plain water.

---

Just what I was going to say

..flushing ,IMO,is only for problem systems ie. very dirty .I only drain and fill and never had any problems on multiple vehicles.The Prestone "all makes" was put into my 2001 Jeeps's system last year after a rad change and everything is great...just drain and fill

---

I still like and do the flush method, but I do it by removing the thermostat so the actual flush procedure takes less than about 2 minutes; less time that the cooling system/water pump sees only water. I guess if you wanted to get a bit more expensive but have a bit higher margin for safety, is flush with the thermostat out, but flush with coolent instead of plain water. Just fill the rad up with a 50/50 pre mix after you've drained, start the engine, crack the rad drain, and let it drain and refill about 3-4 times, and you'll have all the coolent compleely exchanged.

 

[frankpc]

I understand about coolant having water pump lube, but have you looked at a water pump lately? The bearings sure look sealed to me. I've always *assumed* the lube is more of a seal conditioner and always doubted that running even pure water for 60 miles during the flush would dry out the seals .... I have used WaterWetter in the past on the track car which gets an annual flush and minimal coolant. *That* water pump is still going strong ... Didn't want to go that route with the daily driver and mess with the "long life" chemistry.
Of course, I'm the guy with the busted pump ...
Thanks,

Frank

 

[frankpc]

Sorry, forgot the cut and paste from the Gates site with info about their water pumps (and the basis for my sealed bearing comments):

Here are the quality features built into every new, OE-equivalent water pump from Gates:

The shaft and hub are precisely ground to exactly fit original equipment fan clutches.
The unitized seal protects the bearings and provides leak-free, long-life performance.
The one-piece bearing assembly has factory-sealed bearings that are computer matched for low friction.
The quality-forged housing is specially formed to ensure maximum coolant flow.
The precision balanced impeller increases water flow, and extends seal and bearing life.
The no-sealant-required gasket allows for fast, easy installation

 

[kevm14]

The water pump on my Caprice sounded funny while I was flushing with water. When I finished and refilled with antifreeze, the sound went away.

 

[cangreylegend]

I suspect you removed the silicate film from the old coolant and the new coolant has none.

 

[Ray H]

I'm not sure you're on the same page with kevm14. His noise issue was confined to oeration during the plain water flushing. With the new antifreeze, things are normal again. Silicates don't lube, anyway. The ethylene glycol's viscosity is more likely what aids lubrication at the juncture of the seals and the pulley shaft.

 

[1sttruck]

I like using new coolant and water mixed 50/50 or whatever as a flush, as it's hard to get all the old stuff out, whether it's old coolant or your new flush. Even if you use distilled water it's still distilled water, and will dilute your new 50/50 mix that you're adding.

 

[XS650]

1sttruck, you can accomplish about the same thing by flushing with distelled water, draining the sytem, adding 1/2 the rated cooling system capacity with straight coolant, then topping off with straight coolant.

 

[1sttruck]

You need to know your system capacity, make sure it's full when flushing, and then need to keep track of how much is drained if you're just adding coolant.

 

[Big Jim]

Or use a coolant hydrometer.