Why does radiator coolant need to be replaced?
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Originally Posted By: veryHeavy
My car passed 60,000 which means I need to flush the coolant.
But why?
It still looks nice & green. It feels like I should be able to run to 120,000 since the radiator still continues to keep the engine from overheating. What exactly happens to coolant that it requires replacement after 60000 miles of usage?
Its fine, no need to change it
My car passed 60,000 which means I need to flush the coolant.
But why?
It still looks nice & green. It feels like I should be able to run to 120,000 since the radiator still continues to keep the engine from overheating. What exactly happens to coolant that it requires replacement after 60000 miles of usage?
Its fine, no need to change it
I maintain a fleet of semi trucks and heavy earth-moving equipment. We check the freeze point of our coolant every fall and have yet to see any coolant degrade. Others have mentioned the pH level aspect of it and we use a coolant test strip which indicates amount of glycol and effective pH level. Penray makes the the test strips as well as Detroit Diesel.
If the pencool additive is applied and pH level is checked after the engine has ran and mixed with the antifreeze, then it is ready to re-test. Once the test strips indicate an optimal ph level (by adding a proper amount of additive)I would deem it good to go. That is our standard protocol regarding coolant, and has worked out well for years. And, yes improper pH level can and will destroy an engine through corrosion and liner pitting.
If the pencool additive is applied and pH level is checked after the engine has ran and mixed with the antifreeze, then it is ready to re-test. Once the test strips indicate an optimal ph level (by adding a proper amount of additive)I would deem it good to go. That is our standard protocol regarding coolant, and has worked out well for years. And, yes improper pH level can and will destroy an engine through corrosion and liner pitting.
The additive package gets depleted.
Originally Posted By: kschachn
First off, any solution near neutral has almost no H+ concentration
Neutrality doesn't say anything about H+ concentration except that it is equal to OH- concentration. Extremely hot water will have elevated concentrations of both H+ and OH-.
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Whoever wrote that article doesn't have even a slight understanding of chemistry. I wouldn't put any stock in anything else they write either.
First off, any solution near neutral has almost no H+ concentration
Neutrality doesn't say anything about H+ concentration except that it is equal to OH- concentration. Extremely hot water will have elevated concentrations of both H+ and OH-.
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Whoever wrote that article doesn't have even a slight understanding of chemistry. I wouldn't put any stock in anything else they write either.
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Originally Posted By: Deontologist
Originally Posted By: kschachn
First off, any solution near neutral has almost no H+ concentration
Neutrality doesn't say anything about H+ concentration except that it is equal to OH- concentration. Extremely hot water will have elevated concentrations of both H+ and OH-.
Thanks I should have used the word "relative". I only have a minor in chemistry and that probably contributed to my imprecise terminology.
Originally Posted By: kschachn
First off, any solution near neutral has almost no H+ concentration
Neutrality doesn't say anything about H+ concentration except that it is equal to OH- concentration. Extremely hot water will have elevated concentrations of both H+ and OH-.
Thanks I should have used the word "relative". I only have a minor in chemistry and that probably contributed to my imprecise terminology.
So you dont have to deal with this non-sense at 150k miles
So then you install a coolant filter.
So then you install a coolant filter.
Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: veryHeavy
My car passed 60,000 which means I need to flush the coolant.
But why?
It still looks nice & green. It feels like I should be able to run to 120,000 since the radiator still continues to keep the engine from overheating. What exactly happens to coolant that it requires replacement after 60000 miles of usage?
Drain and refill. No need for a flush if things look good. The additives wear out. Drain and refill is cheap compared to parts replacement.
Use the proper coolant and distilled water.
+1 Exactly
Originally Posted By: veryHeavy
My car passed 60,000 which means I need to flush the coolant.
But why?
It still looks nice & green. It feels like I should be able to run to 120,000 since the radiator still continues to keep the engine from overheating. What exactly happens to coolant that it requires replacement after 60000 miles of usage?
Drain and refill. No need for a flush if things look good. The additives wear out. Drain and refill is cheap compared to parts replacement.
Use the proper coolant and distilled water.
+1 Exactly
I've always thought it was the additives dropping below a certain PPM level, as well as the glycol component turning into something more acidic - glycolate and glycolic acid.
With newer cars and heavy trucks using silicate-free coolant with organic acid inhibitors, do we need to dump coolant all that often? Mercedes(and maybe Detroit Diesel to a certain point) is still using silicate as is BMW and Tesla(G-48) and VAG just jumped back on the silicate bandwagon with their newest coolant G12++(BASF G-40), and the Japanese loves their pHOAT coolants, maybe there is some truth the newer HOATs can be run longer than what is called for as long as it's mixed with DI water?
With newer cars and heavy trucks using silicate-free coolant with organic acid inhibitors, do we need to dump coolant all that often? Mercedes(and maybe Detroit Diesel to a certain point) is still using silicate as is BMW and Tesla(G-48) and VAG just jumped back on the silicate bandwagon with their newest coolant G12++(BASF G-40), and the Japanese loves their pHOAT coolants, maybe there is some truth the newer HOATs can be run longer than what is called for as long as it's mixed with DI water?
In Europe, Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 (small city cars) use Toyota KR 3-piston gasoline engine (Toyota use this in their model Aygo) - and recommendation for coolant is to use only Japanese type of hoat. According PSA (Peugeot/Citroen) service plan - change interval for coolant in this engine is 10 years.
I mean you are right that neewer hoat`s can be run longer.
However I would rather check pH after 5-6 years.
I mean you are right that neewer hoat`s can be run longer.
However I would rather check pH after 5-6 years.
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Originally Posted By: DS9
In Europe, Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 (small city cars) use Toyota KR 3-piston gasoline engine (Toyota use this in their model Aygo) - and recommendation for coolant is to use only Japanese type of hoat. According PSA (Peugeot/Citroen) service plan - change interval for coolant in this engine is 10 years...
Nice. Thank you for sharing. I would also remind that cavitation is a big contributing factor to pitting. pH control alone is not everything. I'd follow the schedule.
In Europe, Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 (small city cars) use Toyota KR 3-piston gasoline engine (Toyota use this in their model Aygo) - and recommendation for coolant is to use only Japanese type of hoat. According PSA (Peugeot/Citroen) service plan - change interval for coolant in this engine is 10 years...
Nice. Thank you for sharing. I would also remind that cavitation is a big contributing factor to pitting. pH control alone is not everything. I'd follow the schedule.
Originally Posted By: veryHeavy
My car passed 60,000 which means I need to flush the coolant.
But why?
It still looks nice & green. It feels like I should be able to run to 120,000 since the radiator still continues to keep the engine from overheating. What exactly happens to coolant that it requires replacement after 60000 miles of usage?
cecause of this:
Preowner never changed the coolant.
Honda Transalp 600
From: =1]Honda Transalp Forum Thread: Wasserpumpe
My car passed 60,000 which means I need to flush the coolant.
But why?
It still looks nice & green. It feels like I should be able to run to 120,000 since the radiator still continues to keep the engine from overheating. What exactly happens to coolant that it requires replacement after 60000 miles of usage?
cecause of this:
Preowner never changed the coolant.
Honda Transalp 600
From: =1]Honda Transalp Forum Thread: Wasserpumpe
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If miles are low does the coolant still wear out with age? I changed the conventional green coolant in my Jag V12 2 years ago, and have added 1200 miles since then. Should I change it? Jag says every 2 years but I doubt the coolant additives deplete by the vehicle just being stored.
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