Is a Radiator Flush a Good Idea this Fall Season?

Its going to be a long cold winter in 2010 / 2011. Wintertime is coming you can bank on it. On top of that the Canadian Geese are practicing their flight runs long ahead of normal season times. Its time to check your antifreeze and coolant levels for winter time driving simple as that. Why wait for winter or in this case spring ?



There are two situations when you should definitely change your anti freeze liquid coolant in the fall pre winter time inspection. Use soft water. When filling the cooling system , clean soft water ( water free of heavy lime and other mineral concentrations) should be used. This will certainly help to prevent scale deposits and scale deposit formations. Scale deposits ( that is hard layers of chemicals which build up and are deposited and laid down in certain areas of system- especially in the hottest sections) will more than drastically reduce the transfer and elimination of heat from the metal surfaces and fins to the coolant. Water high in mineral content can also cause antifreeze with inhibitors to lower their efficiency and useful lives and lifetimes. A mild rust and scale condition in the cooling system usually can be corrected by cleaning with any of a number of commercially available chemical cleaning preparations. Where an aluminum radiator is used , take great care and pains to ensure that a cleaner compound is used that is harmless and approved for use with alum rads. Unscrew the radiator cap and peer in. In many newer cars you best open the radiator coolant fluid overflow tank. Opening up the rad cap itself my unseal this sealed system. Once inspecting the liquids inside note are the liquids clear or do they look like rock and roll ice cream mix. A resultant cracked engine block will ruin your month with a resultant no go vehicle. It can all happen overnight in a snap cold spell. It may not happen in warm Vancouver or Coquitlam. However try the cold climes of Northern British Columbia way up north in Canada or Alaska - Coolant recovery systems are simply and basically a plastic bottle with two little hoses coming out of the cap. One leads to the radiator and second serves as an overflow pipe for the bottle. The bottle holds and extra supply of water and coolant, just in case the system loses any. When your cooling system heats up and starts to overflow, instead of pouring out of your radiator pipe , and onto the ground the liquid pours into the bottle When the system cools off , the pressure drops, the liquid is drawn out of the bottle and back into the radiator. Most recovery systems are considered "sealed", since you can check to see if your coolant needs changing and add water or coolant by opening the cap on top of the container. You can also check the level of liquid in the system by seeing if it reaches the fill level marked on the side of the bottle. If you do open your radiator cap, ensure that you fill the radiator right to the brim before you replace the cap. This "bleeds" the system forcing any air that may of gotten into the bottle and out through the overflow pipe when the power plant heats up. One last point when it comes to the benefits of antifreeze fluids recovery systems. Glycol is both an aesthetic nice color and sweet in taste - yet deadly when ingested by wildlife on the highway - deer , moose and small game and family pets dogs and cats as well. Coolant recovery tanks prevent this deadly disaster. On top of that when working with fluids immediately and with haste mop and clean up any and all spilled fluids and waste materials.



However if neither of the two above conditions ring true - you have drained and replaced your ethylene glycol antifreeze in the past two years and that your engine has not run hot over the summer and neither boiled over you may still be in need of a change or at least inspection of your radiator and coolant so that you can decide whether it or a change of fluid is a wise idea or good choice for vehicle maintenance, care and longevity.



You can consult your owner's manual , the back of the coolant jug or bottle, or the charts that the coolant manufacturer supply for the number of quarts that your cooling system will hold. Then simply divide that number by two and purchase that amount of coolant. This will give you a 50 / 50 mixture ,which is fine for everything but the coldest of weather. If you drive in very cold minus 50 degrees Fort mc Murray Alberta or North Dakota regions then perhaps you may need to go for broke. Still a 50 / 50 solution can hold heat better come long summer drives or heat up your interior car heater and defroster more once at operating temperatures. Still auto industry consultant William S. Simpson notes that at the worst a potent 50 / 50 percent ratio antifreeze water solution does not so much freeze up like an icle but enters a gel type state and can be described that when incredibly cold and frigid to "gel up". In some newer cars and trucks the main visual access to fluid may be the top cap of the engine antifreeze overflow reservoir. Ethylene glycols are poisonous and must be never be drunk or taken internally. Wood alcohols are poisons as well and will cause blindness if swallowed. Keep away from children and pets. Never put drinks or food in empty antifreeze containers. Lastly never ever place spare antifreezes for storage in ordinary unmarked or even commercially mislabeled for the purpose containers. One moron actually placed wood alcohol antifreeze into an empty Segrams whiskey bottle in his trunk. Kids found it in his car and drank the contents thinking it was ( and tasted like) and alcoholic beverage when mixed with coca cola - If your car lacks a recovery system, you can buy and install one rather inexpensively. Installation is fairly simple and straightforward . You usually just attach the bracket that holds the bottle to the frame of the car or truck under the hood, so that the bottle will sit slightly lower than the overflow pipe from your radiator. Then , one of the hoses from the bottle is usually connected to the radiator overflow pipe. You then replace the original radiator cap with that cap that comes in the carton with the kit. Voila. Is the coolant rusty ? What is its appearance in color and coloration. Perhaps the color is not rust but rather a mixture of different brands and colors of commercial antifreeze products. Bright red , green and blue colored ( new and good) antifreeze products mixed together over time will appear on the color wheel as a dark even rusty appearance liquid?



Next either borrows at your local garage or gas station an anti-freeze coolant measuring device. Or purchase one yourself. Denatured ( ethyl) alcohol , methanol ( methyl or wood alcohol) , and ethylene glycol make up the range of the three commercially available products. Alcohol based antifreezes are flammable and as well injurious to your car's fine and beautiful appearance and finish. They evaporate most rapidly and should only be used in systems equipped with a 160 degrees Fahrenheit ( 71 degrees Celsius ) or lower thermostat. In addition to the rad and cooling repair upgrade novice there are other less costly products that mistakenly might be employed. Stay clear of windshield washer antifreeze. Its alcohol based and is meant to clean your windshield and windscreen of dirt and bugs. Used in your rad windshield washer antifreeze or bug remover might well remove your rubber seals as well resulting in most expensive motor and mechanics repair quotes. In the same way do not be tempted by inexpensive RV winter pipe antifreeze on sale at RV or RV big box auto store stores and outlets. You may save a bit up front yet more than one well intentioned novice backyard worker has ruined more than one engine with this practice. There are three basic antifreeze solutions. Denatured ( ethyl) alcohol, methanol ( methyl or wood alcohol) and ethylene glycol make up the three basic antifreeze solutions. Ethylene glycol ( also called permanent type antifreeze) has several advantages over denatured alcohol or methanol. Ethylene glycol will not cause a fire hazard. It does not harm body and car body paint finishes states William S Simpson of Bill's auto body- although in rare cases it can cause minor "heat spotting". It does not evaporate at normal system operating temperature and can be used with 180 degree F ( 82 degrees C.) and above automotive thermostats. Hence ethylene glycol is a wise choice for pouring out good heat from the interior heater and defroster.

Lastly it can be left in the cooling system for extended time periods as is done with late model or stored vehicles throughout the year.



There are three things that you should do to keep your cooling system in good shape: check for leaks, replace worn hoses before they split and flush the system and change the fluid at recommended intervals.

What is the useful life span of anti-freeze ? The cooling system of most new cars and trucks are filled at the factory with a solution made up of ethylene glycol antifreeze, rust inhibitors , pump lubricant and chemicals. Unless the solution leaks out to the point that dilution is a problem , it can ordinarily be left in the system for the recommended period of 24 months or two years calendar time duration.





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