Off the subject of cleaning and polishing element #13 in its
metallic state, I've got a question for readers who own cars
with alloy cylinder heads and iron blocks; I'm especially
thinking of TR7 and Stag owners, where such information can
be critical to your happiness with the vehicle.
I have a (non-British) car with an Fe block and an Al head.
I think I want to flush the coolant, just because I haven't
done it since buying the car a year ago, and it looks a little
scungy in the overflow tank. I'm also gradually converting my
fleet to run the new non-toxic Sierra brand of coolant, about
which I'll have more to say later, I'm sure.
Are there any tricks to avoiding electrolytic death of the
alumin[i]um parts, other than using distilled water and an
appropriate coolant mixed in the right proportion? Should I
use a cooling system flush before draining, to help knock out
some of the corrosion and build-up? (The car in question has
about 76,000 miles on it, but it's 12 years old.) It's using
a *very* small amount of fluid, maybe half a cup a month; the
only reason I even notice this is because there's a level sensor
in the overflow tank, and on cold mornings the fluid level drops
sometimes below the point that the sensor thinks is right, so
I get a little display on my dashboard telling me that coolant
level is low. (At least the voice warning is reserved for
more serious errors such as running out of gas, driving with
the handbrake on, or attempting to pull away from a stop with
the door open.)
--Scott
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