[Healeys] Coolant change

[Bob Spidell]

Oh boy! A 'hot' (pun intended) topic right up there with oil and tires ;) 

'Coolant'--to my pedantic eye--is a mixture of water and antifreeze. The antifreeze is mostly ethylene glycol--some use propylene glycol, which is non-toxic but slightly less efficient--with some pump lubricant* and corrosion inhibitor. The corrosion inhibitor is a mild acid that gets 'used up' over time: 

http://www.google.com/patents/US6096236 

Usually, coolant life is expressed in miles; modern formulations can go over 100K miles before recommended change-out, but since our Healeys aren't going to be driven that much time becomes the issue (iron engines will rust just sitting). I would say change it every 5 years or so (which might only be a few thousand miles of driving for some owners). 

I believe the 'waterless' coolants are mostly propylene glycol and are quite a bit more expensive than ethylene glycol formulations. You'd still need to change it out when the corrosion inhibitors get used up; IMO it's a gimmick. 

Bob 

* it just occurred to me that the only thing that needs lubricating in a water pump is the bearings, but the last thing you want in the bearings is water. Am I missing something? 


----- Original Message -----

From: "Daniel White" <healeydan at wowway.com> 
To: "healeys" <Healeys at autox.team.net> 
Sent: Thursday, November 5, 2015 5:53:14 AM 
Subject: [Healeys] Coolant change 

I've searched the archives looking for any discussion regarding how often to change the coolant in the BN7. If the answer is there...I missed it. I'm running a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and tap water and it tests o.k. as far as freeze protection. This mix has been in the system for a number of years. Does coolant "go bad" with age? Any thoughts about the waterless coolant being sold on the market? 
Thanks, 
Dan White 
1962 BN7 Mk II 

_______________________________________________ 



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/healeys/attachments/20151105/095c2baf/attachment.html>