The most common cause of mechanical breakdown on the highway is cooling system failure. And with the amount of light metal alloys used in engines, transmissions and cooling systems, repairs that result from overheating can be very costly. Your cars coolant plays a vital role in the performance and longevity of your car.
Coolant is the fluid that absorbs heat from the engine and then dissipates it through the radiator. It is also dissipated through the heat exchanger in the passenger compartment when you crank your heat in the winter.
Coolant which is commonly called antifreeze is a mixture of ethylene or propylene glycol and water, usually a 50/50 ratio.
Servicing coolant involves draining and or flushing your car’s cooling system and the replacing the old coolant with fresh coolant. Unlike your engine oil, most of your cooling system’s fluid is not replaced with a typical drain and fill service. In fact, the traditional cooling drain and fill service replaces only about 50% of your used coolant. The reMainder is trapped inside the engine, heater core and various lines.
To make matters worse, the addition of fresh coolant can actually loosen damaging rust deposits within your cooling system. This can lead to blockage and potential overheating. Depending on your situation you may want to drain the system instead of flush and fill. We recommend that coolant be changed at 45,000 miles, 75,000 miles and 100,000 miles. Draining out the coolant and refilling the system removes dirt and rust particles that can clog up the cooling system and cause problems in winter and summer.
Because it is operating in a hot, hostile environment, coolant will break down over time. Most importantly, the coolant’s rust inhibitors get used up, leaving the small cooling passages in your engine and radiator vulnerable to corrosion. Even with the rust inhibitors, some corrosion will inevitably take place, contaminating the coolant with debris. If the rust inhibitors stop working, the cooling system will rust from the inside out. The biggest source of rust in a car’s cooling system is the engine block. In times, these bits of rust will also clog the tiny passages within the radiator and heater, causing your engine to overheat. When an engine overheats you could have to replace the engine.
Check your coolant level periodically. If you check your coolant level when the engine is cold, the coolant should be at or above the “minimum” or “fill” line. Disappearance of coolant could be caused by either an external or internal leak, the latter being more expensive. Either one should be addressed quickly, since running low or out of coolant can lead to catastrophic engine failure.
Pet Tip: Antifreeze has a sweet aroma and taste which pets find particularly appealing. As little as half a teaspoon of the stuff can kill an average size cat and eight ounces will do in a 75 pound dog. If you think that your pet has gotten into some antifreeze, get to your vet immediately. There’s no substance that you can add to antifreeze to make it less appealing to animals, but antifreeze made with propylene instead of the usual ethylene glycol is about a third as toxic. Propylene glycol is sold under the brand names Sierra, Prestone Low Tox and Texaco PG.
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