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dragonfly5
join:2012-09-04

dragonfly5 to fartness

Member

to fartness

Re: Change antifreeze?

You can't tell anything by the color of antifreeze to determine whether it needs to be changed, all that could tell you is how badly your headgasket is failing if it's a milky froth.

What happens is that there are anti-corrosion agents in the antifreeze and some water-pump lubricants that break down over time. This is why you change every 2-3 years, to replenish those additives.

I would drain, flush with garden hose, backflush (the heater core especially) with said hose, and refill. If your coolant capacity is 2 gallons, drop a full gallon of concentrate into the tank and then top off with distilled water.

rob_in_chatt
Premium Member
join:2004-09-17
Chattanooga, TN

rob_in_chatt

Premium Member

go to the parts store and get a PH tester for automotive coolant. that is the easiest way to see if your coolant needs to be changed.

TypeNameHere

Anon

Misinformation and disinformation ???

Anti-freeze goes acidic after a certain amount of time.
THIS is why it needs changed, no other reason.
The single best way to check for over-aged antifreeze is with a DIGITAL volt meter.
You connect the negative lead directly to the battery negative post and dangle the positive lead into the radiator neck submerging the tip into the antfreeze but not touching the radiator itself.
Read voltage on a DC scale, is it below .5 VDC (that is ½ of a volt) ???
Think grade school chemistry....the higher the acidity the higher the specific gravity and the higher the ability to carry voltage.

Acid is bad for teh engine inner werkins.....mmmk?
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

ke4pym

Premium Member

said by TypeNameHere :

Misinformation and disinformation ???

Anti-freeze goes acidic after a certain amount of time.
THIS is why it needs changed, no other reason.
The single best way to check for over-aged antifreeze is with a DIGITAL volt meter.
You connect the negative lead directly to the battery negative post and dangle the positive lead into the radiator neck submerging the tip into the antfreeze but not touching the radiator itself.
Read voltage on a DC scale, is it below .5 VDC (that is ½ of a volt) ???
Think grade school chemistry....the higher the acidity the higher the specific gravity and the higher the ability to carry voltage.

Acid is bad for teh engine inner werkins.....mmmk?

So, I have to ask. If one meter probe is on the negative terminal of the battery, and the other meter probe is dangling in the fluid, what voltage, exactly, will get measured?
dragonfly5
join:2012-09-04

dragonfly5

Member

Well, he's right.

The acidity of the coolant will interact with the aluminum block and form a crude chemical battery. The more acidic the coolant the stronger the "battery" will be, and the higher the voltage you will measure.

My only concern would be that there's no OEM spec on how much voltage is too much or too little.

But he's wrong in that there *are* lubricants and other additives in the coolant which will wear out and you'll never know it by a voltimeter. That degradation is measured in years, not volts, so you should be changing it out every X years anyhow.

shdesigns
Powered By Infinite Improbabilty Drive
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join:2000-12-01
Stone Mountain, GA
(Software) pfSense
ARRIS SB6121

shdesigns

Premium Member

said by dragonfly5:

My only concern would be that there's no OEM spec on how much voltage is too much or too little.

Or what the probes are made of: steel? brass? copper? , Nickel plated? zinc plated? Gold plated?

All would produce different voltages.

TypeNameHere to dragonfly5

Anon

to dragonfly5
The "end of life" spec is .5VDC, you should change antifreeze before this ....I recommend .4 to my customers, most say a tad lower than that.

Google up antifreeze voltage test....here...
»www.completeradiators.co ··· s/34.htm
It's not an uncommon way to test at all and is easily the single most accurate way to do so.

Now as for there being any sort of lubricant in antifreeze ?!?
Exactly what is getting "lubed" ?
The sealed waterpump bearings ?
If the antifreeze ever gets near the waterpump bearings the pump is toast and should be replaced (you will be able to verify this by looking at the antifreeze spewing from the waterpump weep hole).
Nice try.
dragonfly5
join:2012-09-04

dragonfly5

Member

Lubricant is a bit old-school, I'll give you that. The newer deal now is anti-corrosion additives, for example those present in Dexcool (OAT) if you're driving a GM vehicle. Those absolutely *are* depleted over time.