Coolant
Purpose:
Coolant, which is also called antifreeze, is meant to keep your engine cool as well as keep it from freezing; hence the name antifreeze. Here are three types: traditional green, extended life, and universal coolant.
Symptoms:
· Your coolant light comes on
· Your car is overheating
· Your car is leaking coolant
· Your transmission isn’t shifting right
· You check your transmission fluid and it comes out milky
· You check your coolant and it looks like brown sludge
· You are driving your car and your heat stops working
Care & Repair:
Many newer cars with the manufacturer’s extended life coolant are designed so that you don’t ever have to change your coolant. Some require you to change it after 100,000 miles. It depends on your manufacturer; check your owner’s manual to be sure. Universal coolant should tell you on the bottle how often you should change it, usually about 100,000 miles. If you are using ethylene glycol and water, you will need to change your coolant about every 30,000 miles. If you think you have a problem with your coolant, find more information under care & repair.
Cost:
Coolant or antifreeze costs $10 – $30 if you purchase some to add to your car yourself. If you go to a dealership, it’s possible they will top you off for free, or hopefully at least for a very cheap price. If you need to get your cooling system flushed, it will be about $100 – $150. If your car is leaking coolant or has overheated, it’s going to cost you anywhere from $50 – $150 to have it diagnosed. There are many things that could be affected by low coolant. If you know or have an idea of what is wrong with your car and would like an estimate, go to www. repairpal.com.
Coolant, which is also called antifreeze, is meant to keep your engine cool as well as keep it from freezing; hence the name antifreeze. Here are three types: traditional green, extended life, and universal coolant.
Traditional Green: The “old” green coolant should be a mix of 50% water and 50% ethylene glycol. Most people buy a pre-mixed coolant, but some purchase 100% ethylene glycol and add water. Most pre-mixed green coolants have added inhibitors. These are chemicals designed to reduce corrosion, but they wear out in a couple years making it necessary to change out your coolant every 30,000 miles.
Extended Life Coolant: This coolant has different inhibitors than the traditional green coolant and is designed to last longer. It seems like every manufacturer has its own coolant with a different color. GM has a coolant referred to as Dex-Cool and it’s orange. Honda has a blue coolant and Volkswagen has a pink one and so on. Check your owner’s manual to find out what your manufacturer requires for your car.
Universal Coolant: This is supposed to be compatible with the different types of coolants sold by various manufacturers. You should be able to mix it with the traditional ethylene glycol, but read the label to make sure.
NOTE: It’s good to know the color of your coolant so if your car is leaking coolant, it’s easier to identify.
NOTE: If you don’t have pre-mixed traditional green antifreeze, extended life, or universal coolant and need to mix your own antifreeze, make sure you use distilled water.
WARNING: Do not mix traditional green coolant with an extended life coolant. The combination will change the chemical makeup and prevent it from doing its job. It will create a cottage-cheesy, lumpy mixture that will cause you to have to get your coolant system flushed. If you are not positive that the coolant you are planning to add to your car is compatible with the coolant currently in your car, use water or go to your manufacturer and make sure you are purchasing the correct coolant. This will be way cheaper than having your engine flushed. If you add water to get your car going in a pinch, depending how much water you added, you may need to add more coolant in to even the ratio out.
NOTE: It’s probably best not to use a stop leak product if your car is leaking coolant. The product is designed to solidify when it hits air, stopping any leak. Your cooling system has lots of small openings; you don’t want to take the chance of any liquid hardening up and restricting the flow. While stop leak products work on occasion, it can also cause a lot of problems. You are better off just taking your car in to see a technician.
Symptoms your car may have a coolant problem:
· Your coolant light comes on
· Your car is overheating
· Your car is leaking coolant
· Your transmission isn’t shifting right
· You check your transmission fluid and it comes out milky
· You check your coolant and it looks like brown sludge
· You are driving your car and your heat stops working
“I noticed that my wife’s car was leaking coolant and I knew I needed to get into a dealership. The one we use is about 20 minutes away. I didn’t have any coolant so I decided to add some water, hoping that it would keep the engine cool enough to make it the 20 miles. I kept an eye on the temperature gauge and it never went up much. Unfortunately, sometimes a lack of coolant will create an air pocket which gives you a false temperature reading. I was driving in heavy morning traffic on 695 in Baltimore when the car began overheating, running rough, and then just shut down. When a police officer stopped to see what the problem was, he pointed out the obvious; 695 in morning traffic is a really bad place to break down. There was nothing I could do about it, the car wasn’t going anywhere. I called a tow truck and got it to the dealership. Diagnosis, the engine was destroyed and needed to be rebuilt.” – Josh F.”
Many newer cars with the manufacturer’s extended life coolant are designed so that you don’t ever have to change your coolant. Some require you to change it after 100,000 miles. It depends on your manufacturer; check your owner’s manual to be sure. Universal coolant should tell you on the bottle how often you should change it, usually about 100,000 miles. If you are using ethylene glycol and water, you will need to change your coolant about every 30,000 miles.
Coolant or antifreeze can evaporate, so you may need to add coolant to your car. Your car could lose a cup or two a year, which could cause your coolant or overheating light to come on. For example, with Volkswagen, if you lose three cups, your low coolant or engine temperature light will come on. Another sign of low coolant, even though your warning light isn’t on, is if you are driving your car and your heat quits working.
If your car is leaking coolant, make sure you don’t drive your car. (See story in pink!) Lack of coolant can cause your car to overheat which can affect your oil. When the oil can’t lubricate and keep your engine cool, your engine could melt and warp, causing you to have to replace your engine. If you have a leak, get your car into a dealership or repair shop right away.
If your transmission isn’t shifting right, you notice your coolant looks like brown sludge, or you check your transmission fluid and it’s milky, your coolant and transmission fluid could have mixed. A lot of cars have a radiator type device (known as a cooler) that coolant and transmission fluid flow through. If the cooler cracks, the two fluids can mix, ruining your transmission. This can also sometimes happen with engine oil. If your oil and coolant are mixed, it is usually noticed when you get an oil change. You will have to see a technician ASAP to replace the component that caused the fluids to mix as well as the damage that has been done as a result of the fluids mixing. You will also have to have your fluids flushed out and replaced.