Questions tagged [coolant]
An alcohol based fluid that is miscible in water and used to remove heat from the engine. Also see the [cooling-system] tag for related components such as the radiator and water-pump.
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Running with straight water as coolant in the summer. Is it fine?
I grew up flushing the coolant twice yearly. In the Spring, you drain the antifreeze and fill with straight water for the summer. In the Fall, you drain the water and put in a 50/50 antifreeze/water ...
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Is Prestone "All Makes/All Models" coolant *really* compatible with all models?
My car's manual says to use the blue Honda coolant:
Always use Honda All Season
Antifreeze/Coolant Type 2 [MSDS]. This
coolant is pre-mixed with 50 percent
antifreeze and 50 percent water. It
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Is it Safe to Drive With Low Engine Coolant?
I have a 2001 Chevy Malibu and have replaced the engine coolant in it twice in the last six months after the low coolant warning light came on, and the light has recently come on again. The climate ...
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How to dispose of engine coolant?
This question is pretty straight forward...
How to properly dispose of engine coolant? Should it be taken to a treatment facility like used engine oil or is it safe to pour down the drain?
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Can I drive a car with only water and no coolant if it has a leak?
Recently, I was informed that a car I share ('02 Nissan Sentra) was close to overheating. I was told it gets close to the upper limit very quickly upon running the car. When I inspected the vehicle, I ...
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2005 Ford Taurus - Is it really harmful to use standard antifreeze?
My wife was speaking with a mechanic when she took the car in for a safety and emissions inspection this past week and the mechanic told her that we HAD to take our Ford Taurus to a Ford dealership or ...
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2000 VW Golf heater won't blow hot air
My 2000 2.0L Golf GLS won't blow hot air at operating temperature, the air is only lukewarm at best. This started a few months ago inexplicably. The car isn't overheating or underheating, it reaches ...
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Can salt water be used in place of antifreeze?
The key feature of antifreeze--as the name implies--is that it doesn't freeze.
When I was a kid, my Dad used to use just plain water in the radiator of his 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass during the summer. ...
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My car's coolant temperature reaches almost 100 C / 212 F in a fast pace
Today, after a very hot day, I saw that my coolant was almost reaching 100C/212, I pulled over, stopped and took a look over the hood. The very little water that remained in the coolant tank was all ...
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Pros and cons of using straight antifreeze?
I've heard from some people that they use straight antifreeze in their cooling systems, not 50/50.
What are the pros and cons of doing that?
E.g., does it reduce exposure to corrosion?
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How do I troubleshoot the source of oil in my coolant?
I would like to know the step by step troubleshooting procedure for discovering the source of oil appearing in coolant. There are several different points of failure that can be the root cause for ...
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The purpose of covering the grill during cold weather
In some countries it is quite popular to cover up the front grill in winter (especially on diesel engined cars). As I understand the intention is to inhibit airflow to the radiator, but why would you ...
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Losing coolant fast after just fixing radiator
I have just got my coolant tank and radiator replaced after a leak in the radiator and a cracked coolant tank. I filled the coolant tank last month and now it is nearly empty. I am just wondering if ...
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What actually happens when there is not enough coolant in a car engine?
I know that a lack of engine oil can destroy an engine, so I was curious as to whether it is just as bad to drive a car with a very low engine coolant.
What is engine coolant?
What exactly are all ...
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What happens if I drive without antifreeze in my car?
What happens if I drive without antifreeze in my car (no water / no antifreeze)? This is my main question. I've added some follow up questions that are specific to my situation but for the main ...
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50/50 Coolant Dilution after distilled water flush?
I have a new (to me) car that it appears hasn't had a coolant fluid change ever, now with 120k miles. It is an 04 Corolla.
I am planning on flushing the system with distilled water a few times. But ...
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Why would a water pump be run off of the timing belt?
I drive a 1999 Chrysler 300M, V6 3.5L engine. I am about to start a water pump replacement repair. I've discovered that the water pump is driven off of the timing belt, rather than either of the two ...
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What is this sticker on the coolant expansion tank trying to tell me?
My new-to-me Land Rover LR3 needs a coolant top-up.
The trouble is I don't know what this sticker on the reservoir (not cap) is trying to warn me about.
Is the LR3 allergic to green coolant? Or is ...
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I'm stupid and added tranny fluid to my coolant tank. What can I expect?
Title pretty much says it all. I'm a computer guy, not a car guy. I saw a bunch of red fluid coming out of my vehcile, assumed it was tranny fluid. Turns out it was antifreeze. This means the bit of ...
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Car won't reach operating temperature
Here's a seemingly simple problem - I noticed that the temperature gauge of my mother's 2004 Opel Meriva 1.7CDTI won't ever climb above minimum. I checked the OBD readings to see if it was a defective ...
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Why would there be transmission fluid in the water overflow reservoir?
The car is a '98 Buick Lesabre with the 3800 engine and about 170k miles. It appears as though some oil was in the radiator, but I haven't seen any signs of coolant in the oil. The water pump recently ...
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Why would a mechanic crank heater to maximum
This is a curiosity question. I recently had the timing belt, tensioner and water pump replaced on my Honda Odyssey.
When I picked up the van it was really hot inside but I didn't think much of it. ...
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Accidentally poured engine oil into the coolant reservoir
My 1990 Mazda 626 leaks oil like a sieve, so I regularly top up the oil.
In a moment of stupidity, I opened my radiator cap instead of my oil cap while topping up my engine oil, and poured about 50-...
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My car has the wrong coolant in it. Now what?
Hello I realized today after beating my head about my car's overheating problems that I have the wrong coolant in it.
About a year ago, my car ran dry. At the bottom of the expansion tank was an ...
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Coolant Reservoir
Two questions,
One, is there any reason why some coolant bottles are shaped in this way?
Two, if this coolant bottle was placed on its side such as in the image below for example would coolant ...
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Oil in coolant - how much trouble am I in?
I have oil in my coolant reservoir. Could it just be the head gasket or is it almost certainly the entire engine or might it be something else entirely?
Thanks in advance...
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What's making my coolant overflow?
I got home to find a trail of coolant down the driveway and puddles forming under the car (1991 Toyota MR2 - 5SFE). Concerned that I blew a hose, I checked them all. Nothing. Finally decided to see ...
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Switching engine coolant with similar properties oil
I was wondering why specific coolants or distilled water is used as a heat transfer liquid for engine cooling instead of just using a separate oil circuit with some type of oil as a heat transfer ...
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Rusty coloured coolant?
I am working on a 1988 Accord (CA) that has been sitting for some time. There was a problem with the cooling system - air pockets and bad water pump bearing - so I replaced the pump and drained the ...
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How can you tell the difference between oil or transmission fluid in the antifreeze?
I am in the process of repairing my 1997 Toyota 4-runner with a v-6 engine. I have only had the vehicle for a couple of days. I was doing a routine maintenance check on all the fluids. What I found ...
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Evans Waterless Coolant
I've seen advertisements for Evans Waterless Coolant and have seen Jay Leno tout it on his YouTube channel. My question deals with the operation of the cooling system after you have properly ...
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How to flush engine coolant system after oil intrusion
My 02 Buick LeSabre has oil coming from the radiator into the coolant reservoir. Just recently I had a new motor put in to fix the issue. What would be the best/proper way to flush the radiator? It ...
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Coolant level is below "low" in the expansion tank, dealership service says this is normal?
I took my car to the dealership for an oil change and inspection, which includes the fluids being checked and topped off. After the service, I took a look at the fluids in the car.
There is a tank ...
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BMW M52 coolant refilling
I have a BMW 328 -98, or in other words, an E36 with the M52 engine. I cannot for the life of me understand how the coolant system works on this engine, and therefore not how to properly top it up ...
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Corolla - Coolant leaking from timing chain cover
I have a 2002 Toyota Corolla (1zz-fe engine) and recently noticed an important coolant leak, dripping from under the car, apparently from the oil pan. I took a closer look and was able to identify ...
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What is the point of heating the IAC Valve?
I recently added a cold air intake and cleaned the throttle body and IAC valve (I was having hunting idle issues) on my '01 Accord V6, and I noticed that there were coolant lines running through the ...
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What is the point of changing coolant if it gets constantly replaced?
I drive a 2016 Scion FRS, and based on the maintenance schedule of the coolant:
1st replacement interval is 11 years/137,500 miles (220,000 km).
2nd replacement interval is 6 years/ 75,000 miles (...
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Oil Cooled vs Water Cooled
These both are cooling mechanisms. One uses oil to cool whereas other uses some kind of water-based coolant. What are advantages and disadvantages of both in both technical and ownership point of view?...
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Using only coolant or mix of water for radiator?
Do I have to use only coolant for radiator or mix coolant with water, if so what percentage of coolant and water should be mixed?
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What is this (cooling-system related) part?
A while back I stopped my 2000 Ford Ranger (V6 4WD) and all of a sudden there was white smoke pouring out from under the hood, indicating that something was leaking radiator fluid. When I opened the ...
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How long does coolant last in storage?
I recently needed to top-off the coolant on my car, but only used a part of the gallon-sized 100% antifreeze container that it came in - how long is it worth keeping the rest in my garage for future ...
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Air trapped inside radiator after adding coolant
It has now happened twice to me that after adding coolant to the radiator, when I turn the car on the RPM's will bounce up and down and the engine is reving (between 1k and 1.5k RPM's). Normal idle is ...
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What exactly is meant by "engine coolant"?
I know that engine coolant is a fluid in the engine used to dissipate heat spots and keep the engine cool in general as the moving parts generate heat. In this context, I would call the oil an "engine ...
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Coolant in engine... Head gasket going
I have an 05 Equinox, and while idling it sometimes overheats. We have to continously add coolant every week.
If this was the only problem, I'd fix it, but, there's other issues as well, and combined ...
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Coolant pouring out from under 1998 GMC Yukon as fast as i put in
I filled my radiator with water and it is pouring right back out of the rear of engine as fast as i fill. It seems to be near or behind the transmission.
https://youtu.be/27qV-ufMsQc
How can I find ...
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25Nm vs 28Nm - How accurate should a torque wrench be?
I am soon doing a coolant change on my car, including draining the coolant from the block using the drain plug, and I have heard of a few people apparently snapping these off due to over torquing them,...
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Chronic ignition problems with 1996 Suburban, replacing distributor cap makes it go away
I'm trying to diagnose an ongoing ignition problem with a 1996 Chevy Suburban. Sometimes it won't start, and the previous owner said this happens regularly, and every time the problem occurred, ...
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Why is antifreeze mixture not as stated?
To keep things short I poured 200ml of concentrated genuine ford super plus premium antifreeze (Ethylene glycol based) within a bowl. Then added 200ml of water to dilute the solution to a 50/50 ...
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How do I find a vacuum leak? I'd highly prefer not to use a carb cleaner spray
The car is a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue with 3.8L V6 engine (3800 Series). I've been doing my research and due diligence, but please understand I'm very inexperienced with automobiles.
I went to ...
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How to do minor repairs to a radiator?
I have a radiator in my truck that has a slow leak which looks like it is oozing a little bit in between some of the fins. What are some of the ways to repair a radiator without replacing it? At ...
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