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The cooling system in my car is full of rust. It's quite corroded. I have drained and flushed the system but need to wait for some parts to be delivered in 2 - 3 weeks.
The system is now empty of fluid and I am worried about oxidisation. Should I be concerned?
Basically, leaving your cooling system dry and letting it sit will cause you no issues. Don't run the vehicle (obviously) without coolant. If you run it too long, this can cause issues.
If you have an aluminum block, there's no chance for corrosion. The aluminum will have already formed a protective barrier, which inhibits corrosion. If an iron block, you'd have to let it sit for years in the open air (outside of a building) for it to corrode enough to cause any issues. Seeing as how the cooling system is inside the engine, there's no real chance for it to corrode. Any coolant which remains in the system will also help prevent any corrosion.
Really, there's no real reason to fear leaving your cooling system dry (or mostly dry) for a few weeks, or even a month or so. You'll most likely have it all back together well before any damage would occur.
It can be. There is a risk that any old sludge/scale that attached to cooling surfaces will dry out and potentially fall off. Once liquid is refilled this debris can block small passages.
Where air moisture and metal meet there will be corrosion.
If possible fill the cooling system with warm water(warm water contains less dissolved gasses)and put the radiator cap on.
This will limit the oxydation a little,oxydation will still happen but at a slower pace.
This is not something you have to do but the thing is 2-3 weeks might grow to be 4-6 weeks and if this is the case you might want to protect the cooling system a bit.
