radiator: 100% water vs coolant

[badkuk]

i recently had my aux fan replaced, and have been going on test runs. this afternoon pansin ko that the temperature went slightly above the median(although malayo pa naman sa overheat). afaik, except for the overheating episodes this month, it rarely reached that temperature.

working naman ung aux and radiator fan upon checking. about the only thing i can think of is that fact that i refilled my radiator with tap water. yun kaya ang problema?

[Horsepower]

Coolant has a higher boiling point, hence, it's better than water.

[alwayz_yummy]

baka naman barado naman ang radiator mo? naoverhaul na ba(general overhaul--> top and bottom ends were removed) fush your system w/ radiator flush, the run the engine para maalis din ang mga naipong tubig sa block at naiwang radiator flush(cause of micro holes sa radiator if left inside....

never use coolant in its 100%..haluan mo ng distilled water(para di na mag-scaling), kahit 500-1000ml man lang...

[4JGtootsie]

When you open the cooling system it becomes depressurize hence it looses its ability to endure higher temperature.Once it becomes pressurized again temperature becomes stable.

Another reason maybe you filled your cooling system with water while the thermostat is closed making the system partially filled.

Using distilled water is good for the cooling system because its less prone to evaporation and cleaner then tap water.

[2Dmax]

tap water is mineral water. meaning using this kind of water in automotive cooling system is not a good idea since mineral deposits in the form of rust will be generated, resulting to corrosion..

[mbeige]

Like mentioned, ethylene glycol (antifreeze/coolant) has a higher boiling point. Get the correct one for your car not the green generic types, they won't have the stuff you need like corrosion inhibitors, etc.

You also might need to burp your cooling system, baka may air pockets. Find the highest point on your cooling system and see if you have a bolt you can loosen so that you can let the air out through it and effectively burp your car's cooling system that way.

Avoid tap water, it will have mineral content which will create deposits in the long run. You will need to use a citric acid flush after a while if you keep running like that.

[speedyfix]

check your therostat muna before putting coolant... baka pasira narin sya.

[boyscout]

wrong notion ang more coolant cooler engine. More water cooler engine, water dissipates heats better than coolant. You just basically need coolant here in the philippines to protect your cooling system from rusting. NEVER USE TAP WATER, it has mineral contents that is VERY HARMFUL and CORROSIVE in the cooling system. Distilled water (absolute, wilkins) is a must it is the purest form of water. Recommed 50:50 water:coolant, up to 70:30 ( 70% water is best in tropical country, be sure by checking your user manual first).

[badkuk]

NEVER USE TAP WATER, it has mineral contents that is VERY HARMFUL and CORROSIVE in the cooling system.

:shocked2: what have i done?!?

check your therostat muna before putting coolant... baka pasira narin sya

um...how to check po sir?

[2Dmax]

since cooling system na lang din ang pinag-uusapan, halos lahat na yata ng vehicles na nilalabas dito sa pinas have a top and bottom portion of the radiator which are made of plastics. i thick this is because of cost-cutting. and we know that plastics are more prone to damage as compared to aluminum-made. may ideas ba kayo if saan and anong brand ung puedeng i-replace sa top/bottom portion of the radiator? my nababasa ko sa forum natin dito, EVERCOOL brand ata un..

[Lancie]

ako rin! waaaa! pure tap water pa gamit ko! got my radiator overhauled last year for rusts.. may coolant pa nun.. after dat, tap water na lang gamit ko! kaya pala ang bilis niya magkaroon ng kalawang.. ngayon kita ko na mei mga sumisingit singit na kalawang na naman.. ganun pala nafform yung rust, mineral deposits.. kala ko, yung walls na dinadaanan ng tubig sa engine ang nagkakarust.. whew! so recommended pala ay 50/50 water and coolant.. hmmm.. ang pinagtataka ko lang po sir, bakit kaya sa Lancer GLXi ng mader ko, yung radiator niya is one row lang, maliit pa, pure coolant gamit! napaisip ako dun,, hehehe thanks!!!

[badkuk]

Another reason maybe you filled your cooling system with water while the thermostat is closed making the system partially filled.

hmm...this may explain why i only got about 3 pails full when i drained it; according to the owner's manual, it's supposed to be something like 5-6 liters.

pardon the kulit, pero pano po maensure na nakabukas ung thermostat? temperature activated siya dapat di ba?

Using distilled water is good for the cooling system because its less prone to evaporation and cleaner then tap water.

hmm...is this the same distilled water you put in car batteries?

hindi naman po sa namimilosopo...pero pwede rin kaya ung purified water sa water refilling stations? afaik most of the impurities have been filtered out anyways...

[speedyfix]

remove the thermostat, dop it into boiling water. ifit opens fully ok pa. if it doesn't move then hindi na.

[hitomi]

this is kinda related: talked to a mechanic and he said to use just distilled water for teh cooling system if you have an aluminum engine (block or head or the whole thing).
he said coolant forms "bukbok" (the equivalent of rust on iron) when in constant contact with aluminum. he has a honda accord in his shop with a "rusted out" aluminum block to prove it.

is this true? maybe it was just a fluke or something.

[LHV]

wrong notion ang more coolant cooler engine. More water cooler engine, water dissipates heats better than coolant. You just basically need coolant here in the philippines to protect your cooling system from rusting. NEVER USE TAP WATER, it has mineral contents that is VERY HARMFUL and CORROSIVE in the cooling system. Distilled water (absolute, wilkins) is a must it is the purest form of water. Recommed 50:50 water:coolant, up to 70:30 ( 70% water is best in tropical country, be sure by checking your user manual first).

true tap water has calcium and other minerals that will coat the surface of your radiator katulad ng thermos jug/kettle sa bahay which will lessen the heat transfer/less cooling kaya dapat talaga distilled, nitrite based coolants are good for preventing rust

[mmanson]

teka, parang lahat ng nabili kong coolant e..kulay green..ano ba dapat kulay ng coolant??

[alwayz_yummy]

may orange and red coolants..may blue din.

orange->what shell now have, other stock-engine coolant ng bagong sasakyan.

may blue->sa motul ata blue, pero sure ko ung dating coolant ng shell blue(eto kasi gamit ko noon,e...)

red-> alam ko merong red coolant ang toyota,e...

ewan ko ba pagkakaiba ng mga yan, baka marketing lang...green is the common color, basta mahalaga, anti-boil, anti-rust..kahit di na anti-freeze(hello, tropical tayo diba??) read the label nalang.

[XTO]

distilled water for battery is okay, mas sigurado lang kasi yung distilled
pure drinking water like absolute and wilkins dahil pwede nga inumin.

anti-rust lang gamit ko na coolant kahit na hindi anti-freeze.

tsaka talagang maiinit ngayon kaya doubled ang hirap ng radiator.

[j_avonni]

may orange and red coolants..may blue din.

orange->what shell now have, other stock-engine coolant ng bagong sasakyan.

may blue->sa motul ata blue, pero sure ko ung dating coolant ng shell blue(eto kasi gamit ko noon,e...)

red-> alam ko merong red coolant ang toyota,e...

ewan ko ba pagkakaiba ng mga yan, baka marketing lang...green is the common color, basta mahalaga, anti-boil, anti-rust..kahit di na anti-freeze(hello, tropical tayo diba??) read the label nalang.

Red color ang nilalagay ng Toyota sa Innova.

I didn't know that tap water is bad for the radiator. Kaya pala yung dating
Corolla ko laging may kalawang sa radiator. Now I know.

[niky]

*hitomi: Aluminum will still corrode if you don't use coolant. Must be a fluke. Another mechanic was complaining of extensive corrosion in an aluminum block because pure water was used. If there is significant corrosion in that Honda's engine, the guy wasn't changing his coolant often enough. Whatever coolant you use, if you don't change it often enough, it can't prevent corrosion.

While water has a higher specific heat capacity, pure water or 70:30 water/coolant mix will boil over more easily than a 50:50 mix. Coolant resists boiling and pressure rise better than water. At the same temperature, pure water will be at a higher pressure, and more likely to be "puked" out at high engine loads and temperatures. Also, there is always the danger of flash points (don't know the exact term) inside the engine, sometimes at the water pump, or at any protruding edge which bubbles can cling to, wherein water is converted instantly to vapor... all of a sudden, you have a cooling system bubbling with hihg-pressure steam, which ain't a good thing.

I think Top Gear or Tech&Tuner Philippines did an article on this, and they found that higher coolant levels gave better cooling than higher water levels. I can't find that article online, though, and it was two years ago.

Some new automotive systems, like on the Focus, use pure coolant, and are touted as completely maintenance free, as no corrosion (theoretically) can occur in the system.