Engine coolant: Is water enough?

**Macmon** · June 20th, 2009 07:31 PM

A colleague of mine prefers the Color of the coolant NOT the same color as rust. As he mentioned, the one in Shell is color orange. Not sure about this.
His reasoning is how will he know if the radiator has rust already if the coolant is color orange.

**oj88** · June 21st, 2009 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Macmon

A colleague of mine prefers the Color of the coolant NOT the same color as rust. As he mentioned, the one in Shell is color orange. Not sure about this.
His reasoning is how will he know if the radiator has rust already if the coolant is color orange.

That's not really true. With the proper coolant, you shouldn't have any rust at all. And besides, if you do have a rust problem, the water will become cloudy/muddy orange (as opposed to clear orange) and would coat every surface it touches with rust. To do a proper inspection, check the radiator cap pressure relief spring/valve or other areas where coolant water has passed through like the reservoir bottle, for tell-tale signs of rust.

**niky** · June 21st, 2009 06:37 PM

While water has a higher heat capacity than coolant, a low-coolant high-water mix is not necessarily superior... the higher heat capacity is more than offset by the lower boiling point, which lessens the effectiveness of the cooling system. Water is only more effective until it boils... once it's boiling, it loses its ability to cool the engine effectively.

**OldSchoolHack** · June 22nd, 2009 01:47 AM

Pure water == faster rust. I just use Prestone pre-mixed para di hassle. And make sure your radiator fins are always clean to make it efficient in heat transfer.

**macgyver1432000** · June 22nd, 2009 02:02 AM

Pure water is better than using coolant. Distilled drinking water is best for your cooling system. Kung gagamit ka ng tap water, ok din, basta masipag ka lang mag-palit ng tubig (flush)..every month.

**ghosthunter** · June 22nd, 2009 08:59 AM

Originally Posted by macgyver1432000

Pure water is better than using coolant. Distilled drinking water is best for your cooling system. Kung gagamit ka ng tap water, ok din, basta masipag ka lang mag-palit ng tubig (flush)..every month.

You'll still need to use some additives because plain water will just rust the insides of the radiator. Rust will just build up at the bottom and in the small tubes. With enough accumulation, the tubes can get blocked.

**sboogie** · June 22nd, 2009 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by ghosthunter

You'll still need to use some additives because plain water will just rust the insides of the radiator. Rust will just build up at the bottom and in the small tubes. With enough accumulation, the tubes can get blocked.

+1000000000

experienced that already even if you clean or flush the radiator regularly

**rejieah** · July 27th, 2009 05:45 PM

Tanong ko lang mga bro, may dapat bang gamitin pag mag-flush ng tubig sa radiator para matanggal yung rust, kac yung kotse ko hindi ko alam kung may coolant, nagdadagdag lang ako ng tubig pag medyo may bawas na, kasi nabili ko yung car january of this year, gusto ko nga mag-flush ng radiator para mapalitan ko na ng may coolant mixture, although di pa naman ako nakaranas mag-overheat eh, ayoko pang intaying mangyari yun.
Thanks!!!

**ramledi** · July 27th, 2009 11:13 PM

ok lang pang flush ang tap water as long na di ka nakakaranas na tumataas ang temperature

do it at least two times for two days para matanggal ng husto ang mga latak at dumi sa loob ng radiator

basta't malinis na yung lumalabas na tubig sa radiator ready na yan lagyan ng coolant

**voltscastillo** · July 28th, 2009 08:30 AM

if i remember correectly most guys over at BITOG advocate "silicate" free coolants for hondas because apparently hondas have small rubber parts in their cooling systems. silicate in the coolant has a nasty habit of drying out and flaking, and when it flakes, the little particles clog up the system, gel, or destroy the rubber/plastic based parts of the system. years ago i recall wondering why the factory bought coolant for the nissans (white bottle, green fluid) would dry out and leave a hard, flaky residue where i spilled it or at the bottle's mouth. baka ito yun, kako.

i remember having a hard time looking for a coolant without the said ingredient (check the back lable of the bottle where the list of components is listed). some variants of prestone had it, as did shell (yoko bumili na Honda coolant, parang overkill na kasi eh). the only one who didn't have it was caltex long life, balck bottle, concentrate, red fluid. i put that in. it was also the brand recommended at BITOG, where it's called chevron/texaco or something.