There are so many coolants out there and I was wondering if anybody has any thoughts about what would be best for my engine. Im curious because I’ve got aluminum heads and an edlebrock intake…so with that aluminum should I be using a special coolant? Or is just the 50/50 stuff from Walmart do ok? 1967 GT 390
I’ve heard that the Prestone 50/50 is very good.
- Phillip
Use distilled water with any coolant you have to mix.
I’ve always been told not to use distilled and that tap is best. I have a really good softener system on my well. Always ready to learn something new though…
I might try leaving a little room at the top for a beer…my house cat likes Coors Light. I think that would be the right mix. Hops and natural water!
Seriously I was
Wondering about the aluminum. I guess no big deal. Like my duramax 6.6 requires
A silicate free coolant that isn’t mixed.
I’ve run distilled water ,50/50, with anti-freeze for years on engines w/aluminum heads and manifolds and have had no problems The current labels say something to the effect that the 50/50 mix will work in any car. If the label or owner’s manual calls for something special there’s a reason for it.
Re: Dex-Cool, orange colored, the GM approved coolant. When this hit the stores many years ago I called the coolant manufacturer and talked to an engineer, not a sales rep, and was told it could be run in most anything and would mix with everything. I say most anything, unless there’s a reason to do otherwise if it’s some weirdo engine.I refer to cars and light trucks.
Tap water-if it’s good enough to drink, it’s good enough for an old Cougar, especially if you’re in the middle of nowhere. Some water’s better than no water in that case.
The choice is yours.Do what you feel is best for you.
No! Tap water has various minerals and chemicals designed for potability and are within acceptable limits. Many of these minerals and chemicals can interact at operating temperatures and various engine metals that promote corrosion and/or internal precipitants. Distilled water is always best to use with any coolant. In an emergency, tap water will work, but if you have a choice, always go with distilled water.
I was going to go this route:
https://www.evanscoolant.com
Yep distilled water always! I have had to overhaul many diesel engine coolant systems from someone dumping tap water in them. Here is AZ our tap water can be pretty hard depending on where your at in the state
Being as we have very soft water (we are in the country and have hard well water which requires a softener system) and distilled has risks I am going to stick to my garden hose.
“The problem is that when water is distilled, or “stripped,” of its minerals and impurities, the resulting solution is composed of chemically imbalanced “ions.” This leaves distilled water “ionically hungry,” so it will actually strip electrons from the metals in a cooling system as it attempts to chemically re-balance itself. As it chemically removes electrons from the metals of cooling system components, distilled water eventually does extreme damage that could lead to cooling system failure.”
I think this article is worth reading and is echoed over and over by many pros.
https://www.hyperlube.com/blog/blog/why-you-should-never-use-distilled-water-in-your-cooling-system/
I’ve heard the distilled water is ionically hungry argument. However, being that the distilled water is mixed with ethylene glycol and other additives from the antifreeze, I think it balances it all out. Having chiseled mineral deposits out of water passages, I can definitely say that tap water is not the way to go.
Makes me curious as to what my Grandfathers 66 F250 looks like inside as it sits right outside my door here at work. He only used distilled as he had the hardest of hard water in the Desert area of Fort Rock Oregon. He bought the truck new and it has almost 400k miles on the 360. Of course it has been through numerous rebuilds and rad recores, if it truly was an ionically hungry environment then I should see some evidence if I looked in the right places.
Have to take that article with a grain of sodium chloride since it’s written by a guy hawking his product.
I was gonna say, the real answer to the “best coolant” question is waterless coolant. Evans is one of the makers, there are some others out there too. I have no firsthand experience with it but it sounds like a good way to go. Of course it’s more expensive, but it makes the whole question of what kind of water to use irrelevant. It’s supposed to be more efficient and way less corrosive than water-based coolants.
It’s fine when mixed with a quantity of ethylene glycol that is temperature appropriate for where you operate the car. It’s bad by itself, as you then are providing the ideal environment for corrosion, moreso than typical tap water which is also bad news.
I have one bad experience with the Evans product. Bottom line it did not transfer heat from the engine to the radiator, or the temp sender for that matter. We read temperatures of 260+ at the rear of the engine, while the radiator was cold. Checked with a digital infra red thermometer. The temp gage read pegged cold. Engine was giving all indications of being overheated, including hot oil, preignition, detonation (with 110 race gas).
Never had any bad experience with ethylene glycol / water.
Ahhhh! I see the disconnect. Yes, if you use ONLY distilled water and no coolant, the DW is very bad, as it is slightly acidic. However, that property is neutralized greatly when you add coolant (ethylene glycol) in a 50/50 mix. I would never, ever, advise using 100% distilled water as an automotive coolant.
Using Evans on a fresh install. (351W) So far I’m pleased and it circulates and flows fine. I have to address a leak though (at the water pump) and were it filled with water and coolant instead, it would be pressurizing with steam and leaking worse.
It’s going to get expensive to keep adding Evans but for now it is a small leak.