Is anyone else going thru cooling system hell?
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2002
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I use the premix coolant 50/50. It's slightly alkaline. Distilled is 7.0 if kept sealed away from CO2. If you are mixing your own using distilled you should be about the same ph as premix.
Most mineral free water will be slightly acidic, even rain water. Mineral free is best to avoid mineral deposits in your cooling system. If you know your tap water chemistry feel free to use it. I'm sticking to premix or adding distilled to antifreeze. YMMV
Most mineral free water will be slightly acidic, even rain water. Mineral free is best to avoid mineral deposits in your cooling system. If you know your tap water chemistry feel free to use it. I'm sticking to premix or adding distilled to antifreeze. YMMV
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Houston
Hmm, time to put on my orthopedic thinking cap. What about the radiator hoses themselves? Even though made from some sort of rubber or rubber-like material, could they have some desirable conductive properties? In other words, could the hoses act like a ground strap? Maybe some brands don't have this feature, especially bargain brands?
In the OP's case, we don't even know if electrolysis is the root cause of the problem. But if it is, perhaps the hoses themselves could be part of the equation.
I tried searching for whether radiator and heater hoses are designed to help minimize electrolysis. I couldn't find anything definitive, but didn't dig that deeply.
In the OP's case, we don't even know if electrolysis is the root cause of the problem. But if it is, perhaps the hoses themselves could be part of the equation.
I tried searching for whether radiator and heater hoses are designed to help minimize electrolysis. I couldn't find anything definitive, but didn't dig that deeply.
In my eyes I feel the coolant should be grounding out through the block itself, but this is beyond my pay grade, and I am only going by what the aftermarket talks about. It's like with the fuel I don't know how it works but the aftermarket swears if you regulate your carb fuel pressure down to 2.5 psi you won't have hot restart issues anymore with ethanol blended fuels. I don't know how that works as the effect is the fuel is boiling out of the bowl from heat saturation, but we did it for one guy who claims it was a fix and he wanted it done on his corvette and the hot restart issue went away and was fixed by just reducing the 5-6 psi fuel pressure down to 2.5 psi. I don't get it but I know it works lol.
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,958
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From: Houston
Some are oriey's some are from parts plus, some like the champion radators were off e-bay. They all have been springing leaks in the cores if i remember right. Nothing is out of place on this setup as far as i can tell. I've ran 2 or 3 different radiator caps too including the ones that came with the champion rads
As for water, i typically consider distilled water to be bad (water without imputities will want to leach them from wherever they can get them ive read)unless you have worse tap water(acidic or with too much minerals), but out here this is the same clean neutral mountain water i've been using since i was a kid
As for water, i typically consider distilled water to be bad (water without imputities will want to leach them from wherever they can get them ive read)unless you have worse tap water(acidic or with too much minerals), but out here this is the same clean neutral mountain water i've been using since i was a kid
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2002
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Since distilled or highly filtered water has little or no minerals that gives them more capacity to hold minerals in dissolved form. When minerals present in higher amounts than 100 percent saturation they will precipitate out and then those mineral deposits end up throughout your cooling system potentially plugging up cores to the point that flow is reduced. Since Prestone uses distilled in their premix I'm gonna go with their lead.
I have drained my cooling system several times in the past 5 or 6 years, saved the coolant and reused it. The radiator was clean and the captured coolant looks new. Hardly any grit in it.
I think you can relax about distilled dissolving your engine block!
I have drained my cooling system several times in the past 5 or 6 years, saved the coolant and reused it. The radiator was clean and the captured coolant looks new. Hardly any grit in it.
I think you can relax about distilled dissolving your engine block!
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2013
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Likes: 1,174
Agreed, but with one little caveat. Pure rubber is an insulator, definitely. But commercial grade stuff has all sorts of additives to improve various properties. I found an interesting article about the rubber hose used for gas station pumps. It's expressly designed to have partial conductivity to prevent static build up, for obvious safety reasons. I'm guessing graphite or something similar was added to the recipe.
I couldn't find any info specific to radiator hoses, though. Doesn't mean it's not applicable. Just wasn't a lot available on the subject for us mortals to view. Might be common knowledge to the three guys in the world who design radiator hoses, though. As consumers, we simply purchase what is available without knowing all the details behind the scenes.
My 2 cents, for what it's worth.
I couldn't find any info specific to radiator hoses, though. Doesn't mean it's not applicable. Just wasn't a lot available on the subject for us mortals to view. Might be common knowledge to the three guys in the world who design radiator hoses, though. As consumers, we simply purchase what is available without knowing all the details behind the scenes.
My 2 cents, for what it's worth.
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 7,182
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Radiator materials aren't cheap, and a manufacturer will skimp on quality if trying to compete on price. Also, don't be surprised if multiple bargain brands come from the same small group of overseas factories. Could be you're unknowingly getting the same crap product each time, but with a different name printed on the box.
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,363
Likes: 1,258
Did we solve the OP's issue? Or create new issues for him?
Well we try...
Well we try...
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Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,958
Likes: 105
From: Houston
Agreed, but with one little caveat. Pure rubber is an insulator, definitely. But commercial grade stuff has all sorts of additives to improve various properties. I found an interesting article about the rubber hose used for gas station pumps. It's expressly designed to have partial conductivity to prevent static build up, for obvious safety reasons. I'm guessing graphite or something similar was added to the recipe.
I couldn't find any info specific to radiator hoses, though. Doesn't mean it's not applicable. Just wasn't a lot available on the subject for us mortals to view. Might be common knowledge to the three guys in the world who design radiator hoses, though. As consumers, we simply purchase what is available without knowing all the details behind the scenes.
My 2 cents, for what it's worth.
I couldn't find any info specific to radiator hoses, though. Doesn't mean it's not applicable. Just wasn't a lot available on the subject for us mortals to view. Might be common knowledge to the three guys in the world who design radiator hoses, though. As consumers, we simply purchase what is available without knowing all the details behind the scenes.
My 2 cents, for what it's worth.
Not familiar with Champion, but the others were probably bargain brands. If some brands sell for $200 and one sells for $400, there's probably a very good reason why. You literally do get what you pay for. This could be a major part of the equation behind the repeat failures.
Radiator materials aren't cheap, and a manufacturer will skimp on quality if trying to compete on price. Also, don't be surprised if multiple bargain brands come from the same small group of overseas factories. Could be you're unknowingly getting the same crap product each time, but with a different name printed on the box.
Radiator materials aren't cheap, and a manufacturer will skimp on quality if trying to compete on price. Also, don't be surprised if multiple bargain brands come from the same small group of overseas factories. Could be you're unknowingly getting the same crap product each time, but with a different name printed on the box.
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 7,182
Likes: 1,174
Yep if it is made to have some form of being conductive it would work that way. I dont think your typical radiator hose would be as the only thing I have ever seen in them when cutting them is just your typical rubber with your re-enforcement thread braid that strengthens the hose. I couldnt say if there is anything else that is added to the hose…
Here is one article on the subject:
https://www.new-line.com/information...city-and-hoses
Seems to be three basic categories. Look at the middle one for static-dissipating hoses. No metal or anything obvious, just a specific rubber compound.
I don’t mean to get too far sidetracked here. But what if radiator hoses are normally specified as static dissipating? It’s just such a basic thing so no other option is even offered. Meanwhile, the Fling Dung factory gets a big order from some US distributor. Hmm, this special additive is really, really expensive. Let’s cut back or skip it completely. No one will ever know. Pass the caviar, comrade…
If anybody thinks nobody would do such a thing, read up on the Chinese baby formula scandal. In that case, it was the suppliers of raw materials that tried to game the system. The manufacturer tested the raw materials and paid more for higher quality.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008...e_milk_scandal
Still out on a limb here, but maybe the Chinese Radiator Hose Scandal of 2023 wasn’t deliberate. Perhaps a substandard batch was unknowingly produced, and such properties are not routinely tested. Stranger things have happened. If new hoses were installed at the start of this whole mess, it might be worth gambling on a new quality name brand set from a different source.
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,958
Likes: 105
From: Houston
Here is one article on the subject:
https://www.new-line.com/information...city-and-hoses
Seems to be three basic categories. Look at the middle one for static-dissipating hoses. No metal or anything obvious, just a specific rubber compound.
I don’t mean to get too far sidetracked here. But what if radiator hoses are normally specified as static dissipating? It’s just such a basic thing so no other option is even offered. Meanwhile, the Fling Dung factory gets a big order from some US distributor. Hmm, this special additive is really, really expensive. Let’s cut back or skip it completely. No one will ever know. Pass the caviar, comrade…
If anybody thinks nobody would do such a thing, read up on the Chinese baby formula scandal. In that case, it was the suppliers of raw materials that tried to game the system. The manufacturer tested the raw materials and paid more for higher quality.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008...e_milk_scandal
Still out on a limb here, but maybe the Chinese Radiator Hose Scandal of 2023 wasn’t deliberate. Perhaps a substandard batch was unknowingly produced, and such properties are not routinely tested. Stranger things have happened. If new hoses were installed at the start of this whole mess, it might be worth gambling on a new quality name brand set from a different source.
https://www.new-line.com/information...city-and-hoses
Seems to be three basic categories. Look at the middle one for static-dissipating hoses. No metal or anything obvious, just a specific rubber compound.
I don’t mean to get too far sidetracked here. But what if radiator hoses are normally specified as static dissipating? It’s just such a basic thing so no other option is even offered. Meanwhile, the Fling Dung factory gets a big order from some US distributor. Hmm, this special additive is really, really expensive. Let’s cut back or skip it completely. No one will ever know. Pass the caviar, comrade…
If anybody thinks nobody would do such a thing, read up on the Chinese baby formula scandal. In that case, it was the suppliers of raw materials that tried to game the system. The manufacturer tested the raw materials and paid more for higher quality.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008...e_milk_scandal
Still out on a limb here, but maybe the Chinese Radiator Hose Scandal of 2023 wasn’t deliberate. Perhaps a substandard batch was unknowingly produced, and such properties are not routinely tested. Stranger things have happened. If new hoses were installed at the start of this whole mess, it might be worth gambling on a new quality name brand set from a different source.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,675
Likes: 1,164
From: Tolland, CT
Some are oriey's some are from parts plus, some like the champion radators were off e-bay. They all have been springing leaks in the cores if i remember right. Nothing is out of place on this setup as far as i can tell. I've ran 2 or 3 different radiator caps too including the ones that came with the champion rads
As for water, i typically consider distilled water to be bad (water without imputities will want to leach them from wherever they can get them ive read)unless you have worse tap water(acidic or with too much minerals), but out here this is the same clean neutral mountain water i've been using since i was a kid
As for water, i typically consider distilled water to be bad (water without imputities will want to leach them from wherever they can get them ive read)unless you have worse tap water(acidic or with too much minerals), but out here this is the same clean neutral mountain water i've been using since i was a kid
If your getting leaks in your cores, I'd say you're getting bad parts. The radiator and heater core in my 86' have been fine for years with my 50/50 Prestone mixed with tap water.
I only recently began using premix, which I found the other day for $10 or so a gallon. Peak had a good price.
https://www.harborfreight.com/1-gal-...4aAlU0EALw_wcB
FTE Legend
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 30,960
Likes: 4,129
From: Angier, NC
I am also using a pre mix in my truck.
Dave ----
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 7,182
Likes: 1,174
Had another thought on the 5 radiators and 5 heater cores. Was there any other work accomplished around or shortly before the first failure?
A new alternator perhaps? That would support the stray voltage theory.
Radiator succumbed to old age, and you replaced the heater core and all hoses "while you were there"?
Anything else like that near the start of this sad parade of trouble?
A new alternator perhaps? That would support the stray voltage theory.
Radiator succumbed to old age, and you replaced the heater core and all hoses "while you were there"?
Anything else like that near the start of this sad parade of trouble?