This is stupid question but I have been running green antifreeze in my truck forever. I notice today a sticker on the radiator that said "Aluminum radiator, use Ethelyne Glycol (or something) antifreeze". Is the green ok?

 

Regular old green it Ethelyne Glycol. No tap water. Use distilled water with it, especially with an aluminum radiator.

 

Oh ok. I never payed attention the antifreeze jug. I guess the 50/50 premix is ok then?

 

Yes, in South Georgia that will be just fine. Colder places often uses a higher proportion of coolant to water. But 50/50 is good for it's anti corrosion properties and freeze protection down to -34*F. The premix is good because they will use distilled water.

 

50/50 Premix will do the trick

 

What does tap water do to an aluminum radiator anyway? Eat it? Even if it's mixed with coolant?

 

It's not the water. It's the impurities in the water that, over time, cause it to act like an electrolyte, in effect making a weak electical potential in the system that causes galvanic corrosion.

 

I guess I'll drain it before it gets cold and fill with 50/50. I know I've just got regular water and coolant in it now. Thanks guys.

 

What ever you do don't mix green and orange. They're not compatible and can turn acidic and eat your cooling system.

Also you can check for galvanic corosion by taking a volt meter and ground it on the neg end and hang the positive end in the coolant. If you get voltage then you've got galvanic corrosion and it's eating the softer metal. They even sell zinc anodes that are on the radiator cap that will act as the sacraficial metal. I say fix the problem, but I guess it's good insurance.

 

Good post!

I was trying to figure a way of putting a zinc in my cooling system but had not come up with a slick way of doing it. ---The radiator cap anode, where have you seen that for sale?---- Is the zinc actually on the bottom of the cap so that it is in contact with the coolant?

The zinc is a double good idea because if you see that the zinc is deteriorating you know that your system needs attention. And it protects the system because the zinc is the "least nobel" metal in the system so it is the first to be attacked if you have a galvanic problem.

 

I did that with the voltmeter and got .20 volts,does that count or what? It has Prestone green with regular tap water in her,Been like that for years too.

 

If you got .20 volts, you have a LOT of galvanic activity. I would suggest that you check all your grounds very carefully. Especially the firewall to engine strap and the engine to chassis ground. With that much voltage I will bet that you find a bad contact. .02 volts indicates that you at least need to change the coolant, but .20 sounds like a greater problem.

 

She does run rough untill it warms up and then it runs a little better. With that much voltage,how bad do you think my cooling system is messed up? Any damage to the block perhaps?
I'll check the straps you mentioned in about a half hour,I checked my haynes manual but couldn't find a place that told me where all the grounds are. If they're in there,what do I look under?

Thanks Bdox.

 

Damage is done to the softer metals like the intake, radiator, heater core...

I've seen the cap, the anode hangs down off the cap so it's in the coolant, but I can't remember where I saw it.

 

Speaking of the intake,I looked for them ground straps,The engine to firewall one and only one I seen was from my intake manifolds. Is that the one you was talking about? And I grounded the multimeter to the battery and touched the rad. cap on the radiator,I still got .14 volts. I went for a stretch and just touched the water on the brim with the cap off and still got .4 or so. Is it possible my meter is to acurate or off? Its a craftsman digital that reads almost everything.