Coolant v/s Water

[ivo316]

OK, here's the story, my cyl head was "eaten up" at the water passages, it was badly corroded up to the combustion chambers, the guy that fixed it said "It was due to using plain water for years", now, A friend had the same thing happen to him on a volkswagen golf and I quote him: "this happend because i always used coolant, I'll be using plain water from now on".

Now, with my "new" head, what should i use ?

Who is right in this ?

Anyone knows something about this ?

[ptownTSI]

50% coolant/50% distilled water is the industry standard, make sure you use distilled water, it has no minerals/deposits in it like tap water does that can affect your cooling system. I usually run 40% coolant/60% water.

[kowalski]

make sure the coolant also has no minerals/deposits in it either, some stuff does, some doesn't. check the label.

[jlevie]

Coolant diluted 50:50 with distilled water is the proper fluid. While you can dilute coolant with tap water, that usually includes minerals and disolved oxygen. The minerals will precipitate out onto the internals of the cooling system and reduce heat transfer to the fluid. In extreme cases small passages may become plugged. The disolved oxygen will deplete the oxygen scavenges in the collant and shorten its life. Distilled water is free of oxygen and minerals.

Corrosion of a cooling system requires oxygen. Coolant contains oxygen scavengers that chemically remove disolved oxygen from the fluid. Over time these scavengers get used up and oxygen begins to accululate in the fluid, with corrosion being the result. That's why bi-yearly coolant changes are necessary. An engine with signs of corrosion that has not been run on plain water hasn't had the timely replacement of the coolant.

That said, the answer to the OP's question is that proper fluid is coolant mixed 50:50 with distilled water. And change it every other year.

[ivo316]

Thanks a lot !!!!!

will do tomorrow.:)