Which is better for car radiator? Engine Coolant or Mineral water?

[Milkyner]

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Kindly post the pros and cons of using a coolant as well as mineral water.

Saw this in the NET.

DON'Ts

Do NOT open the radiator cap when the engine is hot. The coolant is about 210 F and pressurized! Boiling hot water will squirt out in all directions and cause severe burns.

Do NOT drive a car that is overheating! If the car is overheating, pull over to the nearest parking lot and wait two hours for it to cool down before driving it again.
Adding water to the overflow tank will NOT fix your problem! I've seen a lot of people do this. Wait two hours for the car to cool down, and add distilled water to the cooling system via the radiator cap.



Do NOT ever use hose water, or tap water, or drinking water, or mineral water! Use ONLY distilled water in the cooling system. Minerals in the cooling system corrode the aluminum in the engine head and radiator. This causes radiator leaks. The picture above shows mineral buildup on the water pump and water pump gasket.

Does your car make gurgle noises when you turn it off? You've got air in the coolant. With that much air, the coolant can't flow. The car will overheat. Wait till the car cools down (about two hours) and open the radiator cap. Pour in some distilled water and antifreeze. Warm the car up till the cooling fans come on and turn it off. Let the car cool down for two hours and then fill it again with distilled water and coolant. You may have to pinch the hoses to remove trapped air bubbles. Repeat the process until the gurgle noises go away.

Do NOT dump used coolant down the drain! It is a sweet tasting poison that can kill pets and wildlife.



DO's

I recommend changing the coolant every 15,000 miles or so, even for extended drain interval coolant. As coolant ages it becomes acidic and can even hold an electrical charge. This charge can change the voltage of the engine temperature sensor giving a false reading to the engine computer. Old acidic coolant destroys the aluminum in the radiator and engine head.

After changing the coolant the cooling fan will run for shorter periods of time. Go ahead and clock the cooling fan run time before and after a coolant change. The difference can be measured in minutes. This is because the new coolant is doing its job more efficiently.

Use the type coolant that the car manufacturer recommends! Chrysler’s use green stuff, GM uses orange stuff, and some Euro cars use blue stuff. Don’t ever mix it up!

Zerex is a Valvoline product that I use and recommend. Mix the antifreeze and distilled water in a ratio that's appropriate for the season and climate. This should be outlined on the back of the antifreeze container or the car's service manual.

Not sure how much coolant to put in? Want to mix a 60/40? Pour in 1 quart of antifreeze and 2/3 quart of distilled water. Repeat this until its full.

I recommend using Prestone® Super Radiator Anti-Rust additive and Water Wetter.

I also recommend flushing the coolant system several times with distilled water to clear all the rust out of the system.



Problems

If there are grey globs floating about in the coolant then that mean that engine oil is leaking into the coolant. This is usually the result of a head gasket failure. Headgaskets should be changed with timing belts every 100,000 miles. Some manufacturers may recommend changing the headgasket at longer intervals, but I wouldn't risk it.

Conversely, if the grey globs are in the oil, the same failure is occurring.

Another strange and rare problem is a failure in the temperature sensor. Old acidic coolant eats through the sensor and can leak through the wire and to the engine computer causing electrical shorts. I said it was rare.

[homeryap]

ok man ang engine coolant bro pero ayaw 100% coolant i-butang. for me, i use 50/50 coolant/distilled water. naa man premixed na daan sa mga hardware store where you don't need to add water na. anyway, i heard pud not to use mineral water from my autoshop before. they said to use distilled instead.

anyway, engine coolants acts as buffer to acid sa imong cooling system and it reduces corrosion of your cooling system. and also true to it's name, it raises the boiling point of your cooling system.

[baboy]

ayaw lng dyd butange og tap water or water gkan sa gripo kay mao nay maka cause dali tayaon mahugaw imo cooling system,mas maayo distilled water dyd.

[Scott Bernard]

True... 50/50 jud ang ratio sa coolant ug sa water.

Much better jud kung distilled water ang atong gamiton, kay very minimal, or wala na man nay hardness (especially Calcium Chloride, kanang mag puti2x sa atong boiling pot ug thermos, very prevalent here in Cebu City).

But being very practical, if walay distilled water available, you can use tap water, or mineral water anyways. What's important is constant imong preventive maintenance sa car.

[leurs]

Pwede pud rain water.

[KE-25]

Like scott I use a bit of coolant and bottled water

[Milkyner]

akoa mekaniko nag discourage man gyud ug pagamit nako ug coolant. ingon sila mineral water lang daw walay laing sagol. Ang coolant daw cause anang mag rust ang mga gagmay na tubo sa ilawm. nakapalit na raba ko ug preston coolant, murag sayangan ko kung dili na magamit.

[ite]

ako gi butang prestone coolant kana green ang color pero yellow ang sudlanan ako lang gi 60/40..

[FRANCISCO MATA]

up up up...........

[canister_sa_puwet]

mura mani gaingon nga unsay imnon sa tawo kung uhawon,, tubig o gasolina. Kung way tubil ang sakyanan unsa may maayo gasolina o tubig.