What is a Coolant? Are Coolant and Antifreeze the same thing?
The function of both the chemicals works equally, but both are not the same.
Coolant-
It is also called antifreeze, but there is a difference compared with antifreeze. We put a mixture of chemicals and car radiator water into the car cooling system, which supports moving the liquid throughout the engine and radiator, which helps to stop overheating. If the cooling mechanism of your motor vehicle is running correctly, it will enormously decrease the heat created by the car engine and make everything smooth for your car. Without a standard coolant procedure, the system itself will not work genuinely, and this cause the engine to turn too hot, causing severe damage such as warped heads, blow head gaskets, and to more extent, damage to your engine causing failure.
On the other hand, it also acts as an antifreeze coolant for a car because it cannot freeze even in a frigid environment.
So the car coolant not only keeps the engine from becoming overheated but also halts the car engine coolant from freezing because the frozen liquid will avert your vehicle from starting in the cold temperature.
The most important thing is that you should have excellent vehicle coolant present in your car every time to secure your car engine cooling system from the threat of premature corrosion.
Antifreeze-
It comprehends either 50% of ethylene or propylene glycol. The antifreeze also contains additional ingredients such as silicates, nitrates, azoles, or borates to prevent the cooling system from oxidation and corrosion. These additives are only 10% of the radiator antifreeze.
When these chemicals are 50% mixed with 50% water, the mixture is called the best coolants. You have to see the instructions by checking the antifreeze plastic bottle container that how much water we have to mix, or we don’t have to mix any water before using it.
It is important to remember that car leaking coolant or antifreeze is a toxic and hazardous chemical, and we must always keep ourselves, our children, and our pets away from it. Any mishap of leaking or spilling onto the floor or anywhere, we must quickly and promptly clean it up before facing any unpaid life threat. Conclusion: there is some suitable antifreeze fluid made by reliable companies that perform well and are long-lasting. Because we have to change the coolant every two or five years, the price of the antifreeze coolant does not matter.
Step-by-step instructions for changing engine coolant for my car–
First of all, don’t forget to read your vehicle’s handbook to get accurate instructions before you start changing your engine cooling liquid. The following education will help you get work done correctly and save you from radiator flushing and draining costs.
- First of all, check your engine; it should be cold. Apply the handbrake and set your car in first gear.
- Jack your vehicle from the front very carefully.
- Place your jack under your car and lower it into position. Ensure your car’s back wheels are choked to prevent them from moving.
- If there is any underbody shielding, disengage it.
- Put one receptacle beneath the radiator and loosen up the drain valve. The drain valve location of your car is given in the handbook manual.
- Drain the car cooling system and flush it as much as possible until the level of satisfaction that your coolant is entirely vacant.
- Locate the reserve tank, remove it from the support, flush out any surviving engine coolant water, and place it back in its normal position.
- It would help if you replaced the drain valve.
- Top up the system with the new engine, cooling water from low to the marked area. This liquid is called antifreeze.
- Briefly start the engine, then fill up the car radiator fluid
- The radiator cap must be replaced, and start the engine again until the cooling turbine is on, checking the levels and topping up earlier.
- Starting the engine should take no longer than two hours to refresh and replace the engine coolant for your car.
- Always remember the tools, parts, and equipment that help you do the top-quality work and help you stay safe and sound while changing and adding coolant to the car e
- Because auto-related chemicals are hazardous to your body organs, wear gloves and protective eyewear to protect yourself.
- Use a pan and a bucket to collect the flush and drain the coolant.
- If it is mandatory, use a floor jack.
- Use an Axle stand for support to support your car during coolant change.
- To disassemble the engine parts, use Socket, and Ratchet Spanner Set.
- We cannot resist using a Screw Driver to work on essential engine components.
- For cleaning purposes, use Rags.
- To get yourself a firm grip on engine internal parts, use Pliers.
- Make a mixture of coolant water for the car using antifreeze and water to fill the coolant reservoir.
- If the hose pipes are damaged and broken, replacement is necessary.
- On the other hand, if you are on the road and your engine gets hot. You feel helpless and can’t handle coolant change and wish that someone can coolant flush near me in front of my eyes and fill a new one or add some more coolant and other cooling-related mechanisms to the engine cooling system and only provide it on the spot.
Time to check and change the engine coolant.
When you are tuning up your car, doing an oil change, and checking your brake fluid level, you can also check your car engine water level. If you find it on a lower level, you must fill it up to the assigned mark. Make sure you buy engine coolant, which uses the appropriate antifreeze with water, as mentioned in your car manual. Because every car varies according to what it says in your manual or what your mechanic prescribes, you should buy car coolant and follow your car handbook and mechanic to get work done correctly.
There are some exclusive tools and equipment to measure the expiration time of the chemical because you would not know when your coolant expired. So get to know how its position is? It is usually a perfect idea to find out the condition of your coolant earlier in winter and the freezing environment.
But you have to remember that your car coolant does not need to be replaced routinely. A standard prediction is to change it every 5 years or 30,000 miles, but you must follow the manual or your mechanic’s advice, as I mentioned earlier. If your car is pre-owned, it is good to get it done as soon as possible to satisfy yourself, so you don’t have to worry about it. If the color gets dirty or is visible sediment in the liquid, you can also change the cooling water for the car.
Typically dirt particles are produced on the radiator cap or the overflow tank. If you observe this situation of dirt and debris, the time has come to flush the cooling system and fill it with a fresh liquid.
Another thing is the potency of the coolant fluid; as time passes, it starts to collapse because the antifreeze liquid begins losing its strength. The main reason is we top the fluid again and again with water regularly from time to time. Also, in harsh winter weather, this situation makes the coolant freeze and the ice coolant expand, which damages the engine components.
So all these above reasons, the cooling system and engine block flush must be done and drained.
Coolant Flush and Coolant Drain. What is the difference?
Coolant Flush–
In this process, a chemical is first appended to the cooling system, which removes all the debris and buildup. Secondly, a machine is brought into work that pulls out the old fluid, flushes the power radiator, and adds a new one. What machine do is? It forces the fluid through the parts of the car cooling system and pressurizes the cooling system with speed, just like a car engine.
Coolant Drain-
In this process, the liquid is drained from the vehicle using gravity laws instead of machine help, and the new fluid is mixed and filled by hands. Because there is no addition of extra chemicals or use of expensive flushing machines, the cost of the draining process is less than the cost of the flushing coolant process.
What to do if your coolant is mixed with oil? And the fluid looks brownish or milky.
A brownish or milky color in your fluid is a sign of contamination of a liquid with engine oil.
Before we get to the symptoms mentioned above, we can see an oily sparkle on top of the liquid. Missing these signs will lead our car to overheat.
If contamination occurs, the fluid must be flushed and replaced with a new liquid. What are the root causes of contamination? We also have to discover and repair them to secure our coolant in the future.
The most common causes are as follows:-
Head Gasket-
When a car head gasket reaches some faults and failures, there is a big chance that oil can leak into the cooling crossing areas and then terminate in the fluid. That is the reason which causes brown sludge and can easily be observed in the radiator on the top and in the coolant tank. It can also cross through the combustion chamber resulting in a white floating fluid with a sweet smell.
A failed head gasket can be clarified with a compression test. If it is in the wrong position, then it may require solutions.
Of course, we will replace it. But before that, the complete cooling mechanism will need to be flushed, and we must waste the old liquid. The water pump and the radiator must be double-checked for faults, leaks, and damages. Propelling cold oil with the help of a radiator and water pump can also damage them.
Oil Cooler-
Gasoline engine automobiles do not contain oil coolers, but turbocharged engines commonly have. They are leaking the oil cooler ends in car coolant oil in it. Many people get into doubt that the head gasket is ruptured. But the originality is that if the head gasket is damaged, it commonly influences the engine performance. If the coolant leaks from the engine, the engine will usually keep working.
A leaking oil cooler and coolant leak repair costs are cheap and reasonable. It is a fortunate thing for a vehicle owner. We should replace the oil cooler and gasket, and the whole cooling system should be flushed and filled again.
Frequently Asked Questions-
Q1 How often do we need to change the coolant?
Flushing and keeping the fluid tidy and clean more often prevent blockages. It is all based on your vehicle and its coolant. The standard time is 2 years or 30,000 miles after the last flush for silicate liquid and nearly 5 years or 100,000 miles for an elongated drain liquid. But the best option is your car manual handbook instructions.
Q2 What happens if we keep our coolant unchanged for a long time?
If we keep it unchanged for a long time, it will become more acidic as time passes and lose its rust-resisting properties, which cause abrasion. This corrosion is the reason behind damaging the radiator, water pump, thermostat, radiator cap hoses, other cooling system parts, and vehicle heater mechanism, resulting in overheating.
Q3 What are the symptoms that tell me that my car needs a coolant?
- First, our vehicle temperature gauge shows a hotter reading than usual when our engine is working.
- A fluid of orange and green color can be seen beneath the car as our antifreeze radiator fluid leaks and can easily be noticed in the form of a puddle.
- Under the hood of our car, we can hear a grinding sound.
- Small patches of rust orbits can be seen in the coolant fluid.
- You can easily smell a sweet odor, like a boiled maple syrup passing out from the engine.
Q4 Is it easy to add a coolant myself?
Adding a fluid is not a very much difficult task. Yes, you can add it by yourself. If the coolant is much less, pour and add more coolant to the reservoir with the correct calculation. You can use 50% of antifreeze and 50% of distilled water. Mix the chemical and fill the liquid to its marked line. Change the cap, and tighten it until it makes a click sound.
Q5 Can I add a new coolant without flushing the old one?
Filling up more and fresh coolant does not require an old one to be flushed. But the problem is the previous coolant that has become, the more acidic behavior it adopts, resulting in severe damage such as corrosion and creating different defects in the cooling system. So, therefore, the standard period is every 2 years for flushing the old fluid and replacing it with the new liquid.
Q6 Will Roadside Assistance And Towing Service bring you Engine Coolant?
If my car engine gets hot and, by chance, also out of engine coolant, I am thinking of contacting some roadside assistance near me so that they could bring me the coolant, and then soon I will get over my problem than it is not possible. This job is not for roadside assistance and towing services. They can only help me pull my car to the specific location of my choice so I can quickly get over my engine problem.
