Dan,
I have no hard proof of this, and don't know where my brain remembers
this from, but: I always changed the coolant yearly - perhaps that was
a bit too anal - with the reasoning that the electro-chemical reactions
that are created and will always exist between the aluminum head and the
iron block were actually dealt with through a compound in the coolant
that was sacrificial - something like a block of zinc bolted to the hull
of a ship sitting in salt water; the zinc attracted the majority of the
chemical reaction that wanted to take place, and so it corroded instead
of the hull. Same thing with antifreeze: it may test out fine for the
properties that allow it to withstand boiling at high temperatures, but
the buffering agent may be almost all 'used up'.
Perhaps newer aluminum alloys used in modern engines are more resistant
to acting as an anode for the iron block, and so a longer interval
between changes is OK, but I'm sure that 30 years ago things were not as
far along, metallurgy wise.
For the sake of half an hour and maybe ten bucks for new antifreeze, why
not do it at least every 2 years - I once had a U-20 head from a parts
car that had corroded so badly (because it had NO antifreeze) through
the water jacket that it was unusable - full-o-holes! Not the thing you
want to happen inside your engine.
....and, as is a popular saying within this group, that is my 2 cents
worth!...
Pete Long
Guelph, Ontario
'68 2L Solex
Dan Neff wrote:
>
> Simple question? I thought antifreeze ought to be changed/flushed
> every 2 yrs or so. I took our 'other' Nissan in for one (3 yrs), and
> mechanic said it didn't need it! ? Well, I guess I respect the guy
> for turning away $$$, but I thought the key was to keep antifreeze
> fresh because of the *lubricant(s)* that keep the waterpump happy.
> This being a front wheel drive (Quest), I am pretty motivated to
> keep the water pump healthy as long as possible considering the pain
> in the @$$ that they are to replace. So these guys are telling me
> that good looking, tested to -xx deg, is good enough info?
> I believe I've heard in this listgroup we should be changing ALL
> fluids every 1-2 years.
>
> So, does anybody KNOW what the heck I'm supposed to believe?
> thanks,
> dan.
> -------------------
> Dan Neff '69 2000
> SRL311-12866
> Colorado Springs,CO
> -------------------
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