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All non antifreeze users in locost.
jossey - 6/11/14 at 02:58 PM

Don't forget to drain your rad and engine before it freezes :-)

Common sense I know but I paniced this morning when I saw ice outside and mine is still just water.

DW100 - 6/11/14 at 03:15 PM

Why not just put Anti-freeze in it?

It not only stops it freezing but also prevents corrosion, and lubricates the water pump

jossey - 6/11/14 at 03:32 PM

I'm waiting for a new alloy rad being made so would struggle to keep the antifreeze and it's not going to run now till the iva

adithorp - 6/11/14 at 04:46 PM

Don't forget draining it won't guarentee against freezing as it might still leave a fair amount in the block.

We had a customer a few (OK a lot) of years ago, who was so tight, he drained the rad every night and refilled every morning rather than buy anti-freeze. His block never split but the waterpump froze regularly and threw the belt of and would then over heat, eventually cooking the h/gasket.

Jenko - 6/11/14 at 07:25 PM

Doesnt anti freeze also also have anti corrosion properties?.....i.e. with water only is there not a risk of rusting blocks / waterpumps / etc.

mcerd1 - 7/11/14 at 09:24 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Jenko
Doesnt anti freeze also also have anti corrosion properties?.....i.e. with water only is there not a risk of rusting blocks / waterpumps / etc.

draining it is even worse than leaving it full of water from a corrosion point of view
for any metal to corrode it needs to be exposed to a small amount of water and a lot of oxygen

if its full of water the internal bits will get limited access to oxygen, if it drained then the damp parts will be exposed to lots of oxygen and corrode even faster.....

Paul Turner - 7/11/14 at 10:07 AM

quote:
Originally posted by jossey
Don't forget to drain your rad and engine before it freezes :-)


For feks sake, how much does antifreeze cost. A 30% mix is adequate protection in this country and it does more than just stop your coolant freezing.

I am tight but antifreeze is way cheaper than a new engine.

40inches - 7/11/14 at 10:07 AM

When I filled the MK with water prior to the first start, and not using anti freeze knowing it would be drained, when I did drain it later, the water was very black/dark brown and it took a lot of flushing to get rid of it.
I would always use anti freeze, even for a few weeks.

Mr Whippy - 7/11/14 at 01:28 PM

this is how alloy heads end up with corrosion

jossey - 7/11/14 at 03:11 PM

It's got anti freeze in it now but I wanna make sure no one else does it. I have my rad fitted now so I don't mind spending the £10 lol.