I own a Ford Focus 1.8 petrol and it is a T reg (1999) with nearly 77k miles.
The coolant has never been completely renewed because Ford say 10 years for this.
Also, because I am not the original owner, I think that the coolant pump is still the original and so I am worried that it might either fail or leak or both.
My question is if I were to renew the coolant now and somewhere down the line the coolant pump packed up, would I have to renew the coolant again with the new water pump or would this be unnecessary again ?
Thanks
Edited by Pugugly on 30/09/2008 at 19:30
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The cost of the coolant itself is negligible compared to the labour costs of changing it, and truly insignificant compared to the labour costs of changing the pump.
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Just because Ford says it has a 10 year shelf life...
...have it tested, if it needs doing, then do it.
Dead easy job so don't pay a garage to do it. You can buy (coolant) anti freeze by the litre as well as 5 litre containers. Halfords Charge £17.99 for 5ltr and 5.99 for 1ltr.
If you have a Unipart or Partco go there - it will be half the price.
Or you could by the cheap stuff from supermarkets...
The likes of Kwik Fit etc., offer free anti freeze testing via their Free winter check.
As for the pump, if it works fine - leave it alone - you wil know when it needs doing because the noise or lack of operation will soon make itself very evident!
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I test my anti-freeze concentration every year.
Syphon some into a clean yoghurt pot and pop it in the freezer overnight (telling SWMBO). If it's anything other than liquid in the morning, replace or add neat anti-freeze.
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It's not only the freezing properties though, there's also the corrosion inhibitors to take into consideration.
No good having antifreeze that'll protect down to -30°C when the cooling bores of the engine look like a 10 yr old kettle that's never been descaled.
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I agree totally DD. But what other test is there? I know of none that can check the corrosion inhibitors, other than changing the stuff at the recommended intervals. Do the trade have any means?
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And it won't suddenly lose all it's properties the day 10 years clicks up!!
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There is another way to test but this is not very nice!
Dip your finger in the expansion tank and taste it, yes thats taste it is it very sweet?
If so it's ok, a very old but effective method but much easier to buy the tool only a few quid. lol....
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Not advisable to taste coolant as it's poisonous. Remember the case of a wife who poisoned her husband earlier this year - tinyurl.com/yrkswr
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It's not only the freezing properties though there's also the corrosion inhibitors to take into consideration.
I'm no chemist [but got the 'A' level in distant past] but surely corrosion is oxidation, and once the oxygen in the liquid is used up, there will be no further corrosion. This is why I never ever change coolant. The coolant in my 28yr old TR7 is over 20yrs old [I had to replace a lot of it when the radiator was punctured by a stone] and so far nothing has corroded sufficiently to cause damage. [I dread the heater matrix failing - huge dashboard dismantling job!]
I often read about head gasket failure and heater matrix failure in the club magazine - perhaps it's because people keep changing their coolant!
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>>once the oxygen in the liquid is used up
When does that happen John?
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As John F hasn't answered, I will.
The answer is that the corrosion doesn't actually stop, becuase the system isn't sealed - in the pressure cap, there are 2 valves which allow over-pressure out when the radiator cap's rated pressure is exceeded when the car is hot, and a vacuum valve which allows air at atmospheric pressure back into the system when it cools down.
So coolant changes are required to prevent corrosion.
I would also consider using the coolant from the manufacturer - then, you can be sure that the formulation will be compatible with all of the materials used in the coolant system. There was an excellent post by Aprilia which described the different coolant chemistries, and the applicable vehicles for each type. Effectively, the use of a single coolant type for all vehicles, although common practice, isn't best practice.
In this case, coolant from Ford is reasonably priced, and so, there isn't a good reason to use spuriously branded fluid.
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Sorry N-C - v busy week - no time for HJ....
I would be worried if the water got so hot that it steamed out of the rad cap at 100+ degrees C!
Most cars never overheat these days so air mixing with these virtually sealed systems is rarely a problem. I suppose modern effient engines generate less waste heat.
Anyway, I am well satisfied with my [inefficient] TR7's longevity ......so far!
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I tried to research this with no success not long ago. Can antifreeze have a 10-year corrosion-inhibiting life?
The reason I ask is that I've never seen antifreeze on sale claiming to have a 10-year life. It's either 2 years or 5 years.
I've a feeling the manufacturers say 10 years based on the expected life of the vehicle and the amount of corrosion which would have to occur to cause any problems. I therefore suspect that corrosion starts to occur after 5 years.
As for testing it - not worth it. Ethyl Glycol is Ethyl Glycol and unless it's been mis-treated or diluted with successive top-ups then its properties should not change.
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Is it just ethyl glycol (ethanol?, ethyl alcohol?, whatever) in anti-freeze?
I remember reading a Fiat owners manual many years ago (127 maybe) that referred to adding corrosion inhibitor to water for the cooling system in countries that didn't require anti-freeze.
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