Anti freeze

While I was stuck in the usual morning traffic jam/queue my mind wandered,
and probably should have kept going. But here goes :......
I'm now from time to time having to top the water up, the little red light
goes on. Now it's not leaking through the head gasket, there is no
perceptible pipe leaking or weeping so where ever it's going points to
possible boiling through the cap.
The question is at what point does the anti freeze cease to be operative as
a antifreeze and/or a protector for the aluminium engine, with the toping up
of just water? This occurs about every six to eight weeks about 1/4 - 1/2
pint, about 2000 miles.
The gauntlet has been thrown.

 

Jesus John, not sure how on Earth I would even think about working that one
out, so I'll leave it to the clever guys

Just a thought though, could it be water leaking from the radiator? I had
same problem a couple of years ago and turned out to be an invisible leak
from the radiator, only noticed it because I would sometimes see a small
amount of water on the chasiss crossmember below it.

Chris

 

you need to get a hydrometer, this tests specific gravity and will test your
anti-freeze and battery.
you should be looking for about -30 degrees, but obviously it all depends
what temperature you are operating in,
most anti-freeze solutions we use are now about 50-50 mixture for optimum
performance,
steve.

 

IMHO corrosion inhibition is much more of a reason to keep the antifreeze in
tip top shape.

If you have ever tried to replace a corroded heater matrix, you will NEVER
want to repeat the exercise.

Change your antifreeze every 2 years or else! Keep it at 25% to 50%
strength. Easiest way to keep it at strength is to makeup a 50% solution in
an old 5litre container and use that to top up the system, not plain water.

 

I had been having the same trouble on my 1998 406 diesel, I took it in to
have the timing belt changed and they found that the water pump was
leaking slightly from the shaft, a new pump was £28.

 

I had been having the same trouble but when I took by car in for a new
timing belt they found that the water pump was weeping from the shaft, I
have a 1998 406 diesel, the new pump cost £28

 

traffic jam/queue my mind wandered,

As stated in replies - keep a 50% water/anti-freeze solution for topping up.
If you a have a steady leak then I would certainly try and identify where it
is coming from. It could be that you are overfilling and that can lead to
the rad cap lifting.However it should be obvious if it is around that area.

If not, then its not likely to go away and more likley to get worse -
possibly leading to an overheated engine/head gasket problems.etc. If you
have a clean engine bay then it is faitly simple to identify leaks - if not,
then use gunk and wash the engine bay down. Any future anti-freeze leak can
then be readily identified.

I use a five year anti-freeze (Mobil or Halfords) as the additional cost is
well worth not having to drain and refill every 2 years.The rad system etc
has to be in good condition for this stuff as any previous corrison will
give problems over this extended period.


"its being so cheerful what keeps me going"