You can do so at the start of summer and winter, when antifreeze will be put under more extreme stress. It’s a good idea to have antifreeze levels checked periodically. How often does a car need new antifreeze?Īntifreeze isn’t a fluid you add and change out frequently, like you do motor oil. It can cause problems with the radiator, water jackets, heater core, and in severe cases, the head gasket. If it continues to operate, it risks damaging the entire cooling system. It shortens the lifespan of the coolant and starts impacting the engine block almost immediately. When green and orange mix, they form a thick coagulant that gums up and sticks inside the system. The most common mixup is with the green and orange antifreeze. If the chemical composition is the same but the brand is different, no harm will come to your vehicle. What can happen depends on what types you mix together, as each mixture provides different qualities to your vehicle. Mixing antifreeze is a bad idea and can cause serious damage to the engine block. Some say you can mix antifreeze without an issue. If you search online, you’ll find people on both sides of the issue. The difference is in the additives they use within the antifreeze mixture itself. While less common, other colors of antifreeze such as blue, pink, or gold exist and deliver cooling qualities to other types of cars and trucks. It’s best to keep an eye on it and have it inspected from time to time to ensure it’s operating well. OAT antifreeze promises full cooling coverage up to 150,000 miles or so, but it doesn’t consistently deliver. The organic acids are designed to prevent corrosion. They are created for today’s newer models that have more nylon and aluminum parts in them. Orange antifreeze uses an organic acid technology, or OAT. Phosphates and silicates are mixed in with the ethylene glycol to help protect the metals that exist within the vehicle’s cooling system from being corroded. Green antifreeze uses an inorganic additive technology, also known as IAT. Yet checking with specifications ensures you purchase what’s best for your vehicle. The easiest way to identify your car’s antifreeze is by color. To ensure you add what’s best for your car’s engine, ready your owner’s manual and follow manufacturer’s guidelines. You can find less common types that may be blue, pink, or gold. One is a green coolant, the other is an orange color. After passing through the radiator, antifreeze moves back into the engine where the process begins once again. If it has trouble keeping up, an internal fan turns on to control the air movement. The temperature of the antifreeze is then cooled by the cold air supply that rushes through the radiator as the car drives along. As it passes through hot components of the engine, it absorbs the heat as the liquid is transferred into the radiator. When the antifreeze mixture is added into the engine block, it is pumped around the engine by the water pump. It has a much lower freezing point than water. Antifreeze needs to be mixed with water, usually in a 50/50 ratio, before being added to the reservoir inside the engine.Īntifreeze is made up of a base chemical called ethylene glycol. Some substances, like motor oil, can be added directly into the reservoir as is. Have you mixed antifreeze? Now what? There are a few things to know if you’ve grabbed the wrong bottle and filled up the reserve with the wrong substance. There are different types of antifreeze, and mixing them could be dangerous for your car. Pick up a bottle and they all are the same. Yet don’t be fooled into thinking antifreeze is antifreeze. By maintaining it properly, you’ll prevent corrosion from occurring within the system itself. It’s also designed to keep the engine block safe and operating well. As the temperature outside changes between hot and cold, antifreeze is pumped throughout the engine block to help maintain an even temperature.Īntifreeze does more than regular temperature. It’s a colored liquid that is mixed with water and added to your car’s engine to help regulate the temperature under extreme heat. Antifreeze is also known as engine coolant.
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