by GB8 » Thu Apr 06, 2017 2:09 pm
They were not "upselling", they were following correct procedure. Tap water is not an acceptable replacement for coolant.
The difference between running the proper mix of coolant or just water is huge. It's not enough for your radiator to be wet on the inside, coolant has properties that perform a number of different functions while it swooshes through your engine.
The most obvious difference is the freezing point, if you live in a cold climate you'll crack your engine block if you have only water in there. But coolant also has a much higher boiling point than water, and can, therefore, hold a lot more heat without boiling over. Wait, there's more. The compounds in coolant fight corrosion in the radiator and other components it comes in contact with.
Running water alone isn't going to stop the process and can lead to premature failure of parts of your cooling system. Worse, tap water has its own bag of unwanted chemicals, and running your car on that can cause even more corrosion of parts. The bottom line? You must run coolant in your system no matter where you live. This is non-negotiable. If you suspect your car is without coolant, it's a good time to do a flush and fill of the system. It's not worth taking chances.
They were not "upselling", they were following correct procedure. Tap water is not an acceptable replacement for coolant.
The difference between running the proper mix of coolant or just water is huge. It's not enough for your radiator to be wet on the inside, coolant has properties that perform a number of different functions while it swooshes through your engine.
The most obvious difference is the freezing point, if you live in a cold climate you'll crack your engine block if you have only water in there. But coolant also has a much higher boiling point than water, and can, therefore, hold a lot more heat without boiling over. Wait, there's more. The compounds in coolant fight corrosion in the radiator and other components it comes in contact with.
Running water alone isn't going to stop the process and can lead to premature failure of parts of your cooling system. Worse, tap water has its own bag of unwanted chemicals, and running your car on that can cause even more corrosion of parts. The bottom line? You must run coolant in your system no matter where you live. This is non-negotiable. If you suspect your car is without coolant, it's a good time to do a flush and fill of the system. It's not worth taking chances.