TR4/4A Coolant.

[mtlman8]

So , I had a blast driving for the last few months, but now it's ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE DEGREES!... That being said I put the TR up on jack stands, flushed the the coolant and many other things fuel lines, brake lines ect. my question is, In these cars do you run Orange, Green or 50/50?

 

[tinman58]

I use "Evans" waterless coolant in both my TR's and am very happy with it!

 

[Jerry]

Now I am very happy I live in Sacramento and it is only 100 degrees.
Jerry

 

[toysrrus]

Hi Jerry,

50/50 here.

Russ

 

[karls59tr]

I think I read on this forum that TR racers use 57% distilled water,31% antifreeze and 12% "water wetter".

 

[Geo Hahn]

Down in cooler Tucson (only 105° here) I run 25-30% of the usual green stuff. I believe that mix actually cools better than 50/50. That said, I run 50/50 in my cars with aluminum heads as they need the full corrosion protection.

I think I read on this forum that TR racers use 57% distilled water,31% antifreeze and 12% "water wetter".

I don't think racers are allowed to use any antifreeze -- a banned substance. If you step on a puddle of it on the garage floor you'll see why.

Also, I do not use distilled water -- this is an area where not all agree but there is a school of thought that the lack of minerals in distilled water makes it more corrosive than ordinary drinking water. If you live in an area where the tap water has lots of mineral content you may want to purchase grocery store drinking water.

 

[Don Elliott]

I have heard that water has better heat transfer properties than an antifreeze mix of 50/50. So I have been using 20% antifreeze and 80% DI water for about 10 years in my 1958 TR3A. My car is only driven in the summer and always stored in a heated garage for winter storage. So I don't need 50/50 to prevent freezing. With the 20/80 mix, I have enough antifreeze to prevent rust accumulation in the passages and in the block. 100% water will cause rust.

 

[TR3driver]

There are so many different antifreezes and antifreeze colors these days that you can't really identify just by color. I run roughly 30-50% (don't bother to measure carefully) of Prestone Extended Life "Any Color" antifreeze, mixed with RO purified drinking water from the kitchen.

Buying the "50/50" stuff from the store seems like a waste of money to me. Even though the price per gallon is less, you have to use twice as much to get the same concentration. So in effect, you are paying around $10/gallon for water. More than I'm willing to pay for convenience.

I don't have the link handy, but I've seen a rather lengthy article on why "Dexcool" is probably not good to use in classic cars. Basically, it's additive package is not compatible with other types of antifreeze, and the additives stick to the walls of the cooling system so it takes a complete chemical flush (or all new components including the engine block) to safely switch. The Prestone "Any color" supposedly has a hybrid additive package that overcomes this problem.

I'm not a believer of the "use hard water" theory. While it's true that minerals can coat and protect cast iron in some cases, they don't do anything for dissimilar metal corrosion, which is the big problem area in a TR. That's what the additives in the antifreeze are for. And those same minerals make lousy heat conductors as well as creating pockets that can form steam bubbles. Ask any boilermaker if you should use hard water in a boiler ...