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anti-freeze??

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miranda

miranda

Senior Member
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our car has been sitting in storage for a couple of years before we bought it. It had only water in the radiator when we got it. When we changed the water pump, we flushed the radiator with water for a while (looked like a normal flow). Now i am wondering how to fill it again. I read on the forum a 50/50 mix with anti freeze is a good thing. Are there differences between anti-freeze, or will any brand do??
Does adding anti freeze bring down the water temp at all. I have been reading on the forum about the cooling issues, and i think our healey is running a bit warm. I still have the two bladed fan, and might have had the radiator over filled a bit.
any suggestions on the brand of anti freeze (if there is a difference at all)

Thanks, sjoerd and miranda
 
The advantages of anti freeze, in addition to freeze protection, are a rust inhibitor & water pump lubricant. Any of the major brands are ok. Antifreeze raises the boiling point of the coolant by about 18 degrees F. It actually has a worse heat transfer ability than water. While antifreeze is readily available & fairly cheap, ther are alternatives if you don't live in a cold climate.

Water plus a rust inhibitor/water pump lubricant will actually give better cooling. There are several of these additives available. My personal preference is "Red Line Water Wetter" which includes rust inhibitor & waterpump lubricant.

If you live in a moderately hot climate, changing to a four or six blade fan will help keep the temperatute down at idle & lower speeds. A coolant overflow catch & return system will help a bit also.
D
 
Hi Sjoerd this is Skip and if you try to run the 2 bladed fan here in the summer it is gonna run hot I can almost gurantee it. I think I am running about 3 quarts of Prestone in my car and it is good to about 20 below. It was only 18 here this morning so yo should be just fine.
 
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