It wasn’t so long ago that engine coolant (antifreeze) was available in a standard inorganic acid technology (IAT) formulation that was blue-green in color and appropriate for all engine makes and models. However, in an effort to reduce maintenance and environmental disposal costs, as well as vehicle downtime, antifreeze manufacturers developed a variety of long life coolants (LLC) or extended life (ELC) coolants.
These formulations include organic acid technology (OAT), hybrid organic acid technology (HOAT), nitrated organic acid technology (NOAT) and nitrite, amine, phosphate, silicate free (NAPS)—with change intervals starting at five years or 300,000 miles in comparison to the two-year/150,000-mile life of traditional IAT coolant.
In addition, coolants are available in a variety of colors, including green, orange, red, pink, blue and colorless, which can cause confusion for both vehicle owners and professional service tech. Proper understanding of coolant types and adherence to vehicle manufacturers’ requirements are essential to ensuring that antifreeze effectively maintains engine temperature and helps protect the cooling system from rust and corrosion.
Paul Bandoly, manager of technical services and customer training for Wix Filters, offers the following tips on how to effectively maintain cooling systems and ensure optimum vehicle performance:
• Don’t judge a coolant by its color. Color does not indicate coolant type. In fact, incompatible coolants could appear to be the same color.
• Ensure accurate coolant concentration. Coolant should be tested regularly to check its freeze protection capabilities. In order to effectively maintain engine temperature, coolant must be correctly diluted—usually in a 50/50 mixture with acceptable water. A mixture of more than 60% or less than 40% antifreeze is not recommended. Familiarity with different coolant chemistries and total cooling system capacities is essential in order to avoid over-dilution or over-saturation of the coolant in the mixture, which can lead to system over-heating, incorrect freeze protection levels and performance issues with other cooling system components.
Techs can use coolant test strips and refractometers to determine the concentration ratio of coolant to water, and coolant analysis kits to submit fluid samples to laboratories, Bandoly added.
For more information and helpful tips, visit www.wixfilters.com.
