The only reason one should use distilled water in their coolant mixture is because their well is so hard or has high levels of calcium, or sulphur or who knows what. Us city folk, don't have that problem,and regular tap water is just fine. Now the reason, and the only reason that one should change their anti freeze on a annual, or bi annual basis is because the DCA level of the ethylene glycol mixture starts to drop, causing a high electrolysis problem between dissimilar metals in your engine. Consider this; The DCA level is like a coating inside your engine to prevent cavitation from happening, and corroding the heck out of the engines internals. Or in some cases, like in a diesel engine where there is a cast iron block and steel cylinder liners, if the DCA is low, the coolant will eat at hot spots on the liners and create holes in the liners and cause compression leaks, or coolant leaks into the combustion chamber. Also there is another factor to consider. The correct DCA levels are like a proper PH balance, not to acidic, not to alkaline, and this is where the Water Wetter comes in. It is a alkaline additive to prevent, or help the coolant from going acidic, and eating the internals of your engine. There is litmus paper test to determine where your coolant stands, as far as correct DCA level, and I think this is a important consideration, if your interested in extending the longevity of your engine. Hatsa Lavista, Terry 85 GL |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.