Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2001 19:57:58 -0700
From: "Lonn & Rhonda" <hoops@owt.com>
Subject: LRO: Re: Changing RR coolant
>Maybe my RR will
like SAAB anti-freeze? Seems that any coolant designed for aluminum
blocked engines should work, but my SAAB tech is insistent on using
only genuine SAAB anti-freeze. Wonder why?
Based on my conversations with the engine shop I deal with, it would
seem you are best off sticking with whatever the vehicle manufacturer
recommends. In the Jaguar URL that Perrone Ford posted
there are some comments in the article about why it's not
a good idea to switch coolant types in an engine that's been
run on one type for awhile.
Obviously all the coolants sold in containers labeled
for a particular vehicle or engine manufacturer are not made by those
manufacturers. I suspect that, like batteries and VCRs, there are only
a few actual coolant manufacturers in the world. So it may well
be that the coolant sold under the Saab name is fine for a Range
Rover. But I think you should make real sure it is before you try it.
According to the person I talked to at Solihull, the Rover V-8 is
pretty particular about having the right kind of coolant in it, in
the right condition. Old coolant is apparently pretty detrimental.
As another poster said, the anti-corrosion properties start to
fail as coolant gets older. Maybe not a big deal in an iron engine
but it seems to be a very big deal in an aluminum one. Now that
I've started siphoning the old coolant out of our Range Rover instead
of using the extremely messy, factory-recommended method of
removing the lower radiator hose, I've become much more
willing to change the coolant once a year, which from everything
I've been told is an important contributor to maximizing the engine's
life.
Our '91 Range Rover came from the factory, or at least from the US distributor,
with Prestone in it, and that's what we've run ever since. We did have to
install a new radiator
a year or so ago, not because the original was leaking but because
it wasn't doing as efficient a job of cooling as it had. Upon removal,
we found that about a third of the front surface was plugged with dirt, bugs,
grass, etc. This had been hidden behind the air conditioning and
transmission fluid heat exchanger assemblies, and so wasn't apparent
until we actually removed the radiator. So that was certainly responsible for some
of the radiator's lost efficiency. However, I had been told by several Range Rover
mechanics that eight or nine years is about average for a Range Rover
radiator to go before starting to lose its effectiveness. In any event,
it's worth spraying water forward through the radiator periodically to
clear the crud that gets trapped in front if you do a lot of driving in
dusty, buggy, etc. conditions.
>And what's the deal with the eco-anti-freeze that won't destroy Fido's
liver? Anybody have any experience with it?
From what I've heard, it's certainly better for the environment, but it's still
a chemical, and as such still has some toxic qualities. I would take the
same precautions when draining a cooling system and disposing of the
old coolant as you would if you were using Prestone. I suspect that an
animal lapping at a puddle of Sierra won't suffer the same
consequences as they would at a puddle of Prestone, but that's not to
say nothing will happen to them at all. Nor do I know what a Sierra-type
coolant will do in the ground water or in a pond, but I suspect it's not
good. Probably just not as bad as a Prestone-type coolant.
___________________________
C. Marin Faure
(original owner)
1973 Land Rover Series III-88
1991 Range Rover Vogue SE
Seattle
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