Antifreeze versus coolant

What’s the difference between antifreeze verus coolant?

There’s no difference between the terms antifreeze and engine coolant. The main ingredient is ethylene glycol (95) and that never wears out, so car owners have come to think of it a lifetime fluid that never needs changing. They couldn’t be more wrong. What they don’t understand is that the remaining portion of the mix contains additives like anti-corrosive agents and water pump lubricants and those DO break down and wear out. Engine coolant does more than protect against freezing, it literally prevents corrosion on all the components in your car’s cooling system. If you don’t follow the car maker’s recommendations for changing coolant, you can cause expensive damage to cooling system component.

Cooling system damage from worn out antifreeze

Engine cooling systems contain different metals like copper, aluminum, steel, and magnesium. When the anti-corrosion additives wear out, the antifreeze acts like a battery electrolyte causing the metals to interact with one another resulting in galvanic corrosion that eats away at the metals. Skipping a coolant change can result in premature leaking and outright failure of the heater core (a $1,200 repair), water pump ($600 repair), radiator ($600 repair), or a heater tube failure ($400 repair). If any of those components leak coolant and you don’t notice the leak in time, the engine can overheat, causing catastrophic engine damage in excess of $4,000. So it pays to change coolant on time.

©, 2016 Rick Muscoplat