Anti freeze

duffer

Senior Member
What do you guys run in your radiator? Is anti- freeze bad for our cars? I found some Meijer brand extended life Phosphate-free
Silicate-free formula . Or is just plain water good enough with a rust inhibitor ?

Thanks in advance.
 
I use the same antifreeze in my Model A as I do in my other cars. I see no reason to treat it different than today's car.

While the transfer of heat is better with water than antifreeze (50-50), the boiling point of antifreeze is higher than water, so it "balances out".

Today's antifreeze have anti-rusting stuff, so why not keep the engine in good shape.

Marc
 
As newbie and a one year of experience, my car mostly sat for 5 years with little use before it was mine --thankfully it had anti-freeze in it... I run 50/50, and thus far have not had any overheating issues...
 
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Original radiator and I run 50/50 Walmart antifreeze , sometimes but not often I add a little bars leak...
 
If running plain water, expect to be caught by surprise with an early fall freeze! So you saved $15.00 on antifreeze. Now what??
 
Anti freeze can encourage internal leaks if there are any v fine cracks. A friend on the just recent Model A Meet here in southern part of NZ put some in his AA Tow Truck but there was a fine crack in the head which resulted in water in the oil. Drained it all, put clean water in radiator, no more problems.
I have only used water , no anti freeze, but then it only gets dangerously cold in a few certain areas here.
In the old days, previous owner of my Tudor lived in an area that gets heavy frosts ; they put a sack under the engine & on top of the bonnet/hood as the car sat outside.
Today, we would not do that or drain the system if leaving outside?
 
Hi Guys
i WORKED IN THE REFRIGERATION GAME FOR OVER 20 YEARS. MY PARTNER AND I EXPERIMENTED ONE TIME AND MIXED ETHYLINE GLYCOL ANTIFREEZE AT 10% WITH WATER AND USING R22,( WHICH HAS A FREEZING POINT OF -40 DEGREES F.) ,THE MIXTURE GOT A LITTLE THICK BUT NEVER SOLIDIFIED AT -40F . WITH THIS IN MIND I USE 25% GLYCOL & WATER IN MY SPORT COUPE WITH NO PROBLEMS
FOR OVER 15 YEARS
BOB F FROM CHILLY ONTARIO
 
Been using standard 50/50 anti freeze in my 31 since I bought it last summer-been driving it daily including through Chicago winters with no issues. When I bought the car I did the vinegar flush which caused me a world of woe by plugging my radiator up to the point I ended up having to replace it. with the new radiator and anti freeze, no issues thought.
 
Depends where you live. We can get - 40F in a bad winter so all our vehicles run 50/50 good quality anti-freeze and tap water.

When I lived in more temperate climes I used 50/50 good quality anti-freeze and tap water to raise the boiling point and reduce corrosion.

Ian
 
Been using standard 50/50 anti freeze in my 31 since I bought it last summer-been driving it daily including through Chicago winters with no issues. When I bought the car I did the vinegar flush which caused me a world of woe by plugging my radiator up to the point I ended up having to replace it. with the new radiator and anti freeze, no issues thought.
Vinegar WON'T dissolve big rust flakes. After vinegar cleaning, REMEMBER to backflush the radumator, GOOD, to remove rust flakes that are stuck in the top of the tubes. I backflush my radumator twice a year, & oil my horn, every 3 months!
Bill W.
 
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