Antifreeze is an important part of the automotive engine cooling system, which can not only prevent the coolant from freezing at low temperatures, resulting in radiator and engine rupture, but also improve the boiling point of the coolant, prevent the engine from overheating, and at the same time, it can also prevent the generation of scale and corrosion, and protect the normal operation of the cooling system.
So, does the antifreeze need to be changed?How often do you change it?Different car owners may have different answers to these questions, some people think that the antifreeze is permanently used and does not need to be changed, and some people think that the antifreeze is changed once a year, or every time a certain mileage is driven. In fact, these are not the right thing to do, because the life and performance of antifreeze can be affected by many factors, such as the brand and quality of antifreeze, the cleanliness of the cooling system, the working load of the engine, the ambient temperature, and so on.
To give you a clearer idea of the antifreeze replacement cycle and method, we interviewed an auto mechanic with many years of experience to hear what he had to say:
The replacement cycle of antifreeze, in general, should be determined according to the car's manual, and different models and different antifreeze may have different regulations. For general family vehicles, the replacement cycle of antifreeze is every two years or 40,000 kilometers, and for special vehicles, such as taxis, long-distance buses, trucks, etc., the replacement cycle of antifreeze will be shorter, perhaps every year or 20,000 kilometers. Of course, these are ideal situations, in fact, the service life of antifreeze also depends on its actual state, such as color, concentration, pH, boiling point, freezing point, etc., if it is found that the antifreeze has discoloration, turbidity, thinning, acid, boiling point decrease, freezing point increase and other phenomena, it means that the antifreeze has failed and needs to be replaced in time, otherwise it will cause damage to the cooling system.
The replacement method of antifreeze should also be operated in accordance with the correct steps, and water should not be added or mixed with different brands of antifreeze at will, which will reduce the performance of antifreeze and even cause chemical reactions, resulting in deterioration of antifreeze, clogging the cooling system and damaging the engine. The method of replacing antifreeze can be roughly divided into the following steps:
Park the vehicle in a flat place, wait for the engine to cool down, open the water tank lid and spill can lid, release the old antifreeze, take care to prevent burns, and preferably wear gloves and glasses to prevent the antifreeze from splashing on the ** and eyes.
Lift the vehicle, remove the lower guard, find the drain screw of the tank, unscrew it, drain the antifreeze in the tank, and if necessary, use a high-pressure gas or water pump to drain the antifreeze inside the engine to ensure that there is no old antifreeze left in the cooling system.
Tighten the drain screws of the water tank, put down the vehicle, clean the inside of the water tank and overflow pot with pure water or distilled water, and if possible, you can use a professional cooling system cleaner to completely remove scale and impurities to improve cooling efficiency.
The above is the replacement cycle and method of antifreeze, I hope it will be helpful to you, if you have other questions about the car, please feel free to consult me, I will try my best to answer for you. ”