Coolant quality

[Zenkar]

Just red in a magazine we must pay special attention to the quality of coolant for V8 rover engines.
Any comments or bad experience ?

[GreenV8S]

You need to ensure you have sufficient corrosion inhibitors to protect the insides of the alloy engine from corrosion. The antifreeze provides this, which is why you have to keep it above 25% or so even in the summer. This applies to all alloy engines though and I'm not aware of the RV8 being particularly fussy in this respect?

[zenkar]

I was also a bit surprised.
But i checked in the bible (page 191) The cooling system
this is what is said :
"...this is crucial as any aluminium components are more susceptible to corrosion and cracking...."

[tvrgit]

as Greenv8s says, it's not unusual in modern engines (and some not-so-modern - Triumph Stag anybody?) for the coolant quality to be important.

If an engine is all one material (say cast-iron) then it will corrode eventually in a water-only environment. If two different metals are used (iron block with alloy heads) then one acts as a cathode and one as an anode in an electolytic circuit, and the anode (which is losing electrons) will corrode at a helluva rate compared to the cathode. This is the reason for "sacrificial anodes" used in ship-building (and in some vehicle antirust products).

The anti-corrosion additives used in antifreeze are designed to minimise this electrolysis, and so help to prevent sacrificial corrosion, especially in multi-metal engines.

[/modeoff] sorry

[zenkar]

Very clear, many thanks !