Antifreeze? Do you or should you keep antifreeze in your car at all times, even in the summer time?

Question

If so, why should you have to have it in the summer?
At what temp. would it have to get in the winter for the block to freeze and crack?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

of course you should have antifreeze in your cooling system at all times. The antifreeze is also and anti- boil -over for the summertime too. Why? because any two liquids, added together, will have a higher boiling point and a lower freezing point as a mixture. Thus, antifreeze and water can withstand temperatures to minus 25, or +260 degrees Fahrenheit. AND IN THE SUMMER 260 degrees boiling instead of 212 (water alone). Years ago, before the invention of antifreeze that also lubricates your water pump and prevents corrosion inside your aluminum engine... people used to add just plain alcohol. This was even more expensive, and did nothing for engine lube or corrosion fighting. FREEZING THE BLOCK? There is a special density tester to test your antifreeze right now. A "turkey baster" type syringe sucks up a little water from the radiator fill tank. You can read a scale on the tube to see if you are NOW protected to -10, -20, -30...and so on. Buy this tester for a small price and put your mind at ease. There are small ones for 5 bucks and professional ones for 35 bucks. Before your engine block freezes, there will be small, thin, freeze plugs that blow out first, and protect your block from expanding ice (we hope). (even in cars from the 1960's)

Answer 2

Antifreeze, should be kept in your vehicle at all times.It has many advantages other than just plain water. Water will freeze at 32 degrees which will cause more expensive problems.Antifreeze also helps lubricate your cooling system, just plain water will rust, causing many problems as well, the freeze plugs will rust out from the insde, causing leaks, some freeze plugs are easy to change, others are a pain, also the shaft on the water pump could rust an break internally causing yet more problems, also the rust will stop up the radiator, not allowing it to work properly. It is best to add distilled water with the antifreeze ,due to contaminates in tap water.

Answer 3

Yes you should run antifreeze in your car at all times. More importantly in the summer because it cools your engine better than just plain water. As for the block freezing and cracking; when water freezes it expands so any temp where water will freeze. All newer cars have plugs installed to give if it gets cold enough to freeze your coolant, so your block is not ruined. This can still be an expensive to repair.

Answer 4

Keep it in at all times and at the proper mix. In the summer it acts as a coolant. The water will freeze in the winter, that is what cracks the block. You want a mix of 50% water and 50% antifreeze, will not hurt to have a little more antifreeze in though.

Answer 5

Yes, because water alone will leave mineral deposits around your water seals and also rust those areas. And trust me, you don't want to blow a water seal. I had a Blazer years back I bought from a kind old man who had been the only owner and he never put antifreeze in the radiator (cuz this is FL). A month later I had to change all the water seals. I spent a week flushing out the engine and what would come out was this thick rust sludge that looked like mud. It was in every nook and cranny of the engine. As far as how cold it has to get, I think around 30 degrees water starts to freeze up, so I would think colder than 30 degrees. (again we don't have that problem in FL., but we all know to keep anti-freeze in our cars.) Hope that helps.

Answer 6

It does absolutely no harm to have antifreeze in your car in the summer. It also means that you don't have to remember to put it in before it starts to freeze.

Just remember that whenever you need to top up your water that you should use an antifreeze and water not just water or eventually the dilution will be too weak and it won't protect your engine.

Answer 7

Most Antifreeze is combined with coolant for year round use, just check the label. As to what temp, depends on the size of the engine, what it's made of, how often it's run, too many variables.

Answer 8

YES!!!!! Most car engines if not all are designed to use anti-freeze all year long. The cooling properties of anti-freeze and the cleaning properties make it a MUST.

Not having it in your cooling system aside from not doing it's cooling job also allows your cooling system to clog up with deposits from the water in the system.

As for temp. when it is absolutely required 0c or 32f-

It is not a difficult job to do it your self however it can get messy....depending on engine and cooling system size I would imagine you could get it done at a garage for $50.00 or less.

Answer 9

Yes you should keep it in your car all year. in the summer it prevents overheating better than water. Water freezes at 32F and 0C. Use about a 50/50 anti freeze/water solution. You can buy it already mixed or seperate.

Answer 10

i own a repair shop,and anti freeze is also anti boil too,it wont boil over,as well as not freeze,that's why its really important to keep it in an engine at all times it keeps one from boiling over on the hot days,plain water will evaporate really fast,and can damage the interior of the engine with rust ,and anti freeze also prevent this from happening also,but that's the main reasons why we need this stuff year round it provide year round protection for our engines,,good luck i hope this help,s