A friend of mine has a car that is leaking antifreeze/coolant. He stopped to buy antifreeze at a gas station last night and was appalled to find that it cost $12.50 a bottle. He bought a bottle of windshield wiper fluid instead. He hasn't used the wiper fluid yet but that seems like a very bad idea to me!!! Is it safe to use wiper fluid as antifreeze?
Are there cheaper alternatives to antifreeze? Since the car is leaking so much, I also worry about animals licking it up.
FYI It's an old car with a lot of problems. He plans to replace it in the next few weeks, if it lasts that long.
Thank you for your time,
Ann
2006-12-10 04:36:23 · 7 answers · asked by zightlight 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
a warm garage or blanket:)
dont use window washer fluid, it can foam up and cavatate the water pump and get yor engine hot
you can get cheaper antifreeze thats premixed
2006-12-10 04:40:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry there are no reasonable alternatives to antifreeze, maybe your friend needs to maintain his vehicle instead of waiting for things to break. Those coolant leaks should be cheaper to fix than buying a new car or even several bottles of new antifreeze.
2006-12-10 04:44:40 · answer #2 · answered by Albert F 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to your local auto part store and pick up a bottle of radiator stop-leak. Put it in and it should stop leaking. DO NOT PUT WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID IN THE RADIATOR. There is a possibility that it would corrode the metal and make the leak worse. Always use a good quality anti-freeze and mix with water as per the directions on the bottle.
2006-12-10 04:40:16 · answer #3 · answered by Kilowatt 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can put a INCANDESCENT light bulb 60/120 watt (like a "workman s light" on the end of a power cord.) in the engine compartment to help keep it from getting cold enough to freeze overnight. Some people use this trick to keep fuel lines from freezing during extreme cold. (I have done it a couple of times myself.) If there is still enough antifreeze in the system it will keep from freeze up. Most systems need enough antifreeze to to keep freeze up away at negative temperatures only.
2016-12-08 18:16:26 · answer #4 · answered by Major 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DON"T USE WW ANTIFREEZE , instead go to an auto recyclers and get some used antifreeze , some even have recycled antifreeze, since it's a beater it wont matter but you will want to keep that block intact for the next owner, ( someone like me )
2006-12-10 05:51:43 · answer #5 · answered by sterling m 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buying it someplace other than a gas station would probably save you about 50%.
Fixing the leak would probably save you 100% (on antifreeze).
2006-12-10 04:40:42 · answer #6 · answered by Say What? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Plain water will do the job if it is for a short period of time. This may freeze up though if you are in a colder climate/area.
2006-12-10 04:45:33 · answer #7 · answered by fenix 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋