Coolant fluid the same as antifreeze?

Question

I seem to be low on coolant fluid in my car (the red light came on) and someone said to put water in it to hold it over until I put antifreeze in. So do I put in coolant fluid or antifreeze? Is it the same thing? (I'm such a woman!)

Answer 1

you need to go and buy a premix anitifreeze. That way there is no second guessing if you have enought antifreeze. coolant fluid and antifreeze are pretty much the same thing. Don't just put water in because that will mess up your mixture. You want to have about a half water half antifreeze mix. If you buy a jug of premix it is already mixed with the proper ratio of water and antifreeze all you have to do is pour away and fill up your radiator and/or coolant reservoir.

Answer 2

WIKIPEDIA DEFINITIONS

COOLANT FLUID
A coolant, or heat transfer fluid, is a fluid which flows through a device in order to prevent its overheating, transferring the heat produced by the device to other devices that utilize or dissipate it. An ideal coolant has high thermal capacity, is low-cost, and is chemically inert, neither causing nor promoting corrosion of the cooling system. Some applications also require the coolant to be an electrical insulator.

The coolant can either keep its phase and stay liquid or gaseous, or can undergo a phase change, with the latent heat adding to the cooling efficiency. The latter, when used to achieve low temperatures, is more commonly known as refrigerant.

ANTIFREEZE
Antifreeze is a water-based liquid coolant used in gasoline and diesel engines. Compounds are added to the water to reduce the freezing point of the mixture to below the lowest temperature that the engine is likely to be exposed to, and to inhibit corrosion in cooling systems which often contain a range of electrochemically incompatible metals (aluminum, cast iron, copper, lead solder, etc.). The term 'colligative agent' is to be preferred as, in warm climates, the benefit of these compounds is to increase the boiling point of the coolant, which should then be more properly referred to as 'anti-boil', and as anti-freeze decreases and increases both properties, respectively, 'colligative agent' more accurately describes the liquid. The term 'engine coolant' is widely used in industry.

Putting in the water was to tide you over for the time being. Now you have to find out where the leak is. What you do is raise the hood and see if you can see any water leaks. The reason is if you take it to a shop you tell them that your car is losing water and what would it take to fix it. Now if you know where the problem is, you will know if the mechanic is honest or not. Places where they see a female, he may overstate so you can overpay. If you just had a hose with a hole in it, he may tell you the radiator or water pump went out. He may even actually do the real work or just replace your hose and charge you for what it cost for a radiator or water pump. If you do take it to a shop, take it to at least three shops. if the first two shops say it is a hose, then at the third you say how much to replace your hose. Then if it Just a little bit higher then play the man and said garage X would do it for the price they said. Quote it 10% cheaper though. Maybe the guy will match or beat the price.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Coolant fluid and antifreeze are the same thing. We call it coolant fluid these days, because it lowers the freezing temperature, raises the boiling temperature and inhibits rust formation in the engine block, heads and radiator.

Using water to hold it over is a great idea, but you must get it back to the correct ratio of coolant to water. Do not mix the coolant 50/50 - the correct ratio is written on the bottle. Different brands and different weather conditions need different ratios. You may need to drain the radiator and start from scratch to get the mix correct, but you might have to do that anyway, since the car is losing coolant. This should not happen, so there must be a leak somewhere, and repairing it usually requires draining the radiator (unless its something really simple, like a loose hose clamp.)

Answer 4

Just get the anti-freeze and read the directions. And yes you can top it off with H2O and not have a problem. The only way you are going to freeze is if you had to put in a lot of water to top it off.

What some fail to realize is that pure water can also be a problem in the summer since it boils at a lower temp then the anti-freeze/coolant. They are the same thing.

Answer 5

Coolant fluid is a mixture of antifreeze and water. 60/40 antifreeze/water gives you the lowest temp. you can obtain. (Pure antifreeze will freeze sooner than this mixture). So adding more water is perfectly fine as it is readily available(we don't always seem to have antifreeze sitting around)
The antifreeze also works as a antiboil as it raises the boiling point higher than that of pure water. So it works good all year around. Have all the hose clamps checked and tightened.

Answer 6

Pre-mixed coolant can be found at the stores and dealerships... BUT BE SURE TO USE THE SAME KIND THAT THE CAR CAME WITH (look in your owner's manual). DO NOT SUBSTITUTE!!!

Answer 7

if you have a vw you need to put in vw coolant only dont put anything else in there it will damage the motor, and the only place to buy vw coolant is at a vw dealer or if your close to an audi dealer.

Answer 8

yep its the same thing... water is not recommended coz it freezes and could burst the pipes in your car (not common but it can happen).

Answer 9

yes, but water will work if you are were its warm git it serviced