Rust Inhibitor

[William Kelchner]

Going to drain my radiator and switch to all water over the summer here in Va. Before I leave for AutoZone I presume all rust inhibitors are created equal-----like is the Prestone Rust Inhibitor suitable or does it go through some mysterious chemical process with the Prestone Antifreeze which will not be present? I do not recall ever seeing a rust inhibitor other than those associated with a particular brand of antifreeze.....thanks

[William Kelchner]

Guess I'll answer myself -- there is no such thing a rust inhibitor in the town of Warrenton - auto supply, tractor supply, Burger King - guess I have 3 gallons of distilled water to drink..

[ford1]

they all contain soluble oil, you can buy it straight, its also used for cooling valve heads when facing them, its the white fluid you see squirting on the valve when they are faced, DO NOT USE IF YOU HAVE AN ALUMINUM HEAD, it wont let the water transfer heat and cool the head and lead to over heating, found that out when working on foriegn cars with aluminum blocks and heads,

[ford1]

why not just use a qt of anti freeze? its one of the best rust preventives you can get

[Colorado Greg]

I don't know if they are created equal or not, but I have been using the NAPA brand rust inhibitor without any problems in straight water.

[Mikeinnj]

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I use distilled water, no minerals - no rust.

[Gary WA]

NAPA 1300 is a clear rust inhibitor I use with distilled water.

[wensum]

As a result of supposed specialised rust inhibitors reacting with certain types of water and causing a build up of silt in areas where the coolant is slow flowing, and consequentlycan also result, localised overheating, we are using "Red Line Water Wetter", which I see is also a synthetic oil.
We have found that not only do our cars run cooler with this product but it also supposedly reduces corrosion (other than the Model A, our other cars have alloy heads or blocks where corrosion is more of a problem

[William Kelchner]

Thanks - we do have a NAPA parts store in town - guess I'll go down there tomorrow and check them out. Appreciate the information. Gheeze I hate asking stupid questions....

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by wensum

As a result of supposed specialised rust inhibitors reacting with certain types of water and causing a build up of silt in areas where the coolant is slow flowing, and consequentlycan also result, localised overheating, we are using "Red Line Water Wetter", which I see is also a synthetic oil.
We have found that not only do our cars run cooler with this product but it also supposedly reduces corrosion (other than the Model A, our other cars have alloy heads or blocks where corrosion is more of a problem

I've read conflicting stories on Water Wetter. What I can say is I've developed leaks in two radiators within a couple years of changing to Water Wetter so I no longer use it.

[[email protected]]

This might seem like a dumb question to some, maybe a lot of people. I live in Minnesota and we run antifreeze year round. In the months of July and August we often see temps in the high 90's even over 100's occasionally. And our humidity goes right through the roof. So my question is; Whats the benefit of changing over to only clean water during the summer months? As I said it might be a dumb question to some of you but the answer isn't all that obvious to me.

[Jim/GA]

If your engine does not boil over with antifreeze in it, leave the antifreeze in the system all year year and don't worry about it. Water really does cool better but not all engines need it.

If you change to straight water in the summer, you need to run some kind of anti-rust with the water. 2 small bottles of the anti-rust is about right on a Model A. When I have done that, the water is milky looking but not rusty at the end of the season.

One quart of antifreeze in the system (and the rest water) will not give you enough anti-rust protection.

[Ed in Maine]

The one reason I don't use anti-freeze is that it tends to leak out the water pump and then spray back on the firewall. It looks awful. I always use water with a rust inhibitor. Don't forget to drain it out before winter. I mark the calendar November 1st to DRAIN THE CARS.

[William Kelchner]

Thanks - I finally found some Gunk brand radiator rust inhibitor/water pump lubricate. On distilled water now, see how that performs. My overheating went away once I got the timing right. We shall see.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by William Kelchner

My overheating went away once I got the timing right. We shall see.

That seems to be the number one solution I've read here, timing.
Number two, good flowing radiator.
Number three, running lean due to carb problems.

[2manycars]

Sometimes rust inhibitors do not work as well as you might expect.

[Elcastor]

..... but the inside of the can still looks good!

[john in illinois]

I have tried water wetter and distilled water for one summer. Result massive rust. Soluble oil is for the water pump. Theonly thing I have found that is foolproof for rust is 40 to 50 percent anti freeze. Why fight it ,it's easy.

John

[pat in Santa Cruz]

My experience with Red Line water wetter parallels Marco's and John's in Illinois. My beautiful original radiator sprung numerous pinhole leaks after 2 years with it and was declared not repairable. Both cars had substantial rust after 5 months. It did cool well, but after flushing the radiator and block and replacing one core with a yucky looking repro, the price was too high. I now use 50% Sierra anti freeze: no foaming, no rust, cools just fine. Its running a bit warmer on hot days, but not too much.

[Mikeinnj]

Besides corrosion inhibitors, Anti Freeze has a higher boiling point which can help a bad cooling system on a hot day.....