COOLANT ISSUES
An engine’s coolant has quite a demanding job. It must be able to cope with freezing temperatures to avoid the risk of turning into a solid, which could cause internal damage to the engine such as fracturing a waterway and causing it to leak. During the summer it needs to maintain the engine’s temperature to ensure it doesn’t get too hot, along with help from the radiator and a mechanical or electric cooling fan. And the coolant also needs to prevent internal corrosion of the engine, which can otherwise result in porous waterways and a build-up of silt that can block passageways and the water pump.
Most classic cars from the mid-1990s or before use a blue-coloured coolant, also generally called antifreeze. As Witham Group’s Technical Director, Mick Kenyon explains: 'Coolants are made up of a combination of finely balanced additives that each have a specific role in the quality of the product. Water acts as the main heat-transfer fluid moving heat away from the engine block. Monoethylene glycol (MEG), an organic compound, is added as it also provides heat transfer, but most importantly it lowers the freezing point and raises the boiling point of the water. Without MEG
