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water over coolant

1K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  nowhereman 
#1 ·
im replacing the tstat and i think i might fill the car back up with just water.
i have read somethings that say using water cools better. i know that in the winter ill have to get coolant back in there so it does not turn to ice.

so my question is has anyone done this?
 
#7 ·
Using Water is a bad idea unless an emergency. Palmer had the right idea

Bad idea.

The anti-freeze/coolant is also a corrosion inhibitor.

If you do this, use distilled water.

Also, just try a bottle of "water wetter" in your coolant.

I have this in my 86, and it's great.
add the water wetter to your coolant. Other than reading that it cools better what is your reason for using water? Also if it cooled so much better don't you think that would be what is used...
 
#6 ·
The coolant protects the metal in your engine. I've never used watter wetter, I don't know if it has corrosion inhibitors. And not all coolants are made equal, some have better rust prevention than others (like mercedes coolant and similar). They sell some good stuff on eeuro for not too much $$.

Think about it, do you want the inside of every metal coolant passage in your engine, radiator, and heating system to be covered in rust? Your radiator life will shrink drastically, and floating bits will probably shorten the life of other parts as well.
 
#9 ·
Coolant also has a higher boiling point than water as well as the lower freezing point. In addition to the already stated corrosion inhibiting charachteristics, coolant is the only thing that keeps the water pump lubricated.
 
#12 ·
thats what i thought but i was going to look into it more before i said something.
water cools better than coolant, it has better heat transfer. i just have to add some water wetter to help lube it up. i found a low temp tsat at autozone its a 82*c one. so a 180f over a 195f stock one. thatshould help keep things cooler.

who has added a switch to turn the fans on? i did a search but with no luck.
how did you hook it up, does it work off the temp sensor still?
 
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