It is a widely known fact that engines should have a good quality coolant in the fresh water system. There is also a commonly understood fact that the coolant in the engine prevents the fresh water side of the engine from freezing during cold weather. Coolant also helps prevent the fresh water side from boiling during normal use. This helps to regulate the temperature in your engine. The coolant also provides a whole range of other very important benefits to your engines health and well being. They won’t all be discussed in this article.
Coolants have corrosion protection properties, without which the inside of the engine would gradually corrode away.
One particular area that comes up frequently amongst the customers we deal with is poor cooling from the heat exchanger. We have discussed before, the importance of flushing the raw water side of the coolers. However, without a good quality coolant and regular changes as per the manufacturers guidance, the fresh water side can become coated with sludge and corroded particles from inside the engine.
This sludge can coat the tube stacks on fresh water side of the heat exchanger in some cases severely reducing the efficiency of the heat exchanger leading to overheating of the engine. Cleaning or flushing the fresh water side of the cooling system and replacing the coolant as per the manufacturers specifications is the best tool to reduce this kind of problem.