Re: Water Pumps in Model A Ford and Antifreeze

Posted by michael stahl on November 09, 1996 at 03:49:00

In Reply to: Re: Water Pumps in Model A Ford and Antifreeze
posted by Doug Linden on October 30, 1996 at 17:32:38

: : This is a can of worms. The Model A does have a water pump but it also cools by convection. I have read the following
: : 1) Antifreeze is only useful in modern pressurized cooling system. Since the Model A is an open system the antifreeze will not cool the engine correctly. However it will prevent the water (coolant) from freezing.
: : 2) If you do not have a problem with freezing then straight water with an anti-rust additive.
: : 3) The chemicals in antifreeze will harm the gaskets, babbit etc. (Have not seen any proof of this)
: : 4) If you use antifreeze use an overflow container connected to the overflow tube. Do not want to spill antifreeze all over the place.
: : I am sure that there are many more opinions on this.
: I agree with this, antifreeze in an old car is like the age old question of what type of oil to use.
: The heat transfer capability of antifreeze is less than that of water and as a result can lead to less efficient cooling.
: A disadvantage if you live in a warm climate. However, the
: capacity of a Model A radiator is very large and is all parts
: of the cooling system are working properly you should have
: no problems using antifreeze.
: Antifreeze is great in a pressurized system of a modern car,
: but it also provide protection in a Model A. It is less
: likely to evaporation than water, has a higher boiling temp
: and also has rust inhibitors added.
: Antifreeze does have a lower coefficient of friction than water so it will seep out where plain water wouldn't. This
: may cause leaks between the block and head and around the
: water pump.
: I have found that since I had my engine rebuilt and boil
: cleaned, the radiator leaks fixed, installed a thermostat,
: and added an overflow tank I have had no cooling problems in
: over 15K miles of travel, 8K of those miles during summer
: cruises of 2K each.
: Doug
: p.s. we did try an experiment by soaking a connecting rod
: in antifreeze for over a year and saw no deterioration of the
: babbit. But I never did put it in an engine to see what
: would happen. Chicken I guess!
in the german 1930 instruction book stands:
you can use the antifreeze from yor ford-dealer!! :-)
here it´s very important in the winter...
what should i use??

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