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E-mail your tech questions to us at carcraft@primedia.com (include the words "What's Your Problem?" in the subject line) or fax them to 323/782-2223. All correspondence must be signed with the sender's real name (not a nickname or a screen name) and include the sender's hometown and state or province. While mail cannot be answered personally, Car Craft will publish as many letters and replies as space permits. Photos are welcome, but no materials will be returned.
Again With the AntifreezeYou mention in your response to H. W. Gilmore that ethylene glycol not only lowers the freezing point of coolant, but it also raises the boiling point. I have always thought water was the best coolant, and the only thing that raises boiling point is system pressure. Marlan Davis of your sister publication Hot Rod, in an Aug. '04 "Pit Stop" article, responds to Rick Harris stating, "Water is the best coolant, with 2.4 times greater thermal conductivity than ethylene glycol." This debate goes back over 40 years between my car group and me. Can you help clarify?Dennis WedekingHilton Head Island, SC
Marlan is right about the superior conductivity of water, but you're confusing issues if you believe that contradicts our statement that antifreeze raises the boiling point of the coolant. Antifreeze and pressurization work in tandem to raise the boiling point in a typical automotive cooling system. The accompanying table provides a reference to show the relative effect conventional ethylene glycol antifreeze has on the water it's mixed with. Note also that the heat-transferring ability of the coolant is hindered by the addition of antifreeze, and this is why mixtures exceeding 50/50 antifreeze are not recommended for normal use. However, for most environments a passenger car is exposed to, the slight sacrifice of some efficiency is definitely worth the added benefits of the antifreeze; remember that these include corrosion resistance and water-pump lubrication.
Immaculate ConsumptionI have an '89 Mustang 5.0 that I've owned for a couple years, and before that it was my brother's car dating back to around 1994. He added some bolt-on items like shorty headers, a cold-air kit, underdrive pulleys, gears, and a couple other items and used it as a daily driver for years, never really racing it and keeping up on oil changes. I got it and pretty much continued that practice, and it's been a great car that is ultra-reliable and still runs like new. That is, until recently.
I got a wild hair (and a few extra bucks) and decided to make some upgrades, and the first was a Cobra intake kit. The install was a little intimidating, but I went slow and paid attention to detail. When I was done, the car fired right up and I didn't see any leaks. The idle was a little strange for a while-the car stalled a few times at first, but that seemed to clear up, and I started driving the car regularly again. The power was definitely enhanced, but the problem is that suddenly, my oil consumption has gone up. The car used relatively little oil between changes before, but now I have to add some in between. Did I push my older engine over the edge by adding more power? And is my occasionally erratic idle the result of a nonstock intake? I can't see any evidence of a leak, nor do I see smoke, so where is it going?Brent FeeneyNew Hyde Park, NY