De-ice the car properly!

R D S · 2021-04-12T11:54:45+00:00

I had a new job on top of my to-do list yesterday morning.Ice and frozen snow on the screen, snapped my scraper jabbing away at it, so I poured some tepid water on it and hit the wipers upon which the blades promptly tore from the arms.Nightmare.

Apr 12, 2021 Last reply: 5 years ago 87 Replies

Rate this thread:

NY 5 years ago

Yes I can vaguely remember the days of changing the coolant before and after winter. Did early anti-freeze cause problems if it was left in all year round?

My recent diesel cars have always started very quickly in cold weather, unlike petrols. OK, the engine is slow to turn over for the first couple of seconds cos the oil is viscous, and I always leave the ignition on for a few seconds before starting to give the glow-plugs a chance, even though my recent ones haven't even had a glow-plug light that needs to go out before starting. Bit of chugging and white smoke till all the cylinders are firing if it's very cold, but none of the problems of a petrol engine which fires OK but then stalls as soon soon as you try to set off.

But I've never had to start it in temperatures as low as -26C. I think -12 was the coldest.

Vote

Dave Plowman (News 5 years ago

Yes. It caused corrosion, and early blocking of the radiator. When all aluminium engines became common, they produced a new version that inhibited corrosion.

It's said to be a reason the production run of what is now the Rover V8 was so short in its original US Buick form. US owners weren't prepared to pay the extra cost of a corrosion inhibitor.

Vote

Mike Clarke 5 years ago

I wonder if they stole the idea from Apple? One of Louis Rossmann's videos complains that you can't even swap batteries between two identical recent iPhones without getting warning messages that you're using an unapproved battery.

Vote

Max Demian 5 years ago

Also annoying in fog, as the eyes focus on them rather than what's outside.

Vote

bert 5 years ago

In article snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk>, "Dave Plowman (News)" snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk> writes

As did the DAF

Vote

bert 5 years ago

Got one in my campervan. Brilliant.

Vote

NY 5 years ago

How common is coolant heating versus exhaust heating in water-cooled cars? Do all water-cooled cars use the coolant to heat the car heater, or are there any which use the exhaust as the heat exchanger, as for air-cooled cars?

Vote

Steve Walker 5 years ago

None that I know of. When engine coolant can provide plenty of heat, is already available (usually) close to where needed and requires no more than a couple of tap-off points to connect to the heater, why would they use anything else.

Vote

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required