Oops, anti-freeze as engine coolant?

kannibul · 01-10-2010, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quadsbaby

Yes.

Wiper Fluid = Water, Alcohol (either isopropanol, methanol, or ethanol), and often Ethylene Glycol (to keep the wiper fluid from freezing in colder climates).

Engine Coolant = either Ethylene Glycol or Propylene Glycol or Organic Acid + Corrosion inhibitors... very rarely (I think mostly in the UK now, methanol is used as a substitute for glycols).

Engine Coolant is a subset of Antifreeze, so not all antifreeze is considered engine coolant. Given the way the OP described it, I assumed he meant antifreeze wiper fluid, which would be Methanol + Ethylene Glycol, which would be fine for his engine coolant as the added methanol's not going to really be a problem. Even if he used wiper fluid without antifreeze, it's still not a huge problem as long as it's just a top off.

By layman definition / common usage, antifreeze is engine coolant.

Referring to wiper fluid with an anti-freeze properties as antifreeze is a confusion of terms for most people. In fact, I've never heard of someone referring to wiper fluid as antifreeze until this thread in my 31 years of existance...

That was my intent with the terms are interchangeable in relation to engine coolant = antifreeze.

Antifreeze - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"My antifreeze is low, I better get some!" When I type that, what is YOUR first thought as to the meaning?