I was watching an episode of Wheeler Dealer the other day with Ed working on a TR6. He was reconditioning the radiator and filled it with waterless coolant. He said it was pricey but that it would last for the life of the engine and eliminate corrosion and overheating problems.

I thought this sounded pretty interesting so did some research. A company called Evans Cooling seems to be the main if not only producer and their website has a lot of interesting information on the subject, including this video with Jay Leno
The idea of not having any water in the system makes a lot of sense to me. Improved cooling capability, no corrosion, no overheating (boiling point is 375F). The only real downside seems to be the one time cost, about $400.

Is anyone using this product in their cars? Any issues or other downsides?

Cheers,

Allan

 

i been using EVANS water less coolant since 1990, never had any problems, even in a hi-boost turbo rotory Mazda RX7. they have a nasty tendency to spike local chamber temps almost instantly, and go BOOM instantly(detonate) no warning.

Evans saved more than one engine,after i learned more about there peculiar traits!

but 500hp out of 1.3L is unusual also!!!

i highly recommend it!

 

Frequently thrashed-to-death subject:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...oolant-100533/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...coolant-99414/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ant-xk8-83915/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...coolant-90857/

 

Mikey,

Thanks for the links, it seems to have been discussed a number of times on the XK forums but not so much on the XJS forum where I live most of the time

I read through the links you provided and your consistent ambivalence towards the product was noted. However, very few people appear to have actually used the product and those that have seem generally positive. Ergo my original question.

Cheers,

Allan

 

'Ambivalent' is a kind word.

There's nothing wrong with the stuff, just no real world advantages over conventional coolant. Each of the claimed benefits you quoted can easily be proven to be not quite true or accurate. In particular- the no overheating claim makes no sense as our Jags don't overheat unless there's a system failure or coolant loss. In the case of either, the 375 boiling temp of the waterless fluid is of no benefit- the engine will have already gone beyond it's temperature limit anyway and warped a head or seized. The accompanying loss of $400 worth of coolant would add insult to injury.

The 'improved cooling capability' is NOT true- the heat rejection characteristics are inferior to those of conventional coolants which are in turn inferior to plain water.

Corrosion is not an issue unless a system is neglected- replacing the coolant at scheduled intervals will keep it in good shape and would never come close to equalling the cost of the waterless.

 

From what I understand, we're supposed I be changing the coolant every 2 years? (Maybe I'm wrong)

The specified Jaguar coolant is not cheap either.

Assuming you pay $100 for a complete flush, this coolant pays for itself in 8 years, right?

 

Mikey,

This sentence is precisely why I used the word ambivalent

This may be true of the 2003 S-type but judging by the number of buggered V12's caused by overheating in the XJS, there might be people here who disagree with you. There is very good reason why many owners watch their temp gauges with concern bordering paranoia. If you are stuck in a traffic jam on a 95 deg day in a V12 XJS, your chances of overheating are high.

I would respectfully disagree here, even if you regularly flush your coolant every two years, you will see corrosion build up in various areas, particularly the water pump and hose fittings. Also as Vee points out, there is a cost to replacing your coolant every 2 years.

Cheers,

Allan

 

What would be the cost to have a Jaguar dealer flush the conventional coolant and install the waterless?

The specified Jaguar coolant is old fashioned green 'Prestone' which is dirt cheap. Cost for materials is about $20.

The waterless coolant might pay for itself in 40 years assuming zero loss.

 

Right-

and if the engine temp continues to rise (without a boil over) what happens?

Warped cylinder head or engine seizure.

 

I've been using Evans in vehicles almost since the product came out. I really do like it if for no other reason than I have no rust. None, nada, zilch.

As soon as I bought my XJS I switched it over to Evans.

OK, it cost me about $300.00cdn to fill the system on this car. But I now do not worry. To me it is not the cost of the coolant it is the peace of mind knowing that I will not boil over if I am sitting in traffic. And it is boiling over that causes the problem in the XJS. Once you have air in the system you get hot spots.

And this is where I think Evans comes into its own. If I do start to get hot, say in traffic, I have time to do something. Even if I get hot enough that normal water and glycol mix would start to boil I do not worry with Evans.

Water/Glycol mix is fine up to the point where small bubble start to form. In stop and go traffic the coolant is moving slower than it would at speed. There is also less air flow over the engine. So the coolant can get hotter before it goes back to the radiator. And once bubbles start to form all cooling is lost around the bubbles. And those bubbles are steam which is expanding at a rate of 1600 times greater volume than water. That creates incredible pressure in the coolant system. When the pressure reaches the point of overcoming the cap it vents lowering the pressure and also the temperature at which more steam is created. Vicious Thermodynamic cycle.

Evans will still be trying to cool the engine.

My temp gauge works just like it always did. I still keep an eye on it. I still keep the car maintained. But now I know that I have a little more time to react and that give me peace of mind.

 

Thank you Steve.

I think this eloquently states and confirms why using a waterless coolant would be of interest to XJS owners. Your actual experience is what I was looking for.

Cheers,

Allan

 

In my opinion the XJSs frequent need for cooling service + lack of drain plug would completely deter me. Frantically trying to catch all the liquid gold sounds less convienent than having to changing coolant every 24k miles

 

I guess that is one of my points, if the claims that the coolant creates no corrosion are true, then one might think that frequent service of the cooling system is not necessary?

Certainly a number of people have had the same coolant in their cars for upwards of 15 years and they say that the coolant is as clean and clear as the day they put it in. Food for thought.

The science behind it seems plausible which is what piqued my interest in the beginning.

Cheers,

Allan

 

That's where I have a concern- with the correct glycol/water mix and the OEM pressure cap, the temp at which the coolant boils (bubbles forming) is approx. 270-280*F. This is well above the point where engine damage will occur. As you've stated, coolant flow is marginal at idle speed so there is no cavitation issues to worry about- one of Evan's big marketing points.

I'm just wondering if reliance on a coolant with a higher boiling point is actually a false economy. The cars didn't boil over when new, my belief is they shouldn't now so the root problem should be attacked rather than applying a band aid.

My other car hobby (money pit) is old Corvettes which in some cases did boil over when new. There's several factory service bulletins to address the issue by increasing air flow, but the practice in the day was to turn on the heater and rev the engine to about 1500 rpm.

Use of waterless coolant is not common on these cars, again with the emphasis going towards fixing the root cause of the elevated temps rather than accepting higher coolant temps as being 'normal' or acceptable.

Just another point of view.

 

There is one situation where Evans will beat Water/Glycol hands down.

If you store you car during the off season.

 

Which I do- how does the waterless beat conventional?

 

Corrosion.

Many, if not most, museums use Evans or other waterless coolants to control corrosion.

Any water in contact with ferrous metal will oxidize the metal. (rust) You can't stop it.

During long term storage rust becomes a real big issue.

Having waterless coolant in your system before storage insures no water is present when you park it. You can then crank and drive the car like normal when your ready.

The thing with Evans is that you must insure less than 3% water remains in your system. You don't just drain out the old stuff pour in Evans. You must use a pre-treatment that traps the water. Then you put the Evans in and test again for any water. If there is any, you put the Evans in a pan on the stove and evaporate it off.

 

The above would be true irrespective if the car is stored or in service- no difference.

On the other hand, there's plenty of vehicles around with their original radiators (usually the weak spot)still intact that are 30-40-50 years old. These cars have used nothing but conventional coolants.

My two oldest rads are from 1973 and 1978, still work just fine.

 

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to sell Evans or any other waterless coolant.

I like it.

In my '92 H.E. engine water/glycol mix had been used for 21 years. The coolant mix was perfectly clear.

However, when you stick your finger into the fill spouts you can bring out rust that was stuck to the sides.

I plan to park my car for the season so I asked the curator of my museum what they use during storage. My museum is not a car museum but they are the proud owner of many cars including a totally original, and operational, Ford T and John Lennons' Rolls. When he said Evans I began to research it.

Water/Glycol mix is traditional and has worked for millions of cars for many years. If you're happy with that fine. Keep using what works for you.

I chose waterless coolant and I'm happy with my choice.

 

Water pumps still fail, hoses still leak, gaskets get old, thermostats wear out. The problems the XJS can have are pretty normal, but the engine bay is so cramped hoses have to be disconnected to work on most things anyway.
Id just rather top it up wwith more 50/50 each time I work on it...just me though