Antifreeze/Engine Coolant

What does Antifreeze or Engine Coolant do?

Stops your engine from freezing up.

It has chemicals that stop your engine from freezing up in Winter and overheating in the Summer months. For your information water freezes at 0 degrees C, 32 degrees F. By adding a mixture of 50/50 Antifreeze and water the freezing temperature goes down to -32 degrees C. or -35 degrees F.

Stops your engine from overheating.

Again with the chemicals in your coolant or antifreeze it raises the boiling  temperature within your Suzuki Swift engine Water boils at 100 degrees C or 212 degrees F. Adding a 50/50 mixture of antifreeze and water will bring  the boiling temperature up to about 270 degrees C or 460 degrees F. You can run 100% antifreeze if you wise with no added wear on your cooling system.

What else does antifreeze or Engine Coolant do?

Firstly use a trusted and well known brand of  antifreeze of coolant. Do not mix coolant example red and green blue and yellow. Check with your local garage, dealership or refer to your manual.

• It prevents or prolongs electrolysis working between metals.
• Very good conductor of heat away from your engine.
• Prevents engines freezing in winter.
• Helps fight corrosion against plastic and rubber parts.
• Prevents rust and corrosion of metal parts.
• Prevents engines from overheating in summer.

Difference between Engine Coolant and Antifreeze

A coolant is the liquid that flows around inside your engine, and an antifreeze is the concentrated form of glycol that needs diluting before being converted into coolant. You can purchase premixed  antifreeze in a 50%antifreeze and 50% distilled water or make up your own if you purchase concentrate only.

Colours of Antifreeze or Coolant

Antifreeze actually starts out colourless so companies use dyes mainly for branding also to see the antifreeze in the system.

• Most car manual will indicate what type to use in your vehicle
• We found the red antifreeze most suitable for the Suzuki Swift
• Completely flush the cooling system if you want to change your antifreeze for another colour or brand.
• There are many colour of antifreeze.
• Green been the most common used more commonly in early type engines.
• You have orange red gold yellow blue pink.
• ORGANIC  yes organic type of coolant or antifreeze now available.
• This is called Organic Acid Technology (OAT).
• Believed to last 60,000kms or change every 2 years.

Can you Mix Antifreeze?

Whatever coolant or antifreeze you use it is made up of at least 50% water. There is a lot of debate about mixing antifreeze in your Suzuki Swift. Tests in America have shown that in the early days mixing coolant resulted in more corrosion. But later more tests found this not to be exactly correct. It was found that mixing antifreeze or coolant caused corrosion because the antifreeze was too diluted through mixing different. So in brief mixing antifreeze will shorten the effective life of the antifreeze or coolant.

Does Antifreeze Breakdown?

Yes it does it gets topped up through servicing interval from loss through overflow or slight leaks around pumps and gaskets. Check with your Suzuki dealership for replacement of antifreeze, or your car manual

Safety

If you do not know how to check your engine coolant please don’t.

People sometimes make the mistake of checking antifreeze level at the radiator cap, don’t!

Firstly your engine is a very hot unit and temperature increases even after you have turned it off.

There is still a lot of internal pressure within the cooling system and if you open the radiator cap it can badly burn you or worse. You should not check your coolant at the radiator cap ,only at the overflow reservoir and wait until the engine has cooled down, Top up to the level indicator.

Maintenance

Antifreeze is 50/50 with distilled water. key to lasting engine life. This ratio of mix protect your engine, pumps, sensors and hoses, from corrosion so its really important to keep this ratio top up at all times. If you let the water system get low on coolant, corrosion rapidly starts to take place within your engine. Adding antifreeze or coolant yourself it is good to use distilled water only when making up your 50/50 mixture. Rain water has chemicals in it like calcium and magnesium,  so when added by using rain water  to your mix it reduces the effectiveness of the antifreeze.

Summary

Check with your manual , professional workshop or dealership  if in doubt. Always use antifreeze or coolant in your Suzuki Swift. Check your coolant at the overflow reservoir only and add to the fill line. Check it regularly. Always use the same branded antifreeze or coolant.