GA_googleFillSlot("Forums_ROS_300x250_noad"); my girlfriend borrowed the car for the day and picked up some windshield wiper fluid since i ran out. got back home and she told me that she accidently put "1/4" of windshiled deicer in the coolant reservoir. I looked at the bottle and she actually only put in maybe a pint or so, but I am wondering if this will wreck anything?

GA_googleFillSlot("Forums_ROS_300x250_noad"); my girlfriend borrowed the car for the day and picked up some windshield wiper fluid since i ran out. got back home and she told me that she accidently put "1/4" of windshiled deicer in the coolant reservoir. I looked at the bottle and she actually only put in maybe a pint or so, but I am wondering if this will wreck anything?


well at the least suck out the coolant res and replace with dexcool..washer fluid has methenol in it it is corrosive but if you think you got most of it it may be ok...

didn't they use methanol as an antifreeze back in the 1920's and 1930's???

And back then they used brass for radiators. The methanol is corrosive to today's aluminum rads and heads and will soften the radiator hoses. I'd drain, flush, and refill if the car was run since then and gotten hot enough to suck the reservoir coolant into the system. Better safe than sorry.

didn't they use methanol as an antifreeze back in the 1920's and 1930's???
nope, was ethanol. ethanol and water, 50/50 mix. you could simply dump a bottle of vodka into radiator and drive on it, as we did back in russia. i do not know if french still do this, but antifreeze used to be a common booz, as their's was made out of premium grapes ethanol.
sorry, for those that don't know. basically, what they sell in liquor stores is ethanol mixed with water. medicinal grade ethanol is the highest proof, 96 in metric countries, i think, it's 180 or so in SAE ones.
methanol is central nervous system toxin, blinds/kills you. ethanol is ok, propanol is ok, butanol is better fuel for cars than ethanol. no drinking it.

nope, was ethanol. ethanol and water, 50/50 mix. you could simply dump a bottle of vodka into radiator and drive on it, as we did back in russia. i do not know if french still do this, but antifreeze used to be a common booz, as their's was made out of premium grapes ethanol.
sorry, for those that don't know. basically, what they sell in liquor stores is ethanol mixed with water. medicinal grade ethanol is the highest proof, 96 in metric countries, i think, it's 180 or so in SAE ones.
methanol is central nervous system toxin, blinds/kills you. ethanol is ok, propanol is ok, butanol is better fuel for cars than ethanol. no drinking it.


well in russia they may have had plenty of alcohol ...alcohol was banned here in usa..

a common coolant used was kerosene....

Meth or eth will cause hose and rubber gasket softening and swelling in large enough amounts. How much? I dunno, but I'm pretty sure the engine wasn't designed to cope with that kind of oops.

Meth or eth will cause hose and rubber gasket softening and swelling in large enough amounts. How much? I dunno, but I'm pretty sure the engine wasn't designed to cope with that kind of oops.


I believe ethanol is not destructive to rubber used in vehicles from sometime in the 80's to today..

the issue of ethanol used by boat engines of older years ,,, all were told to replace gas tanks and all old rubber lines as these old lines where not designed to hold alcohol fuels like we are now using..


I guess boats with fiberglass tanks were not made to deal with alcohol ...

I did more research on this...turns out Jcat's right. Meth and eth do not affect the EPDM rubber of today's hoses. But it does affect Buna-N based o-rings and gaskets. Don't ask me which ones in the engine if any are made of this, it along with nitrile are commonly used. More research would be needed and I haven't the time.

Meanwhile, ethanol CAN affect aluminum and carbon steel to some degree while methanol will not. I've always known washer fluid to be a combination of both along with water and sometimes ammonia. Found this at the Cole-Parmer website which has a good chemical compatibility chart link:

http://www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/chemcomp.asp

I did more research on this...turns out Jcat's right. Meth and eth do not affect the EPDM rubber of today's hoses. But it does affect Buna-N based o-rings and gaskets. Don't ask me which ones in the engine if any are made of this, it along with nitrile are commonly used. More research would be needed and I haven't the time.

Meanwhile, ethanol CAN affect aluminum and carbon steel to some degree while methanol will not. I've always known washer fluid to be a combination of both along with water and sometimes ammonia. Found this at the Cole-Parmer website which has a good chemical compatibility chart link:

http://www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/chemcomp.asp

given the right conditions over time alcohol is not good for metals...with a boat this could be explosive..