follow ft86club on our blog, twitter or facebook.
FT86CLUB
Ft86Club
Delicious Tuning
Register Garage Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB > Technical Topics > Mechanical Maintenance (Oil, Fluids, Break-In, Servicing)

Mechanical Maintenance (Oil, Fluids, Break-In, Servicing) Everything related to the mechanical maintenance of the FR-S and BRZ


User Tag List

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 10-23-2017, 05:12 AM   #1
ghostzfh
Member
 
Join Date: May 2016
Drives: 2016 Scion FRS Halo
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Posts: 77
Thanks: 42
Thanked 25 Times in 20 Posts
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
What is the point of changing coolant if it get's constantly replaced?

Based on the maintenance schedule of the coolant:

1st replacement interval is 11 years/137,500 miles (220,000 km).
2nd replacement interval is 6 years/ 75,000 miles (120,000 km) after the 1st.

...I don't really understand the point of replacing the coolant. Why would it need to get replaced if you're constantly replenishing it? Especially during a long period of 11 straight years, wouldn't it have been replaced several times over?

Edit 1: When did I ever say it was being replaced constantly? I said "constantly replenishing". Constant could be any frequency. The definition of constant means occurring continuously over a period of time. So let me be specific, "topping off when needed". Also my car is still relatively brand new, under 10k miles. There aren't any signs of leaks that I know of, so it's doubtful I have a leak.

Last edited by ghostzfh; 10-23-2017 at 05:00 PM.
ghostzfh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2017, 07:47 AM   #2
Darth Khan
I think therefore.....
 
Darth Khan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Drives: Toyota 86 860 Halo White (Manual)
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 148
Thanks: 46
Thanked 119 Times in 64 Posts
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Garage
What? How is it being replaced constantly? Unless you have a serious leak it would never happen.

Me thinks there is a piece of the puzzle missing.
__________________
May the N.A. force be with you.
Darth Khan is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Darth Khan For This Useful Post:
22R (10-23-2017), new2subaru (10-23-2017)
Old 10-23-2017, 11:53 AM   #3
mav1178
Senior Member
 
mav1178's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Drives: 2005 Toyota Camry
Location: 91745
Posts: 6,562
Thanks: 493
Thanked 6,092 Times in 3,029 Posts
Mentioned: 95 Post(s)
Tagged: 3 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostzfh View Post
Based on the maintenance schedule of the coolant:

1st replacement interval is 11 years/137,500 miles (220,000 km).
2nd replacement interval is 6 years/ 75,000 miles (120,000 km) after the 1st.

...I don't really understand the point of replacing the coolant. Why would it need to get replaced if you're constantly replenishing it? Especially during a long period of 11 straight years, wouldn't it have been replaced several times over?
Replacing (the entire coolant) vs topping off is NOT the same thing.

It's like saying "my car burns a quart of oil every month, every 6 months I have an oil change so I don't need to change my oil"
mav1178 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2017, 03:22 PM   #4
Mr.ac
[insert cool phrase here]
 
Mr.ac's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Drives: BRZ Premium
Location: Central Coast CA
Posts: 2,369
Thanks: 709
Thanked 1,558 Times in 930 Posts
Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Wow kids theses days. Would not be surprised if he clams he's an engineer of some kind.

Any who, short answer, the coolant brakes down over time and it's not as effective.

Your Google-fu is weak young grasshopper
__________________
New daily driver - Subaru BRZ Premium
Weekend fun/track car - '91 MR2 Turbo Gen3
Old daily driver - '88 MR2 Supercharged
Mr.ac is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Mr.ac For This Useful Post:
N8RH8R (10-26-2017)
Old 10-23-2017, 03:28 PM   #5
ermax
Senior Member
 
ermax's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Drives: 2022 BRZ Limited Silver
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 2,532
Thanks: 882
Thanked 2,045 Times in 1,188 Posts
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
I'm new to the FRS, just got mine a month ago, but reading around here I've seen several people talk about these cars eating coolant. I can't say if mine does as I just got it. But I think the OP was sort of referring to that issue. If you're eating through and topping off the coolant at a higher rate than the scheduled interval then theoretically you've changed it a few times. Just speculating on what the OP was getting at. I'm not sure how widespread the coolant eating problem is or at what rate they are eating it.
ermax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2017, 03:38 PM   #6
ermax
Senior Member
 
ermax's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Drives: 2022 BRZ Limited Silver
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 2,532
Thanks: 882
Thanked 2,045 Times in 1,188 Posts
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by mav1178 View Post
Replacing (the entire coolant) vs topping off is NOT the same thing.

It's like saying "my car burns a quart of oil every month, every 6 months I have an oil change so I don't need to change my oil"
But lets say it burns 1 quart a week. In 6 months you have put 24q in it. I used to have an Integra GSR that was hydrolocked and sat up for a holiday weekend waiting for an insurance adjuster to look at it. By the time he arrived it was dried out and would start. They screwed me over and didn't cover it. The damage on the cylinder walls was was so bad from those 3 days that even after boring to the service limit you could still see the damage. After a few years like that it would eat up the rings and burn at LEAST 1q per week.

I think the OP was kind of poking fun out of frustration that his car is using coolant.
ermax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2017, 03:38 PM   #7
Darth Khan
I think therefore.....
 
Darth Khan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Drives: Toyota 86 860 Halo White (Manual)
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 148
Thanks: 46
Thanked 119 Times in 64 Posts
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by ermax View Post
I'm new to the FRS, just got mine a month ago, but reading around here I've seen several people talk about these cars eating coolant. I can't say if mine does as I just got it. But I think the OP was sort of referring to that issue. If you're eating through and topping off the coolant at a higher rate than the scheduled interval then theoretically you've changed it a few times. Just speculating on what the OP was getting at. I'm not sure how widespread the coolant eating problem is or at what rate they are eating it.
This is news to me, If my car was eating coolant I would be a tad concerned. The engine cooling system is pretty much a closed loop. Topping it off every few months with a few ounces of coolant would not cause all of the coolant to be replaced, even after five years.

I'm willing to be corrected on this one but if my twin was eating coolant to that extend I would be checking for leaks and doing a coolant system pressure check. (Or getting the dealer to check it under the warranty).
__________________
May the N.A. force be with you.
Darth Khan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2017, 05:01 PM   #8
ghostzfh
Member
 
Join Date: May 2016
Drives: 2016 Scion FRS Halo
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Posts: 77
Thanks: 42
Thanked 25 Times in 20 Posts
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
See Edit #1.
ghostzfh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2017, 05:03 PM   #9
ermax
Senior Member
 
ermax's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Drives: 2022 BRZ Limited Silver
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 2,532
Thanks: 882
Thanked 2,045 Times in 1,188 Posts
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostzfh View Post
See Edit #1.
But how often and how much are you having to add? It should go away if you aren't burning it or leaking it.
ermax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2017, 05:24 PM   #10
Sideways
BRZZZZZ
 
Sideways's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Drives: 2013 BRZ Whiteout
Location: The White North
Posts: 318
Thanks: 96
Thanked 160 Times in 111 Posts
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
I have owned the car for 3 yrs now and I have only topped the coolant once myself (roughly .2liter) and once guys at Subaru dealership did during the oil change. BRZ has 7.2L of coolant (for manual car). I hardly doubt you will be "replenishing constantly" to add 7.2L of coolant in 11years. If you do have to add that much coolant, then you have bigger problems.


Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostzfh View Post
See Edit #1.
Attached Images
 
Sideways is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Sideways For This Useful Post:
mav1178 (10-23-2017)
Old 10-23-2017, 05:37 PM   #11
mav1178
Senior Member
 
mav1178's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Drives: 2005 Toyota Camry
Location: 91745
Posts: 6,562
Thanks: 493
Thanked 6,092 Times in 3,029 Posts
Mentioned: 95 Post(s)
Tagged: 3 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostzfh View Post

Edit 1: When did I ever say it was being replaced constantly? I said "constantly replenishing". Constant could be any frequency. The definition of constant means occurring continuously over a period of time. So let me be specific, "topping off when needed". Also my car is still relatively brand new, under 10k miles. There aren't any signs of leaks that I know of, so it's doubtful I have a leak.
As pointed out, see the title of your own thread "What is the point of changing coolant if it get's constantly replaced?"

Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostzfh View Post
See Edit #1.
The point of replacing coolant is so that you replace the capability of it to 1) protect the cooling surfaces it contacts, and 2) continue to act as antifreeze. Additionally, since there is no filtration capability, replacing the coolant in its entirety means you can remove any contaminants that are suspended in it.

"Topping off when needed" is great if it was pure water and nothing else, except if you ran only water the insides of your engine block would soon lose the ability to transfer heat to the water. Aluminum blocks oxidize over time as well as iron blocks, and once this takes place you will find it increasingly difficult to run the engine cool, especially if you take it to the track or otherwise live in very hot/humid conditions.

The entire point of having to replace coolant is so it continually provides the ability to cool your engine over time. The reason why the interval becomes more frequent over time is because the manual is written assuming some corrosion with the stock block will happen, thus you need to increase the frequency you replace the fluids as mileage or time increases.

-alex
mav1178 is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to mav1178 For This Useful Post:
Beachin86 (10-23-2017)
Old 10-23-2017, 07:39 PM   #12
ermax
Senior Member
 
ermax's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Drives: 2022 BRZ Limited Silver
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 2,532
Thanks: 882
Thanked 2,045 Times in 1,188 Posts
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
For sure don’t run pure water. Your water pump will be gone in no time at all. I live in Florida so the antifreeze aspect is rarely a concern. It’s the anticorrosion properties that are critical here.
ermax is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to ermax For This Useful Post:
mav1178 (10-23-2017)
Old 10-23-2017, 07:50 PM   #13
mav1178
Senior Member
 
mav1178's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Drives: 2005 Toyota Camry
Location: 91745
Posts: 6,562
Thanks: 493
Thanked 6,092 Times in 3,029 Posts
Mentioned: 95 Post(s)
Tagged: 3 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ermax View Post
For sure don’t run pure water. Your water pump will be gone in no time at all. I live in Florida so the antifreeze aspect is rarely a concern. It’s the anticorrosion properties that are critical here.
Yup, it's why the manual is written the way it is, for people that don't understand how cars work.
mav1178 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2017, 09:19 PM   #14
Capt Spaulding
Persona Non Grata
 
Capt Spaulding's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Drives: '15 BRZ (WRB)
Location: On the Border
Posts: 1,882
Thanks: 2,016
Thanked 2,780 Times in 1,200 Posts
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Admit it, it is something we've wondered at one time or another, right? In my teens I had a friend who owned a Rambler. It burned about a quart of oil every 500 to 1000 miles. He decided there was no point in changing it since it was effectively changing itself every 5000 miles. In fact, we thought the car was better off because it always had 2 quarts in it that were less than 2000 miles old.

It ran like that for several years until some f&^kwit stole the thing and ruined our experiment. If memory serves, one of the Car Talk guys, Tommy, I think, did the same thing to a Dodge Dart. I don't recall how the car died, but it ran for a long time.

The key is that the consumption/replenish rate be high enough that the chemistry of the fluid is constantly being renewed.
__________________
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast
Capt Spaulding is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

Tags
coolant

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Checking and Changing BRZ/FR-S Engine Coolant GrimmSpeed DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Guides 39 05-29-2023 08:15 AM
Consensus on changing whole transmission versus changing solenoids dem00n Engine, Exhaust, Transmission 7 07-20-2016 03:50 AM
Coolant loss - Void Warranty/ Edit: coolant flush question BRZach Engine, Exhaust, Transmission 15 01-02-2016 08:21 PM
Automatic headlights constantly on? Drakelee117 BRZ First-Gen (2012+) -- General Topics 21 08-31-2015 05:26 PM
Posts deleted constantly gmookher Site Announcements / Questions / Issues 6 12-10-2012 05:06 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:17 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Garage vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.