TechTips Keeping A Cool Head On Coolants
Some Reasons To Avoid The Low-priced Green Stuff
by Rick Muscoplat and Marlowe PetersonWhenever my family talked about the "old" days, my father would tell us how he was so poor he couldn't even afford antifreeze for his Ford. In winter, he'd drive to school and have to drain the water from the radiator before class and then refill it with water after class.
Obviously Dad got more affluent and opted for antifreeze, err, coolant. Today, I'd not only have to tell Dad to pay attention to the kind of coolant he poured into the radiator, but also the kind of water he used. The generic green stuff is quickly becoming, well, a relic from Dad's "old" days.
It's Time To Get Savvy On Coolants
Fall is here and it's time for you to sell your customers on the benefits of refilling the system with manufacturer-recommended coolants. They offer significant advantages over ordinary off-the-shelf types.Many coolant manufacturers add a silicate corrosion inhibitor to protect aluminum components. Silicate corrosion inhibitors work by depositing a "passivating" coating throughout the system.
Unfortunately, silicates are also somewhat abrasive. If they drop out of suspension, they rapidly wear out water pump seals.
The orange-colored Dex-Cool coolant that GM started using in some 1995 cars is a non-silicate formula. After 3,000 miles, Dex-Cool has coated the internal passages with an organic acid. This passivating coating will last for five years or 100,000 miles. If you replace parts such as a water pump or radiator, the coolant must recoat the new part. That's why, in normal maintenance or repair procedures, it is not a good idea to replace Dex-Cool with ordinary silicate coolants. In emergency situations, Dex-Cool can be mixed with standard green coolants. However, mixing with green coolants will reduce the life of Dex-Cool to that of ordinary coolant and you must inform the customer of the shortened life. Why do it when you can sell the customer on the benefits of Dex-Cool?
Toyota specifies its own red coolant because it is a low-silicate formula. Honda, too, recommends its own proprietary coolant. The major coolant manufacturers are working on low- and non-silicate formulas to compete with these private brands. But until they are on the market, why subject yourself to claims of improper coolant refills?
Watch The Water
Water quality is also becoming an important issue, with more manufacturers recommending distilled water. Why? Just take a look at the radiator on a 1996 Honda Civic. The radiator fins are significantly smaller than older models. There's no room in those fins for mineral deposits. With a total system capacity of less than 9/10ths of a gallon, this Honda cooling system cannot afford any cooling restrictions.If you use hard water in these systems, you are asking for mineral buildup problems. Softened water, on the other hand, contains dissolved salts that act as an electrolyte, encouraging galvanic action between the dissimilar metals. That's why distilled water is quickly becoming the water of choice!
Chilling Out On The R-12 Fiasco
Looking Back On The Summer Of '96 by Rick Muscoplat The drastic R-12 price increases of 1996 made no sense from an economics point of view. Over the long term, those suppliers who hoarded it and manipulated its sale to take advantage of the market may find that they have actually harmed themselves far more than they really know.
When The Law Isn't The Law
Many shop owners attributed the '96 R-12 pricing situation to the "laws of supply and demand." But it's not quite that simple.You see, the law of demand is an inverse relationship. That means when the price of a product goes up, the demand goes down. You knew that. However, what you may not have realized is that the law of supply is not inverse, it is a direct relationship. When the price of a product goes up, the supplier of that product wants to sell more of it, not less, and therefore takes drastic steps to increase the supply of that product to the market. That increased supply then reduces the price until the market for the product reaches "equilibrium." That did not happen with R-12 during 1996.
What messed up the party? Substitutability ó the low cost of converting from
R-12 to R-134a. What many shop owners learned during '96 was that the high cost of R-12 was actually an incentive to steer customers away from R-12 and toward the idea of conversion. High-priced R-12 only made the conversion more cost-effective.
Replacement refrigerants also hit the market during 1996 to further reduce demand for R-12. Yet the price still didn't go down. In fact, R-12 prices hit almost $550/30 lbs. during the summer.
What's In Store For 1997 And Beyond?
Obviously no one knows what other replacement refrigerants may hit the market in the coming years. But, by the end of summer '96, shops were talking about the shortage of R-134a conversion fittings. That speaks to how much R-134a conversion has caught on. Correspondingly, it speaks to what a horrible mistake suppliers may have made by hoarding and manipulating the R-12 market during '96. The high pricing has actually accelerated the rate at which shops are selling the conversions. If the trend continues throughout 1997, it will ultimately lead to an oversupply of R-12, resulting in drastic price cuts as hoarders scramble to unload their inventories to a diminishing market. Are you feeling sorry for them yet?Buy Yourself A Present
This winter may be the best time for you to invest in R-134a equipment. Why? It's off-season and supply is high ó you could probably cut a great deal. If R-12 suppliers make the same pricing mistakes next year, demand for R-134a equipment will increase again. It's simple economics.Rick Muscoplat is a practicing technician and holds a master's degree in business management, along with master and L-1 ASE certifications.
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AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLIV No. 10, October 1996