THE IMPORTANCE OF COOLING SYSTEM SERVICE

[Music] okay mr. O'Neil leave your car here tomorrow morning we'll take care of it okay hey Bill you want to bring this up for me $2 even yeah mr. O'Neill's gonna leave his car here in the morning for lube and oil change I'm told we could have it for him after lunch oh sure we don't have it out for him at that time I guess I'll knock off tonight's school night you know I don't want to be late for twice okay Joe oh by the way how are you making out with that course you taking learning anything that will help us here oh you bet I am I'm finding out that the lot goes on underneath the car's hood you can't even see you're here yeah some of these new models are really getting complicated we've got to stay on our toes to keep the service then how and we can give our customers plenty of extra service by knowing all these things done the better service we give the more money we make that's right you know I think you're taking this course at night is gonna be good for us hey it's getting late you better get going Joe I'm on my way I don't look great good night bill see in the morning okay fellas tonight we're going to discuss one of the most important and most neglected parts of an automobile engine the cooling system now most people don't pay much attention to their cars cooling system other than to add water or antifreeze and that neglect can cause them plenty of trouble and expense later on any good mechanic or service station operator must know how to maintain cooling systems if he wants to be a real service to his customers as you know water is constantly being pumped through the system when the engine is running carrying heat away from the cylinders and passing it to the outside air through the small tubes in the radiator and here's where we run into trouble water itself is corrosive to metal but when it becomes hot dirty mixed with air and sometimes combustion byproducts its corrosive action speeds up and then you get real damage now if you just come up here I'll show you what corrosion can do now these these parts were taken from a car that looked beautiful on the outside but just take a look at the inside of this cooling system now you know a water pump in this condition can't circulate water the way it should let's see what we can pick up with a magnet hey let's take a look inside the water jacket and see what we can find all this rust scale and dirt on the inside of the water jacket acts as insulation keeping the heat inside the engine instead of transferring it to the water here's another good example of what happens in a badly corroded cooling system this radiator core is clogged up with rust and dirt that means that the water flow through the radiator is cut down very few people know about this water distribution tube which directs the flow of coolant to the various parts of the engine that need cooling most such as the exhaust valves but as you can see by the condition of this tube it's not going to do much distributing of water here's one for example that has been completely rusted away improper distribution of water can cause serious damage to the engine burns valves cracked cylinder block scored cylinder walls improper lubrication and many other troubles the corrosion you see on these parts was caused by improper maintenance of the cooling system and nothing else okay fellas you can go back to your seats remember fellows you can save your customers a lot of time trouble and money by properly servicing cooling systems according to a survey by motor service in 1953 alone four and a half million radiators had to be repaired and another 600,000 had to be replaced and probably most of these jobs were caused by cooling system neglect even a small repair job like replacing a water pump can cost much more than proper cooling system maintenance now that we've seen the trouble rust and corrosion can cause what can we do about it well we can do plenty about it with a small amount of servicing the cooling system can be kept in very good condition almost indefinitely here's a basic fact to remember in order to prevent corrosion the cooling system must be protected at all times with a good corrosion inhibitor at least twice a year the cooling system should be drained flushed and cleaned if necessary in the spring the cooling system should be filled with fresh clean water with a good inhibitor for hot summer driving in the fall at a good brand of antifreeze which already has inhibitor added to it yes did you have a question yes you're talking about the regular methanol antifreeze now aren't you I'm talking about both methanol and ethylene glycol types both of them if they're made by a reputable manufacturer contain effective corrosion inhibitor no I mean you're talking about methanol when you say to drain the cooling system in the spring because no sir you're on Charlie I'm talking about both types both should be drained and thrown away they've done their job but aren't permanent antifreeze is good for two or three years I know several people cost of mine who leave permanent antifreeze in their cars the year round they haven't been bothered with their cars freezing up you're missing the point George we're concerned here with corrosion and efficient engine operation we're not talking about freezing we're talking about protecting the engine against damage and keeping it up to top power to do this we must use new antifreeze for every winter season and properly service the cooling system every spring well I don't get it I've been telling my customers to leave permanent antifreeze in I thought it was permanent wait a minute wait a minute when your wife gets a permanent you don't expect her hair to be curly forever do you well it's the same way with antifreeze ethylene glycol antifreeze protects the cooling system against freezing and corrosion for one full winter season not forever leaving antifreeze in for more than one season is dangerous and sooner or later will cause the inside of the cooling system to look like that one look at the facts after an antifreeze solution has been used or later there may not be enough inhibitor left to keep the engine from corroding during hot weather driving even if it appears to be perfectly clean the inhibitor can be completely used up the only way you could tell for sure would be to have a chemical analysis made and that would cost a lot more than new antifreeze here's a test sample of each of the metals used in the cooling system steel cast iron copper solder aluminum and brass and here's a test sample that has been standing in an antifreeze solution which was drained from a car after more than one winters use now I'll pour off this solution see this sediment that is collected in the bottom of this jar this sediment is corroded metal because the inhibitor had all been used up the solution attacked the test metals now if that much rust and corrosion can be produced in this jar by a worn-out antifreeze solution you can just imagine how much you'd get in the whole system that sediment of course would foul up the cooling system and you'd have a badly overheated engine how about adding a new inhibitor to the old antifreeze would that be okay no that's dangerous too the biggest disadvantage is that we don't know what would happen by adding new inhibitor for one thing it will certainly build up solids in the system caused scale to form and then we might add a different kind of inhibitor from the one that was in the antifreeze to start with this could cause foaming precipitation and all sorts of trouble sometimes we'd make the solution even more corrosive by adding new inhibitor than if we left it alone in short adding new inhibitor is dangerous because we just don't know what might happen and most of the possibilities are bad well I can see this is important but it's all pretty hard to explain when you get down to talking to a customer about it after all you can't see inside his engine you can't show him the corrosion well that's true Joe you can't show him the inside of his engine but you've seen tonight the damage that corrosion can cause you're convinced aren't you Joe the importance of keeping cooling systems clean and free of corrosion and why can't you convince your customer in the same way keep a couple of parts like this around to show him and explain to him that the same thing can happen to his engine remind him that corrosion protection is needed more in the summer than in the winter since hot weather driving could form rust 30 times faster than cold weather driving I think I can get the rust and corrosion idea across with some of my customers might say they'll take a chance if they could see some immediate results maybe they'd offer this cooling system maintenance but there is an immediate benefit you see antifreeze is made to keep the engine from freezing in the winter time it does not have the same capacity from bring heat that watered us so it'll cause the engine to run hot in the summertime and as you know a hot running engine loses power in fact tests have shown that leaving old antifreeze in the cooling system during hot driving months amounts to cutting up to four and a half points off the octane rating of the gas used this means that a customer gets poorer performance out of good high-octane gasoline if he leaves old antifreeze in the cooling system during the summertime then he used to get out of old fashioned regular gas with a clean cooling system and if he's using premium gasoline this customers wasting enough money on every tank full to buy an extra gallon and a half of gas you mean it makes that much difference in the mileage he gets no I mean cash money look premium gas cost an average of three cents more per gallon than regular gas the average tank holds 17 gallons so it cost the customer 51 cents more for tankful premium gas than for regular now if he wastes the extra octane of his premium gas by driving with old antifreeze in this cooling system he is wasting 51 cents on every tank for enough to buy an extra gallon and a half of gas you can assure your customers that they will get better performance and longer life from their cars if they keep the cooling systems clean remember this leading authorities recognize the danger of corrosion and the importance of cooling system maintenance let me quote a few of them here's what the Society of Automotive Engineers says where antifreeze has been used drain the solution in the spring flush the system thoroughly and clean if necessary then install a fresh filling of summer rust inhibitor and water the American Automobile Association motorists can avert many repair bills often 75 dollars or more for a new radiator by checking the cooling system in their automobiles even the best antifreeze should not be used a second season changing cooling solutions makes the same good sense as changing motor oil and finally the National Bureau of Standards of the United States Department of Commerce in order to maintain maximum protection against corrosion drain the antifreeze solution after one winters use under no circumstances should an antifreeze solution remain in the cooling system during the summer now i've had these made into reprints which i think be a good idea for you to take with you would you mind handing them up thanks fellows you ought to yourselves and your customers to offer cooling system service your customers look to you for this service they look to you to keep their cars in top shape the way to build a steady profitable business is to cultivate customers who know you have their interests at heart remember that you've got a real story to tell on cooling system care a story that will certainly impress any customer who is interested in keeping his car up to top shape and getting maximum power performance and life from his engine so make sure you explain spring drain out and cooling system care to every single customer ok fellas that's all for tonight and after last night's class I'm convinced that the cooling system is just as important as the lubrication system bill last night was one of the most interesting sessions we've ever had I think we ought to really put on a drive to clean our customers cooling systems as spring starting right now well I knew the cooling system should be kept in pretty good shape but I didn't realize how important it is I think you're right Joe will make a real campaign out of spring drain out it ought to make plenty of goodwill for us and goodwill is what we build our business on and so bill and I really put on a drive for spring cooling system service we didn't find our customers at all hard to sell on the idea in fact most of them acted as though they really appreciated our concern for their welfare practically all of our regular customers came in for a spring drain out and you'd be surprised at the extra profits we made to profits you wouldn't think of from just a regular service job we sold plenty of corrosion inhibitor of course but we moved a lot of fan belts hoses and thermostats to in addition to creating a lot of customer goodwill bill and I have found one of the best ways to convince a customer that you're interested in is welfare is by explaining to him the intangible things that can cause him trouble such as improper care of his cooling system and showing him how he can avoid these troubles by bringing his car to us for servicing and you know I've never forgotten that lesson at night school here are some things we always keep handy to show to a skeptical customer badly corroded engine parts and quotations from the Society of Automotive Engineers the American Automobile Association and the National Bureau of Standards these things are real clinchers to your cooling systems story so take a tip from me fellas push spring drain out and cooling system check up to your customers you'll find it's plenty profitable and your customers will appreciate your interest in their welfare too so start right now telling your customers the importance of cooling systems service you'll be building a list of steady customers who'll stick with you and that's the kind who keep your cash register ringing believe me I know [Music]