Cooling System Service in Denver, CO

This is the cooling system fact that costs people money without ever being explained to them.

Modern vehicles use several different coolant chemistries, and they are not interchangeable. The colors are not a reliable guide either, because different manufacturers use the same colors for different formulations and the dye can be changed without the chemistry changing.

What happens when incompatible coolants are mixed is not dramatic enough to notice. The corrosion protection is reduced, and in some combinations the mixture can gel or drop deposits that restrict flow in the radiator and the heater core. The result arrives months later as overheating or weak cabin heat, and nobody connects it to a jug of coolant somebody topped up with in a parking lot.

For a business running several different vehicles, this is a genuine risk, because the obvious thing to do is keep one container in the yard and use it on everything.

The answer is unglamorous: know what each vehicle takes, and if the history is unknown, have the system drained and filled with the correct specification rather than topped up and hoped for.

It protects against freezing and against corrosion, and the corrosion additives deplete over time whether the vehicle is driven or parked.

Depleted coolant looks identical to new coolant while the radiator, heater core and water pump corrode internally, which turns a deferred fluid change into a radiator.

Radiator, pressure cap, thermostat, hoses, water pump, fan and the coolant itself. Hoses are judged by condition rather than appearance, since they degrade from the inside, and a pressure cap that no longer holds pressure lowers the boiling point of the whole system.

The Denver store runs seventeen services, is managed by Jake Perry, and is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. See also scheduled maintenance and engine repair.

See the national cooling system page for all 33 locations.