Changing antifreeze yearly?

[grizztracks]

I was just looking through the Nytro service manual and it recommends changing the coolant at least every season. I've never serviced the cooling system on my 05 Vector. Maybe I should.

I'm getting ready to install a tunnel heat exchanger on a 08 Nytro and will be changing the coolant for the first time. I thinks every season is a little excessive. What's everyone else doing?

 

[sleddingfarmer]

To be honest, I've never heard of any of my friends or family changing the coolant in any of there snowmobiles...ever. I have never even thought about it really. I'm curious too as to what others on here do/planning on doing.

 

[Zakre]

To be honest, I've never heard of any of my friends or family changing the coolant in any of there snowmobiles...ever. I have never even thought about it really. I'm curious too as to what others on here do/planning on doing.

coolant is easy, green coolant shout be changed every two years
the red or pink coloured "dexcool" is good for 5 years, but i only let it got for 4 years of avg driving.

 

[Grimm]

I noticed this in my manual the other day as well. In hindsight, I should have changed it when I installed my heat exchanger, instead of reusing the coolant I drained.

I think that once a year is excessive, maybe 3 or 4 years, but not one.

 

[LazyBastard]

How about never.

Coolants are typically good for a certain number of MILES, and that gets translated into years based on average travel. Car mileage -- averages higher in one year than most snowmobiles get before heading to the wreckers.

 

[Zakre]

How about never.

Coolants are typically good for a certain number of MILES, and that gets translated into years based on average travel. Car mileage -- averages higher in one year than most snowmobiles get before heading to the wreckers.

thanks but for 10 bucks worth of coolant i'll change it every two seasons for the peace of mind.

 

[LazyBastard]

How about never.

Coolants are typically good for a certain number of MILES, and that gets translated into years based on average travel. Car mileage -- averages higher in one year than most snowmobiles get before heading to the wreckers.

thanks but for 10 bucks worth of coolant i'll change it every two seasons for the peace of mind.

Peace of mind? What exactly do you think it's going to do if you leave it? Oh right, it is suddenly going to transform into a ROCK which will permanently plug up the cooling passages in the engine and you'll have to throw the whole thing out.

 

[sleddingfarmer]

How about never.

Coolants are typically good for a certain number of MILES, and that gets translated into years based on average travel. Car mileage -- averages higher in one year than most snowmobiles get before heading to the wreckers.

This is what I was thinking. Only time I've ever heard of coolant in a sled getting changed is when something breaks and it spills out...gotta put new in. That will probably happen every few years anyways

 

[RowdyRoddy]

Sounds like a waste of money. Rather spend it on gas.


RR

 

[Zakre]

How about never.

Coolants are typically good for a certain number of MILES, and that gets translated into years based on average travel. Car mileage -- averages higher in one year than most snowmobiles get before heading to the wreckers.

thanks but for 10 bucks worth of coolant i'll change it every two seasons for the peace of mind.

Peace of mind? What exactly do you think it's going to do if you leave it? Oh right, it is suddenly going to transform into a ROCK which will permanently plug up the cooling passages in the engine and you'll have to throw the whole thing out.

no with all the overheating problems of the nytro you must keep the coolant working at peak efficiency to ensure maximum heat transfer, heat is an engine killer, the cooler you can keep it the better, its your sled do what you want 10 bucks 10 grand hmm lets think about it a little.

here is a bit of reading taken from aa1 auto.


COOLANT CONDITION

The next thing to check is the condition of the coolant. The leading cause of radiator failure is corrosion due to lack of cooling system maintenance. The corrosion inhibitors in conventional antifreeze are gradually depleted over time, so the recommended coolant change interval has traditionally been every two years or 24,000 to 30,000 miles for preventive maintenance
.

The new "extended service" antifreeze formulas that can go 5 years or 150,000 miles between changes reduce the need for cooling system maintenance and can reduce the risk of premature radiator failure. But most vehicles still have antifreeze with conventional additives in their cooling systems. So when regular coolant checks and changes are neglected, the risk of corrosion rises sharply with each passing year.

Checking the pH of the coolant with chemically-treated test strips can help you determine the condition of the coolant. But be warned that today's coolants typically operate at lower reserve alkalinity (RA) levels than they used to. The alkalinity of a typical antifreeze/water mixture will vary depending on the additive package in the antifreeze and may vary from 8 to 14. The average used to be around 10.5, but some of the extended life coolants now maintain corrosion protection at a pH of only 8.3. So depending on the pH test strips used, it is possible to get a false indication of bad coolant. To get an accurate reading, therefore, you have to know what kind of coolant is in the system -- then use the appropriate test strips to check it.