would running on no coolant cause overheating

[chipvan]

Just wanted to make sure ,if i run with zero coolant while iam working on it(another story) would cause overheating probs..

does coolant cool much?

[Velocette]

Just wanted to make sure ,if i run with zero coolant while iam working on it(another story) would cause overheating probs..

does coolant cool much?

Do you mean just water? The boiling point will be higher with antifreeze in it.

[chipvan]

yup just water while iam looking for leaks.

[mikeWalsall]

Anti freeze (coolant) tends to be more 'searching' than plain water ..

ie: You may not get a leak showing up when using plain water ... but you may when there is anti freeze in the system ..

There are additives in the coolant that protects system from rust / corrosion / lubes the water pump .. but for short term use like flushing / testing then plain water would be OK..

Then ideally fill up with distilled (de mineralised) water and the right % of anti freeze / summer coolant ..

[mikeonb4c]

I reckon you'd be fine. It's what I'd do (being a cheapskate). Stick to gentle running and don't do it for long due to lack of corrosion inhibitor plus remember freezing temps risk.

[daveblueozzie]

Put a very weak solution of anti freeze in, better than just water, are you using the carplan red, because that will show up under ultra violet light.

[chipvan]

cool,got a uv torch ready to collect 2mrw,but tbh iam off to allans next week!(if i find nowt) been a month working on it now

[Jimbob738]

Good luck mate hope you get it sussed i just bought a pressure testing kit UV solution already in mine so hopefully ill get some indication of leakage.

let us know what happens buddy.

[winchman]

Then ideally fill up with distilled (de mineralised) water and the right % of anti freeze / summer coolant ..

Distilled water isnt very good for cooling systems. Once water looses the minerals etc, it wants to return to its mineral rich state, it will do this by drawing minerals from the container its in, so it will damage hoses and any metals it comes in to contact with, the purer the water the more agressive it is. No as the cooling system is small I wouldnt fret about it as once the water has taken what it needs from your internals it will sit hapily, but if the water is constantly changed this will have a more dramatic effect
Now Deionised water is a different story, this has some of the minerals removed but isnt as agressive as distilled water and is often called softened water.
Our water is from Wales and soft so I just use that.
I feel you will be fine testing with plain old tap water but as said above addition of antifreeze helps you fined the leak