For the most part (almost always) Sales Reps are not very knowledgeable of the technical and scientific aspects of the products they sell. They do receive a technical overview which is not very deep and is created to use certain unique qualities of the product as sales points, like, the hose 'Resists electro-chemical degradation
...' which at the time he was giving his sales pitch he may have said, "Resists corrosion..."
I would like to ask if you have a copper radiator in your truck? If so, those two different metals Copper(brass) and Aluminum in contact with the coolant in the system ordinarily would present a big problem with
galvanic corrosion eating up the heater core.
HOWEVER, there are two things that prevent that from happening.
ONE: Your coolant has a substantial amount of anti-corrosion inhibitors, it's very alkaline, if it's properly maintained, pH 8.5 to 10.5 (recommended optimum by engine manufacturers) rather than acidic with pH below 7 which is in the middle mark and considered
neutral. - although I don't think this is definite line
, and corrosion can still occur if pH is above 7. Therefore if the coolant is in good condition it is not a good electrolyte for current to travel through.
As it gets old and the anti-corrosion additives are gradually depleted it becomes less alkaline and more acidic, becoming a better electrolyte for galvanic currents to flow through. THAT is when you will have galvanic corrosion a problems The source of that current is: the difference in electrical potential between the dissimilar metals Copper and Aluminum in contact with each other through the coolant mix in the cooling system which is the electrolyte. This is the same principle as a Lead Acid battery creating a current flow between the plates. What would happen in the cooling system is that aluminum atoms (or ions of aluminum) would be (I'll use this term): "etched" off of the internal surfaces of the heater core and transported toward the copper radiator until the aluminum heater core springs some leaks.
So, the number one most important thing is to use coolants that are compatible with the cooling system component metals AND to maintain the coolant condition by adding SCAs (
Supplemental
Coolant
Additives which include corrosion inhibitors) as required and following recommended flush and change intervals.
BTW I am going with an Extended Life Coolant this year so I don't have to deal with those old methods and such frequent changes.
TWO: Secondly, the manufacturers of aluminum heater cores are (or certainly should be)
well aware of these corrosion issues and this is how they have addressed it. (Based on reading the manufacturing processes of the heater core that I bought.)
They coat the heater core with a coating that protects the aluminum from corrosion and this is how that works. The surface coating itself has a higher electrical potential than the aluminum and that means it corrodes before the aluminum does. I might be a zinc coating and it reacts in the same way as a sacrificial anode. (I'll put up a few links shortly that explain these terms and what is happening in th cooling system relating to corrosion). Those atoms from the coating will be removed from the surface rather than the aluminum, even if the aluminum becomes exposed, the coating will corrode first. I think the coating may leave an oxidation layer that still offers
some protection from galvanic corrosion but I'm not sure.
So, THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN PREVENTING CORROSION OF COOLING SYSTEM COMPONENTS IS PROPERLY MAINTAINING THE COOLANT ---> Keeping it in good condition along with recommended flush and change schedules.
. Up North where we have COLD winter climates I was raised calling it Anti-Freeze. Down South with HOT summer climates people apparently prefer the term 'Coolant.' It took me awhile to get used to that. I prefer the term Anti-Freeze because it seems to sound better in sentences.
