Hello to Scotty and his audience.
I wanna know, can old coolant cause a head gasket to blow very prematurely? Perhaps if I keep my coolant in good nick then I will prolong the life of my gasket?
I await your answers.
The anti-corrosion additives in old coolant wear out. When this happens the coolant can start attacking the head gasket as well as metal parts, particularly aluminum. I've seen aluminum cylinder heads with holes eaten through because of this.
You bet it can. Old coolant will degrade metal and rubber.
Change your coolant on time.
Coolant by itself doesn't blow a head gasket. Over time, the constant expansion and contraction of the block and heads sometimes causes the head bolts to loose some of their torque. A severely overheated engine because of a stuck thermostat will usually increase pressure to the point of head gasket failure. I remember one time I started my car in the morning, cold, and the head gasket let go. The engine could have overheated the night before but I didn't notice. When I replace the head, I used ARP head studs instead of the cheap, low torque head bolts that came with the engine.
