CORROSION COMMENTARY Available to Purchase

CAR CORROSION HAZARDS. IN this issue we present the first of a series of three articles on corrosion in the motor car by a scientist of the Motor Industry Research Association. In this first article he discusses corrosive wear of piston rings and cylinders. Other aspects, including corrosion of the cooling system, will be dealt with later. The size of the cooling system problem may be gauged from the fact that in the U.S. something like 700,000 radiators have to be replaced each year owing to corrosion damage caused by antifreeze chemicals. In addition, an even greater number of cooling system ancillaries such as thermostats and water pumps have to be replaced. The best makes of antifreeze contain a corrosion inhibitor. In practice, however, minerals in the water, corrosive exhaust gases from a leaky cylinder‐head gasket and even air seeping into the cooling system eventually destroy the inhibitor's effectiveness. Frequent replacement of antifreeze is advisable until more effective corrosion‐prevention methods are devised.