First it was zinc taken out of oil, now they are screwing up antifreeze...WTF. I read in a club newsletter that the "new" long-life antifreeze is bad for 20th century engines. They claim it is safe for older engines..........but to them 10 years is old! The old antifreeze = (IAT) Inorganic Additive Technology ........ GOOD for older engines. The new "Advanced" or "Long Life" antifreeze = (OAT) Organic Acid Technology ........ BAD for older engines. The new **** antifreeze attacks silicone and silicone based and conventional gaskets, and other things. DO NOT use OAT-inhibited coolant in your 20th century engine!
i have heard that the new stuff is toxic to older engines also. i think i've screwed my DD (Taurus) by mixing new with old, but it's so seldom off the road where i can really check it. it's getting where we really need to pay close attention to the labels and instructions (not easy for guys, car guys in particular!)....
You don't have to tell me that the new stuff is bad...a have a wicked allergic reaction to it. I work as a GM tech, and GM has been using "Dexcool" since about '97. If I replace a block heater(for you southern guys, read "frost plug"), and that **** runs down my arm...well, if I don't wash it off in short order, I can peel the skin off the tender parts. Aaah, the stuff we put up with to work on cars everyday!
Screw that long life junk. It's just used as an excuse for the manufactuers to get more money out of you.
it's safe to go with distilled water in San Diego, but not around here, and especially not where it gets really cold ever heard of water freezing?
As a matter of fact, I was sort of thinking the same thing...............Like I wish I would have done with the good oil!
The orange new stuff is acidic. It created leaks in two buddys griffin aluminum radiators. Ate the bottom tanks. Use the good old green stuff on these older cars.
Don't almost all new engines have aluminum radiators and engine parts? Yes they do,I looked at a few Sounds like your buddy is getting ****py radiators???
Stick with old stuff. Be responsible. If it's the same as the old 'down under' green stuff, try to keep it off you and dispose of used coolant carefully. It contains caustic soda & formalin (which is mutagenic). So don't pour it down sinks, drains, or into creeks or water supplies.
Actually the less deposits your water has in it the more caustick it becomes. Water is a leach if it has no minerals it will try and get some; this normally happens by ****ing the minerals from whatever it is held in IE your cast iron engine block. You are way better off to use tap water (if it isn't saline) and put an anode in your system. They actually still make radiator caps that self destruct by collecting the **** in your system. You have to change them out once a year, or so. As for antifreeze I still use glycol myself, no problem finding it in the mid west. so tell me if you can't find some, maaan have I got a deal for you. Just a thought.
Hey! gtkane, I quote you, " and that **** runs down my arm...well, if I don't wash it off in short order, I can peel the skin off the tender parts." You should wipe it off before it runs all the way down past your belt!
Porkn****** is correct about distilled water. Tap water is much better for an engine then distilled or Reverse Osmosis treated water. Water is a universal solvent and will manage to eat away at stuff no matter, but putting mineral free or acidic RO water in the cooling system will accelerate the process. Bottled drinking water such as Nestle, Aquafina, Dasani, and such have been treated using RO. As are most of the gallon size bottles available next to the distilled water at your local market, check the label, it will say "treated by RO" or similar. Don't be fooled by "natural spring" or "protected mountain sources". In my area one of these "natural springs" is in the middle of a suburban neighborhood next to a police station, a schoolyard, and a church. You can have your water tested at a local pool store, or you can pick up a test kit at a pet store that has aquarium supplies. A small handheld TDS (total disolved solids) reader can be had from a plumbing supply house. With a few bucks invested in chemicals you can find out quite easily, the condition of the water you're using.
An added bonus of tap water (around here) is that the calcium buildup around leaks in your radiator makes the leaks real easy to find.
I thought they were developed for marine use as the cooling system is open and doesn't allow for the use of anti-corrosive additives like the ones found in engine coolant.
That's especially true here in AZ. We have some of the hardest water in the country. I run water through a 10 micron inline filter to remove debris and through a carbon filter to remove the chlorine and I still get a little bit of calcium buildup. Its the same process we use to treat tap water used for our live steam lcomotives and it really help to keep the scale down in the boilers.
They were actually developed in the HVAC industry for centrifugal chillers but distilled water is corrosive not an anti-corrosive additive. I was more talking to the fellas that think that they don't need anti-freeze. There is another down side to running just water, it has no lubricant for your water pump. So unless you are adding water pump lubricant you are going to be changing water pumps more often. I guess that isn't a real concern on an engine that only makes a thousand miles a year. Or seals them up. The Pusher had a fitting on the intake that always leaked. I had a rad leak a couple of years ago and ran on straight water for about a month until I had time to fix it. By the time I fixed the rad the lime deposits had sealed the little leak in the fitting. But I digress, I know that Glycol is hazardous to wild life but as long as it stays in my cooling system it isn't hurting anything or any buddy. So I try real hard to keep the old stuff in the radiator and don't feel the need to save mother earth. Sorry but my crusade to save the planet died off with the hippies. You can still buy glycol and I normally keep a case for emergencies. Might be a good idea for you fellas also.
Just to add something,coolant manufacturers recomend using distilled water,check it out on their websites.Do they want you to ruin the colling system so they can sell more coolant?
They recommend distiller water mixed 50/50 with antifreeze. The antifreeze has anti-corrosive agents mixed in. I put a lot of miles on my cars the pusher rolled over 80K when I pulled into the yard of its new owner. I have never suffered a blocked radiator in one that I built. I did have to rod out a radiator in an old chebby that I bought off a farmer once, but he dipped creek water to fill his radiator I knew that when I bought it from him and pushed the mud and gunk out of it within a week of purchase. It ran a lot cooler after that and I got a good deal because it ran a little hot and he thought the engine was wore out.
I never heard of this before. I put some prestone I bought at O'reilly in my '84 Mustang SVO a month or so ago. I hope it didn't trash anything.
I stopped at a few local auto parts stores today, and all I could find was the "NEW" extended life ****..........It's going to be hard to stockpile the good old stuff if I can't find any. Also, the color doesn't matter.............there are lots of different colors, by different mfg. and there is no standard system as to what the different colors mean! LOL
A ***** Do you have a Sam's Club close? Last I checked the Sam's here had the good stuff. Or if you want to buy in bulk contact Grainger if they don't have it they can hook you up with a supplier for the heating and cooling industry. You can buy Glycol anti-freeze in 55 gallon drums.
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