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Too many kinds of antifreeze out there. Which one?

S

solomon7

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Portland OR
I am replacing my NAPA Gates truflow water pump on warranty after 2 1/2 years. Bearing crapped, why, I don't know. Thought it would last longer, whatever new one's free aside from labor right?
Been searching on here and google and while looking at different antifreezes, ther are tons of them it seems. Extended life, HD DexCool,universal etc.
Different colors too. Red, pink, yellow, orange etc.
What happened to the 50/50 green stuff? I read that some green stuff is actually colored DexCool. IIRC DexCool claimed universal till it wreckrd some makes...

I'm getting it at NAPA. i have green in the XJ now and I don't like the idea of mixing types/brands as I've read the a/f can gel (???).
Can't recall what brand I used last.
Could someone please direct me as to what brand and type I should get?
I'd rather have green if it still exists.

Thanks ya'll. I've read so much about OAT HOAT EDTA etc. that they're all a blur at this point lol!
 
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i get mine at the dealer because i work at one. good old ethylene glycol. green. i run mine 50% 50% distilled water. Napa and any good parts store should have the the coolant. stay away from the so called univeral coolants.
 
O'Reily's near me in Houston sells the old green formula full strength. It is the only thing I will use. It has ethylene glycol with sodium silicate listed in the contents label. That is what you want. It needs to be diluted 50/50 with DI or distilled water.

It is still the best formula made.
 
88trailcrawler said:
CRAP!

Is the premixed Autozone yellow stuff bad?

It's the orange bottle, says mix with any antifreeze.
Click to expand...

Universal stuff is fine.
At the shop I work at, we typically use the universal stuff. The one we use is the Peak brand "Global" in a gold container, which I believe to be yellow-ish in color.
Unless, the vehicle requires something specific and has not already been combined with or already changed with something else prior. Ex. VW/Audi, BMW, newer Toyota, newer Honda, DexCool, etc all require "special" stuff.


50/50 mix is a waste of money. Same price for half the amount. Better off buying distilled water to mix.
 
88trailcrawler said:
CRAP!

Is the premixed Autozone yellow stuff bad?

It's the orange bottle, says mix with any antifreeze.
Click to expand...

Is it yellow, or yellow-green fluorescent? If it says silicate on the contents label it is the good stuff, old pre EPA formula, LOL.

The 50/50 ready to use is just more expensive, by about 35%.

I really do not know much about the new formulas.
 
solomon7 said:
I am replacing my NAPA Gates truflow water pump on warranty after 2 1/2 years. Bearing crapped, why, I don't know. Thought it would last longer, whatever new one's free aside from labor right?
Been searching on here and google and while looking at different antifreezes, ther are tons of them it seems. Extended life, HD DexCool,universal etc.
Different colors too. Red, pink, yellow, orange etc.
What happened to the 50/50 green stuff? I read that some green stuff is actually colored DexCool. IIRC DexCool claimed universal till it wreckrd some makes...

I'm getting it at NAPA. i have green in the XJ now and I don't like the idea of mixing types/brands as I've read the a/f can gel (???).
Can't recall what brand I used last.
Could someone please direct me as to what brand and type I should get?
I'd rather have green if it still exists.

Thanks ya'll. I've read so much about OAT HOAT EDTA etc. that they're all a blur at this point lol!
Click to expand...


Too simplify it a bit ...

A bottle of pre-mix contains

1/. Water for cooling
2/. Variable amounts of Ethylene Gly (typical) ... or maybe Propylene Gly (rare) ... as anti-freeze, Which in addition to, not being as good, a heat exchange agent as water ... does provide a few extra degrees, overall, boil over protection.

3/. and the Inhibitor package for anti-corrosion/anti-foaming etc., protection.

The only thing thats really changed over the years is the inhibitor packages ... and the better they get - so as to prevent the eth-gly eating the cooling system ... the better I would think.

For peace of mind ... dont mix brands and types during top ups.

Easiest way tho ... to get the right "coolant" ... is to contact the brands tech dept and ask em what suits your vehicle.
 
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Per the MSDS on Autozone's website, the orange jug of the AZ-branded pre-mix is Ethylene Glycol, Diethylene Glycol, and Dipotassium Phosphate.
 
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