Help with Antifreeze !

[desertred]

Can someone clear the air as to antifreeze? I just changed the water pump in my 88 XJ and need to add the coolant. A search has brought up many threads indicating to stick with the original green stuff. My question is, how do I know what is the original green stuff? How can I tell? EVERY brand and bottle of antifreeze I see in Wally World or my local auto parts stores indicate that it "can be mixed with any color" antifreeze. Prestone, Zerex, Peak, Supertech - it makes no difference. They are all supposed to mix with any color/brand. I have three bottles of Supertech Extended Life ready to go in, but am confused if I should put it in the Jeep or not.

[962drrhino]

It will be fine. Mix 50/50.

[Tim_MN]

The green stuff is Ethylene Glycol. Dex-Cool is the worthless red stuff.

There are about 72 brands of coolant on the market today. 95% of all these coolants are manufactured using ethylene glycol.

[desertred]

So, I take it that, as long as the coolant is ethylene glycol based, the color doesn't matter. The additives don't matter? Is there any concern in mixing a green and yellow antifreeze?

I was able to find a "conventional green" antifreeze at my local AutoZone (house brand). However, I would like to understand the difference. I found my local store jockeys to not know the difference either.

[birchlakeXJ]

I look for the plain old "green" at auto parts stores and some hardware stores. A lot of the big box stores don't carry it any longer.

Plain old conventional green ethylene glycol is all you need. Change every 30k.

[DerMeister]

Also, buy the 100% for the same price, then get some distilled water for $.98 and you'll get twice as much for the same price.

Also, the mixture tester is like $3 if you want to get it exact.

[montanaman]

Originally Posted by DerMeister

Also, buy the 100% for the same price, then get some distilled water for $.98 and you'll get twice as much for the same price.

Yup ... you can save $$ that way.

Originally Posted by DerMeister

Also, the mixture tester is like $3 if you want to get it exact.

I've never used one of those, but it would be fun to get the exact mixture. Are those things for one-time use or can they be reused multiple times?