Different colour antifreeze
sbest
Does the colour signify something different about them?
I have one vehicle that has them mixed and they don't really mix.
You get this wierd and wild colour that changes from red to orange to
purple to green depending how you look at it. Cool!
Sort of like Mystic paint! If only I had a clear plastic rad!
Steve Best, Nova Scotia,
4x4 van website:
http://www.glinx.com/users/sbest
Willem-Jan Markerink
sb...@TAKEOUTglinx.com (sbest) wrote:
> Hey, what is the deal with the different colour antifreezes?
>Does the colour signify something different about them?
Yep, but I forgot exactly what.
I vaguely recall that one type isn't cosher to alu rad's, or something like
that....
I do know that the Dutch military uses bright yellow....can't overlook a
puddle of that stuff on pavement....8-))
Our Toy's use red....mmmm....I also vaguely recall that the yellow quality
requires more frequent change (again related to this chemical instability I
guess)....could make sense for the military, unlike civil users.
>I have one vehicle that has them mixed and they don't really mix.
Me thinks it was designed that way....8-))
Not many examples of chemical foolproofness on the market though....;-))
>You get this wierd and wild colour that changes from red to orange to
>purple to green depending how you look at it. Cool!
>Sort of like Mystic paint! If only I had a clear plastic rad!
Better take a joint, and let the vehicles stay sober....;-))))
--
Bye,
Willem-Jan Markerink
The desire to understand
is sometimes far less intelligent than
the inability to understand
<w.j.ma...@a1.nl>
[note: 'a-one' & 'en-el'!]
PLOW78
out changing unlike the yellow/green which has to be changed often
Magic2626
abrasive silicates or borates and uses an organic acid to prevent corrosion. It
is dyed orange instead of green, and Texaco claims that it can be used in any
car or light truck after the old coolant is thoroughly flushed out.
Here's an excerpt from a Popular Mechanics article:
Bad News, Good News
The bad news is that it doesn't come down to color matching. Isn't all
antifreeze compatible? Sorry, but it isn't. There are a few cases where you can
get a fast case of corrosion, some where the water pump can be both eroded and
corroded to an early death, and a lot of cases where you can shorten the
effective life of the antifreeze. Antifreeze itself (most commonly a chemical
called ethylene glycol) doesn't wear out–ever–but the key ingredients are
the rust and corrosion inhibitors, and they get used up. The most common
inhibitors, silicates for aluminum protection, are used up faster than others.
That's why some new cars (all General Motors, Mercury Cougar, VW/Audi models)
have red or orange antifreeze with a new class of inhibitors, called organic
acids. Examples of U.S. brands with these organic acids: Havoline Dex-Cool and
Prestone Extended Life, both recommended for five years or 150,000 miles.
That's the good news.
Fill 'Er Up
How about just pouring orange antifreeze into every cooling system, say, yours?
Sorry, but it's not that simple. The new organic acid antifreezes may be used
only if the cooling system has an aluminum radiator (rather than
copper-and-brass).
This Thexton drain plug/petcock socket may help remove stufforn plugs.
However, let's assume the reason you're thinking of a coolant change is
because you're changing a cooling system part (pump, radiator, heater,
thermostat housing) on a system with a conventional coolant, not an organic
acid orange or pink. In that case, don't change to organic acid orange, even if
the part you're installing is aluminum. Use a fresh fill of familiar U.S.
yellow/gold or green silicated antifreeze.
The two orange extended-life antifreezes are compatible with each other,
with what's factory-fill in GM cars and the '99 Mercury Cougar, and with the
pink in VW/Audi cars. However, they're not compatible with a special orange
antifreeze in 1998-99 Chrysler L/H cars (Dodge Intrepid/Chrysler Concorde and
300M), a special "hybrid" mix of organic acids and silicates. The green in most
Japanese cars contains no silicates, so it's not the same as the green in the
parts store. The yellow in some European cars contains some silicates, but it's
very different from yellow Prestone, the top-selling U.S. brand. And then there
is red antifreeze used by Toyota, and blue used on some European and Korean
cars.
Some systems use a bleeder screw in the upper radiator hose. Remove it while
refilling until the liquid bubbles out.
Freshen Up That Cup For You, Sir?
What about just topping up a system that's low? What kind should you use? If
the system (except for Chrysler L/H) has orange or pink, use Prestone or
Havoline orange for top-up. All you have on hand is regular U.S. yellow/gold or
green? Well, if you're desperate, use what you've got, because it's better than
running low on coolant and possibly overheating. But the mixture is shortening
the life of the antifreeze. By how much? It would take lab tests to tell, so
the best deal is to do the equivalent of a "retrofit." Can you retrofit all
systems? Sorry, the answer is no. What about draining green or yellow/gold from
the radiator and refilling with orange? Is that considered a "retrofit"? No,
and you'd better not try that, either.
What if the system has Japanese green, Toyota red, Korean or European blue,
or European yellow? As we noted, European and Korean formulas have silicates,
so U.S. green or yellow/gold is all right, but it slightly compromises the
extended life formulas some have. Typically all that means is: Change at 30,000
instead of 36,000 miles. The Japanese green and red antifreezes have no
silicates, but they are very different from U.S. orange. If you really drain
out the old antifreeze from any of these systems (thoroughly rinse the system
with fresh water), you certainly can refill with a U.S. yellow/gold or green
silicated antifreeze.
One bleeder bolts may appear in the cylinder head or, in this case, on top of
the thermostat housing.
Now let's look at "retrofit" and "drain and fill" and explain what you can
and can't do safely, and a bit of why. If a vehicle has a copper-and-brass
radiator, forget a retrofit, says General Motors, because the organic acid
(orange) antifreeze may not provide adequate protection for the lead solder in
that radiator. The Chrysler orange hybrid combination of silicates and organic
acids is meant to provide special protection for the water pump. Sorry, you can
buy it only at a Chrysler-brand dealer.
Prestone believes you can retrofit to its organic acid orange almost any
vehicle with an aluminum radiator and cooling system that has been
well-maintained and is in good condition, if you do it right. However, the
antifreeze maker recognizes the possibility of a problem with Dodge truck
5.9-liter V8 water pumps, for which green or yellow/gold U.S. antifreeze is
recommended–if you don't get Chrysler's specific orange.
Filling The System
This radiator filler cap is intended to be used only for refilling the system,
not topping up. Otherwise, don't even loosen it.
The idea in any case is to rinse your cooling system well, until the liquid is
clear water. The radiator may hold less than a third of the coolant.
The radiator may have an air bleed or plug on top of the tank or the side,
and if it does, open or remove it. Next, open the drain cock. Collect the
coolant in a pan.
Next, disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator and let coolant
drain from the block. Third, disconnect the hoses from the heater core, attach
auxiliary hoses to the core necks and force a garden hose nozzle into one hose.
Run plain water through that hose until clear water comes out the other. If
there are coolant hoses connected to the intake manifold or throttle body,
disconnect them at the other ends, and allow the part to drain.
Finally, empty the overflow reservoir into the catch pan.
Measure the coolant drained from the radiator, engine, manifold or throttle
body and reservoir. If you've collected at least 90 percent of the cooling
system capacity, and the coolant now is clear, you're ready. If it still has
some antifreeze dye color, slowly fill the system with plain water, with all
air bleeds open. Dispose of the coolant in an environmentally responsible
manner, please. Call your local fire department for advice.
Jack the front of the car as high as possible to prevent air bubbles from
forming in the cooling system.
As water oozes from an air bleed, close it, then keep filling. When you've
filled the system, top up the reservoir and run the engine until it's warmed
up. Turn on the heater to be sure the heater core is flushed.
Let the engine cool, drain the radiator and if the coolant is clean and
clear, you're ready to fill. Disconnect the lower radiator hose and let the
water drain from the engine too, so that the drained amount is at least half
the capacity of the system. Also, draining the reservoir should give you a
margin. Add an amount of your choice of antifreeze yellow/gold, green or a
"retrofit" to orange–equal to any percentage between 50 percent and 60
percent, and then top up with water.
Take It Higher
Always fill a system with the front of the car jacked up as high as possible,
and all the air bleeds open. When coolant oozes from an air bleed, close it and
continue filling. Air rises to the top and the jacked-up front will help purge
air pockets in the system. Fill slowly to allow trapped air to escape. Complete
filling of a system can take lots of "thermo-cycling"–warming up the engine
and letting it cool down–to purge all the air pockets, and, in fact, you may
have to recheck the system over a period of a week or more of operation. Some
systems are so difficult the factories provide very specific procedures, so
check a factory service manual or the appropriate POPULAR MECHANICS CD-ROM
before you begin. It could save you lots of time and effort.
HOW IT WORKS:
Why More Antifreeze Isn't Better
Water, with the proper anticorrosion additives, would make an adequate cooling
medium for automotive engines. But it freezes, and boils over. Ethylene glycol,
an alcohol, is added to extend the boiling and freezing points of the coolant.
Why not run pure glycol, and get better freezing/boil-over protection? As you
can see from the chart, pure ethylene glycol will freeze at essentially the
same temperature as water. At concentrations higher then 70 percent or so,
freeze protection is not very good. Also, ethylene glycol doesn't carry as much
heat from the engine to the radiator as an equivalent amount of water, which
can result in overheating. Stick with concentrations of 50 percent to 60
percent water/antifreeze.
for non commercial fair use only
an...@eskom.co.za
sbest <sb...@TAKEOUTglinx.com> wrote in message
news:38181c82...@news.glinx.com...
> Hey, what is the deal with the different colour antifreezes?
> Does the colour signify something different about them?
>
> purple to green depending how you look at it. Cool!
> Sort of like Mystic paint! If only I had a clear plastic rad!
>
We get two types here. The red type (stays red) is alcohol based. The
green type (looks brown, orange and yellow too) is glycol based.
an...@eskom.co.za
<an...@eskom.co.za> wrote in message
news:7vfgci$2p7q$1...@nnrp01.ops.uunet.co.za...
better as it also and anti-corrosion chemical while alcohol will not inhibit
corrosion. It may even speed up corrosion.
Cheers
PWC man
antifreeze is only 30,000. One Exception to this is the factory coolant in
toyota vehicles which is red, but only last for 45,000 miles.
You should dont mix the extended life coolants (red) with the normal coolant.
They are formulated differently and do not mix. Also In Gm vehicles they said
DEX-COOL only. Follow the directions and only use the dex-cool. Its called
DEX-cool for a reason, it contains Dex (ATF fluid). It not only helps shed the
heat faster and resist freezing better, but the lubricating action of the ATF
fluid in it is esentioal in the new GM radiators to insure proper functioning.
Willem-Jan Markerink
I also recall that yellow/alcohol looses it's antifreeze properties
quickly, within a few years, which might explain why the military uses
it....they are not shy of an overabundance of maintenance.
I wonder how much modern cars still use yellow....don't think I have ever
seen it on a car, only in the military.
(I have an ex-military Webasto diesel-furnace in the shed, and low and
behold, it uses yellow/alcohol too....will check this winter whether it
freezes up....must be old stuff, not sure if actual use speeds up its
deterioration/degradation (thing has never been used)).
Willem-Jan Markerink
pwc...@aol.com (PWC man) wrote:
>Generally The red antifreeze is said to last 150,000 miles where as green
>antifreeze is only 30,000. One Exception to this is the factory coolant
in
>toyota vehicles which is red, but only last for 45,000 miles.
I more than seriously doubt that any manufacturer allows 150k miles with
red antifreeze. For most lesser vehicles, that would mean no change *ever*.
And the European Toyota rule is 100k kilometers, quite a bit more.
PWC man
>I more than seriously doubt that any manufacturer allows 150k miles with
>red antifreeze.
I more than seriously doubt you have looked at any GM vehicle in the last few
years then. They all use DEX-cool and have stickers on the fluid resivor, and
in the owners manual that say 150,000 miles.
Antifreezes such as havoline and other "extended life antifreezes" claim
150,000 miles as well.
>And the European Toyota rule is 100k kilometers, quite a bit more.
Toyota's "Severe service recommendations recomend coolant changes after 45,000
to 60,000, depending on the model and year of the vehicle
Willem-Jan Markerink
pwc...@aol.com (PWC man) wrote:
>>
>>I more than seriously doubt that any manufacturer allows 150k miles with
>>red antifreeze.
>
>I more than seriously doubt you have looked at any GM vehicle in the last
few
>years then. They all use DEX-cool and have stickers on the fluid resivor,
and
>in the owners manual that say 150,000 miles.
>Antifreezes such as havoline and other "extended life antifreezes" claim
>150,000 miles as well.
But does the rad itself live that long?
Could be a nifty way to increase the number of rad problems, and hence
parts production (only aftermarket screws up this theory....;-)).
>>And the European Toyota rule is 100k kilometers, quite a bit more.
>
>Toyota's "Severe service recommendations recomend coolant changes after
45,000
>to 60,000, depending on the model and year of the vehicle
Miles or kilometers?
60k miles IS 100k km's....