I was in Wal Mart the other day and noticed the anti-freeze I use in my 86 Ford F250 is in a new container new labeling and a price increase almost doubled. The anti-freeze I have been using is their Tech Brand, and looking at some other brands everything is extended life. Tring to find anything printed in English is almost as confusing as the changes with anti-freeze. My wife's 04 Trailblazer uses Dex-Cool that is simple enough, but what do I do with my 86 Ford F250. THANKS.
Confused over anti-freeze HELP
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Use the regular 'ol green stuff.
I use the SuperTech that's in the black jug (pre-mixed stuff)...
I use the SuperTech that's in the black jug (pre-mixed stuff)...
If you can find it, Zerex G-05 seems to be a great coolant. I've put it in all of my vehicles with excellent results. You can email the Zerex tech support to see if they recommend it for your applications (search on google).
If you like the old school antifreeze "Recochem" still makes it. They stamp their name in the bottom of private label stuff. I've seen it labeled "Turbo Power" in a yellow jug. With store brand rebates this will come in at the price you expect for 2-year antifreeze. You'll have to try Advance Auto, Autozone, Mom & Pop operations...
For that vintage truck, you may want to buy Zerex MaxLife. It's made for older vehicles, has the traditional corrosion inhibitors and so should do no harm to gaskets, etc. You can't be certain that the newer extended life coolants would be 100% compatible.
The G-05 suggestion is a good one. Others to consider would be the regular Zerex 5/100 formula, and the regular blue Peak coolant. FWIW, my local WalMart carries MaxLife and that's what I've resorted to using in my '87 Chevy.
The G-05 suggestion is a good one. Others to consider would be the regular Zerex 5/100 formula, and the regular blue Peak coolant. FWIW, my local WalMart carries MaxLife and that's what I've resorted to using in my '87 Chevy.
The run-up in antifreeze price coincided with the run-up in crude oil pricing. (gotta get those hydrocarbons from somewhere...) You can either use off-brand silicate antifreeze as eljefino suggested, search for brand name new-old stock silicate antifreeze still on shelves, or cut to the new universal extended life Prestone or ST brews. This isn't rocket science and it won't harm your Ford. Just do a complete water flush until the effluent drains colorless clear if you want the full potential of the extended-life corrosion inhibitors. Distilled or de-ionized water wouldn't be a bad idea, either. One more thing - if you check the listed chemistry on the backside of the ST jug against that of the Prestone silver-gray DEX-COOL jug, you may find the comparison revealing... (Hint: the only real differences are the dye color and paying extra for the GM "DEX-COOL" licensed trademark.)
[ November 16, 2004, 08:22 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
[ November 16, 2004, 08:22 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
Ray, do you think we have enough evidence out there regarding compatibility of the newer coolants with older vehicles?
If I recall correctly, GM came out with DexCool in the 1990's and both Chrysler and Ford tested it. They decided that the benefits were not worth the risk and went with hybrid technology, namely G-05. An article in Motor Magazine said that one of those manufacturers cited gasket incompatibility issues with DexCool. I don't know which of the corrosion inhibitors may have been at fault, but I've steered clear of the DexCool-like coolants for my vehicles that were not designed for it. Perhaps I'm being a little too risk adverse...
If I recall correctly, GM came out with DexCool in the 1990's and both Chrysler and Ford tested it. They decided that the benefits were not worth the risk and went with hybrid technology, namely G-05. An article in Motor Magazine said that one of those manufacturers cited gasket incompatibility issues with DexCool. I don't know which of the corrosion inhibitors may have been at fault, but I've steered clear of the DexCool-like coolants for my vehicles that were not designed for it. Perhaps I'm being a little too risk adverse...
You're not the only one that is confused. I truly believe that the makers of the stuff are confused too.
I remember seeing a lot of the old Peak brand of conventional coolant recently, probably at Pep Boys. Also, the Max Life coolant (Zerox or Valvoline, ment for high milage cars) is basically a high quality conventional coolant.
My wife's car (2000 Cavalier) still has the factory fill of DEX-COOL. No problems. I ran Havoline DEX-COOL in my 1996 Accord for three years after a thorough tap water (didn't know any better at the time) flush of the old juice. No problems. I recently thoroughly flushed with distilled water and refilled my aluminum V6 2003 Sonata with the 50/50 SuperTech extended life juice and distilled water. Three months, and all's running cool and clear. All this may be only word-of-mouth anecdotal for you, but it counts a LOT for me. Air is the bugaboo of any corrosion inhibitor chemistry - perhaps more so in the absence of phosphates and/or silicates. DEX-COOL lacks both. Japanese antifreeze formulations have a stiff dose of phosphates but no silicates. G-05 has NO phosphates but does contain silicates (at reduced levels) and carboxylates (organic acids). Both approaches work. But, so does DEX-COOL when the system is well sealed and the proper pre-installation prep work has been thoughtfully undertaken. But, theoretically, the ideal would be NO phophates or silicates in order to maximize water pump life. GM has some well-documented gasket problems on the cylinder heads and intake manifolds of certain engines, and additionally went through a period of equipping its cars and light trucks with poorly designed/made pressure caps. Chrysler and Ford's position about alleged gasket material incompatibility is also well-documented, but frankly, a little specious to my mind. Ford states flat out NOT to use "orange" antifreeze in their current models (complete with stick-on label under the hood). Yet their recommended antifreeze (essentially G-05) has carboxylate technology just as DEX-COOL does, but with the addition of some silicate content. What gives? Either carboxylates are evil or they're not. Ford seems to be trying to have it both ways - "Don't use carboxylate-ridden DEX-COOL, but you CAN use our carboxylate-ridden juice." From a brief perusal of a 2002 Neon owner's manual, Chrysler takes the same attitude - but their G-05 is dyed orange. (Hmmm... would that indicate that MOPAR antifreeze/coolant would be incompatible in Fords? (
) Oh, and before someone quotes chapter and verse from that "Motor Magazine" article by Paul Weissler that 2-EHA is a dreaded seal damaging plasticizer
(
), I did some online research and posted my finidngs in this thread. It turns out that ALL carbolylates used as antifreeze corrosion inhibitors are used as components in making plasticizers. (They're also used in food preservation and pharmaceuticals.) That includes the sodium benzoate that Peak and Zerex use in their respective extended life products - and that, in turn, includes G-05. (
) So, am I saying that NO antifreeze/coolant product is safe? Nope - just pointing out that ANY of 'em'll work in a sound system if you do your homework before glugging the stuff into it. And, I believe the inverse is also true - if your system is compromised, sooner or later you'll have some serious problems regardless which technology you choose.
[ November 17, 2004, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
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[ November 17, 2004, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
Thank You for all the responses. I now have alittle better idea of what to buy. Running old school anti-freeze had me concerned if it was on the way out. This truck has a new cooling system in it, Rad, Heater Core, Hoses, Water Pump is about 8 years old, it works great. I didn't want to mix anti-freezes, and I like to keep extra around in case. Again, Thanks Alot Everyone.
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