Peak Coolant....is it any good?

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
As has been discussed here recently, WalMart has stopped selling Zerex brand coolant in favor of Peak. I was not initially concerned because I figured I would simply buy the Zerex at AA. Well much to my surprise, AA is also selling Peak. It seem that AA has also stopped selling the Carquest line of coolant as well as Pentosin coolant.
So what is the general opinion of the quality of Peak coolant? I will be using the Toyota Pink as well as the Nissan blue.
Also any ideas where I can buy a 50/50 conventional green?


Thank you!

 

[slacktide_bitog]

There is nothing wrong with Peak OET

Peak makes 50/50 green. Walgreens and Kmart carry it.

Autozone has a house brand conventional green, and I think Napa does, too. Napa also carries Zerex Original Green.

 

[SZR48207]

Someone will be along shortly to say that Peak has 2-EHA and therefore is going to cause a dexcool type nightmare.

 

[2EHA]

Someone will be along shortly to say that Peak has 2-EHA and therefore is going to cause a dexcool type nightmare.

it doesn’t and if it did it still wouldn’t be a problem

 

[Sayjac]

Someone will be along shortly to say that Peak has 2-EHA.......

Negative. Peak Asian 'OET' like Valvoline/Zerex Asian does NOT use 2eha as inhibitor. That makes them both the same as all the Asian vehicle OEM AFs in that respect. Conversely, Prestone 'labeled' Asian AF which according to a relatively recent SDS still uses 2eha. That even though that specific information removed from the jug not too long ago .

Unfortunately, in this area WM has replaced Valvoline/Zerex Asian with Prestone 'labeled' Asian. If WM is carrying Peak 'OET Asian' now in place of Valvoline/Zerex, I'd use it with confidence.

As for "50/50 Conventional Green" query, not sure why preference over full strength with some distilled. In any case, convention/original green can still be found in (full strength) AP stores like AZ (AZ branded) and AAP under the Carquest brand, full strength and premix.

 

[SZR48207]

Negative. Peak Asian 'OET' like Valvoline/Zerex Asian does NOT use 2eha as inhibitor. That makes them both the same as all the Asian vehicle OEM AFs in that respect. Conversely, Prestone 'labeled' Asian AF which according to a relatively recent SDS still uses 2eha. That even though that specific information removed from the jug not too long ago .

Unfortunately, in this area WM has replaced Valvoline/Zerex Asian with Prestone 'labeled' Asian. If WM is carrying Peak 'OET Asian' now in place of Valvoline/Zerex, I'd use it with confidence.

As for "50/50 Conventional Green" query, not sure why preference over full strength with some distilled. In any case, convention/original green can still be found in (full strength) AP stores like AZ (AZ branded) and AAP under the Carquest brand, full strength and premix.

If I'm reading between the lines correctly, you are still saying that 2-EHA is not a desirable chemical in antifreeze though. Why?

 

[Sayjac]

^^^^^I think what I posted speaks for itself. By way of repetition, Asian vehicle OEM AFs don't use 2eha as an inhibitor in their P(H)oat AFs. Whatever their reasoning (Asian vehicle manufacturers), if 'I'm' choosing an Asian vehicle AF, I'll look for one the follows that same protocol. The two mentioned, Valv/Zerex Asian & Peak OET, do so. Simple.

As for my opinion of 2eha (generally) when used as AF inhibitor, it's summed up in this post. No need to repeat it.

 

[Snowflake White]

Prestone Asian formula (all colors) have between 0% and 5% 2EHA!

Beware, especially if you have an older car!

 

[sxg6]

If I'm reading between the lines correctly, you are still saying that 2-EHA is not a desirable chemical in antifreeze though. Why?

This is new to me as well, I looked into it a little bit and I guess this is why it's viewed negatively on some forums.

"The inhibitor 2-EHA poses another issue: It's a plasticizer (softens plastic), so it has been blamed for coolant passage gasket leakage. Softening (and the resulting distortion) was reported by Ford, which encountered gasket leakage problems when it tested a DexCool-type formula on its V8 engines. Ford also saw similar issues with other gasket materials. That killed the OAT coolant idea for Ford, which had used a DexCool-like coolant in the '99 Cougar V6."

Driveability Corner | Calculated Engine Load | MOTOR Magazine

Lift the hood of a new Ford vehicle and you’re likely to see a yellow coolant in the overflow jug and an interesting label on it. In pictorial language it says “Do not use orange coolant; yellow coolant is okay.” Sounds pretty straightforward, right? It isn’t. Lift the hood of another Ford...

www.motor.com

I'm also reading that it can soften and cause issues with silicone, and that's also why chrysler got rid of it too.

 

[SZR48207]

This is new to me as well, I looked into it a little bit and I guess this is why it's viewed negatively on some forums.

"The inhibitor 2-EHA poses another issue: It's a plasticizer (softens plastic), so it has been blamed for coolant passage gasket leakage. Softening (and the resulting distortion) was reported by Ford, which encountered gasket leakage problems when it tested a DexCool-type formula on its V8 engines. Ford also saw similar issues with other gasket materials. That killed the OAT coolant idea for Ford, which had used a DexCool-like coolant in the '99 Cougar V6."

Driveability Corner | Calculated Engine Load | MOTOR Magazine

Lift the hood of a new Ford vehicle and you’re likely to see a yellow coolant in the overflow jug and an interesting label on it. In pictorial language it says “Do not use orange coolant; yellow coolant is okay.” Sounds pretty straightforward, right? It isn’t. Lift the hood of another Ford...

www.motor.com

I'm also reading that it can soften and cause issues with silicone, and that's also why chrysler got rid of it too.

My problem is this. If even Ford believes 2-EHA to be problematic, then why are Supertech, Peak, and other "all makes" antifreezes still using it?

In the many years I've been a member here, I have never seen someone explain with complete certainty why 2-EHA is either fine or terrible.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

My problem is this. If even Ford believes 2-EHA to be problematic, then why are Supertech, Peak, and other "all makes" antifreezes still using it?

because it's cheap

 

[Snowflake White]

My problem is this. If even Ford believes 2-EHA to be problematic, then why are Supertech, Peak, and other "all makes" antifreezes still using it?

In the many years I've been a member here, I have never seen someone explain with complete certainty why 2-EHA is either fine or terrible.

The other question I will pose is what amount or % is possibly safe to have in the coolant before that plasticizer has an actual effect on various
gaskets and the like?

It's odd to me that Prestone gives those 0-5% values depending on the car brand/color product for asian vehicles.

 

[2EHA]

Ford also saw similar issues with other gasket materials. That killed the OAT coolant idea for Ford, which had used a DexCool-like coolant in the '99 Cougar V6."

The Ford Cougar was a car built primarily for export and having only one coolant simplified the supply chain. All of Ford’s overseas divisions moved away from ESD-M97B49-A (early european blue) to WSS-M97B44D and stuck with it for 20 years with no issues. With the introduction of One Ford, Gold/G05 coolant got canned.

Mercedes, G05’s earliest adopter, threw in the towel in the early 2000s. G48 has replaced it as service fill for all vehicles that previously called for it. Zero (0) OEMs currently use coolants with sodium benzoate as the organic additive.

 

[SZR48207]

because it's cheap

The answer cannot be that simple because if 2EHA is indeed bad for cooling systems and enough people sue for damages, then they would have found an alternative chemical.

 

[jagdriver727]

It's the best... John Force says so

 

[Snowflake White]

The answer cannot be that simple because if 2EHA is indeed bad for cooling systems and enough people sue for damages, then they would have found an alternative chemical.

It may be that a certain level of 2-EHA can be present in coolant that won't cause issues, but if it goes over that amount it probably starts to cause issues. I'm sure that is why Prestone gives % between 0-5%.
I'm just taking a wild guess, but probably with low levels it doesn't actually cause issues at least in the short and midterm usage time periods.

 

[SZR48207]

It may be that a certain level of 2-EHA can be present in coolant that won't cause issues, but if it goes over that amount it probably starts to cause issues. I'm sure that is why Prestone gives % between 0-5%.
I'm just taking a wild guess, but probably with low levels it doesn't actually cause issues at least in the short and midterm usage time periods.

I look at Peak/Supertech/etc 2-EHA coolants like I do Fram oil filters.. These brands outsell most other brands at least 10:1 just based on them being:

1. On the shelf at walmart
2. Usually the lower priced option

And accordingly so, the stories of how either item ruined someone's car are all over the internet because the sheer volume of sales supports that condition.

Which is why I am skeptical that 2EHA is a bad thing, even though I myself wouldn't use it. If anything, 2EHA coolants are more likely to be used in cars that were not maintained well from the beginning since the vast majority of drivers do not delve into the technical specs for their engines.

So this is why I'm nagging the topic so much. There has to be a clear answer to the question: Does 2EHA (in both low and high concentrations) damage engine cooling systems?

 

[2EHA]

Does 2EHA (in both low and high concentrations) damage engine cooling systems?

why is this still a question after 25 years? it poses no more of a problem then sebacate, all modern organic additives are plasticizers. gaskets are designed with this in mind

if you’re scared go use some ancient coolant like toyota red or g05

 

[Snowflake White]

why is this still a question after 25 years? it poses no more of a problem then sebacate, all modern organic additives are plasticizers. gaskets are designed with this in mind

if you’re scared go use some ancient coolant like toyota red or g05

That's not what I've read in white papers over the years. It seems that 2-EHA is far more likely to soften gasket and plastics than it's distant cousin
sebacate.

 

[Sayjac]

"it poses it poses no more of a problem then sebacate," (it=2eha) .

'Apparently' the Asian vehicle manufacturers generally and Toyota specifically (sebacate SLL), in avoiding 2eha use as inhibitor, believe otherwise. As noted, Chrysler/Mopar OAT also follows same protocol in avoiding 2eha. All are current/modern vehicles.