Remember when coolant was simple?

[JediButch]

Long time lurker.

Love the site.

I see Prestone makes a coolant which claims is universal "for all color types" coolant.

What do you guys think?

I'm particularly interested in topping off my 'ol ladies '03 Focus (which is gold)

 

[Quest]

Coolant is never simple to begin with.

Q.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

From all the research I've done my opinion is that the G-05 coolant that Chrysler, Ford, and some others use is one of the best. I'd rather not mix in some universal type fluid if you can avoid it. Valvoline's Zerex makes a G-05 coolant or you can just get it from the Ford dealer as well.

http://www.valvoline.com/zerex/pdf/Zerex_CoolantChart.pdf?coaid=1B5D1AEA1AFC

 

[CharBaby]

Like oil, I like to purchace automotive fluids(name brands), on sale/rebate or closeout. I've used just about all of the popular name brand coolants over the years(Prestone, Zerex, Peak, Havoline) and have never had any coolant related issues with my vehicles. I'am finding that I have become more and more confused about which coolant I should be using in my systems and I hate being at the mercey of the dealers. $20.00 for antifreeze at the dealer??? When I can buy something off the shelf for less than $10.00! The domestic vehicles(GM, FORD, Chrysler) seem to be a little more straight forward and easier to buy coolant from any auto parts store but, what about other makes and models...No Pun!

What I would like to know is; what off the shelf coolants can be used in...

-Toyota
-Nissan
-Honda
-Hyundai/Kia
-Others

Also, if the dealer coolant IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO then, are all Japanese coolants alike? In other words, if I can buy Honda coolant at a better price than Nissan or Toyota coolant, is it OK to use Honda coolant in a Nissan or even a Toyota? Honda coolant seems to be the lower priced dealer coolant in my area.

Toyota Red-$22
Nissan Green-$20
Honda Green-$16

 

[Kestas]

Assuming a thorough flush of all old coolant, why couldn't a person use G-05 coolant for ALL applications?

The only exception I can think of is traditional green for old systems like my 71 Cutlass where there is soldered copper and brass, or the people that choose to stick with Dexcool for a healthy system designed for it.

 

[lazaro]

water based coolant need constant replenishing. all I do is add and add to all the cars and then hose ruptures and pump replacements. . .

 

[onion]

Originally Posted By: JediButch
Long time lurker.

Love the site.

I see Prestone makes a coolant which claims is universal "for all color types" coolant.

What do you guys think?

I'm particularly interested in topping off my 'ol ladies '03 Focus (which is gold)


I agree with other folks here. You'll be much better off using G05 coolant. It costs a couple dollars more, and is more difficult to find... but it's a [censored] good coolant, and it's what your system was designed for.

Prestone "all-makes" coolant is essentially Dexcool. It uses much the same OAT chemistry, and one could reasonably expect it to cause many of the same problems as Dexcool. Personally, I wouldn't run the stuff in my own vehicle if it was free.

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Assuming a thorough flush of all old coolant, why couldn't a person use G-05 coolant for ALL applications?

The only exception I can think of is traditional green for old systems like my 71 Cutlass where there is soldered copper and brass, or the people that choose to stick with Dexcool for a healthy system designed for it.


Actually, I think G05 would work quite well in your '71 Cutlass. I worked at a John Deere dealership for several years, and Deere had long since switched over to G05 coolant for ALL applications- including 40+ year-old tractors with copper/brass radiators. The stuff worked fine in the older equipment.

Deere isn't like most OEM's in my experience. I've worked for several heavy equipment dealerships in my time, and usually I take all their information with a grain of salt. But IMO, Deere's word is gospel.

 

[Kestas]

There were one or two threads on soldered copper/brass systems about a years ago. Though G-05 is not a bad choice, there was some information presented that traditional silicated coolant is actually a better choice for these vehicles.

 

[doitmyself]

Quote:
Deere isn't like most OEM's in my experience. I've worked for several heavy equipment dealerships in my time, and usually I take all their information with a grain of salt. But IMO, Deere's word is gospel.


Hate to burst your bubble Onion, but I wouldn't be drinking any green cool aid offered up by John Deere (I.e., Jim Jones).

My work place uses million of dollars of JD equipment and over the years I have noticed that the bean counters have affected them, like all other big companies.

My local dealers know me well as the guy who comes down once or more a year to challenge wrong information printed in their owner's manual's. With a bit of persistence and going up the chain of cammand to find a Knowledgable engineer, in nearly all cases, I prove my point. Most recently, my 4115 manual has the wrong specs for coolant capacity, which could result in too low of concentration.

 

[onion]

Well, the 'gospel' thing was a figure of speech. They have their problems the same as any company. But in my experience, their information has been vastly more reliable than what I've seen from the Cummins, Case, and Detroit Diesel dealerships that I've worked for.

 

[Charlie1935]

It's not like the old days when all you had was alcohol or permanent to choose from. Yes I'm an old man. I remember when Dad used draino to flush the radiator.

 

[Kestas]

Welcome to the board!... finally, someone older than myself!

 

[Papa Bear]

Welcome, Charlie !!

 

[pickled]

Draino would still work for those pesky mineral deposits...nice post Charlie.

 

[artificialist]

Toyota was using some kind of unique coolant since the 1980s. Many other Japanese cars used a coolant that contains OAT additives, and phosphates. No aftermarket manufacturer makes an exact replacement for that kind of coolant. What is worse, is that many of those cars had green dye in the coolants, so people thought cheap stuff was all that they needed, and then their water pumps leaked.