Supertech 5 year / 150k miles

[metroplex]

What type of coolant is this? Same as G-05 or different?

The back of the label says it contains:
ethylene glycol
diethylene glycol
sodium 2 ethyl hexanoate
sodium neodecanoate

I hope it's not related to Death-cool?

I planned to use it in an older Ford that I don't care too much about, just to keep it running around as a grocery getter.

 

[Mr Nice]

Is it yellow or green?? G-05 is yellow colored.

 

[metroplex]

It's definitely green, an opaque-ish green. It resembles Texaco Anti-freeze (or whatever manufacturer of Texaco AF's).

Prestone Green is almost a **** -yellow and is transluscent/transparent.

 

[ChrisW]

The new supertech 'mix-all' is in fact relabled prestone 'mix-all', which is chemically identical, minus the dye, to the GM dex-cool formulation/specification that prestone makes.

The reason the 'mix-all' doesn't have the dex-cool label is because GM charges to use this name/laebl under licenseing agreement.

G 05 would be a better coolant, imo, for your app. It resists cavitation much better than dex-cool type coolants.

Dex-cool itself is not a bad coolant (the OAT, organic acid technology) behind it works quite well); much of the problems correlated with dex-cool can be attributed to am improperly maintained cooling system (ie allowing a low level of coolant) and faulty engine design/coolant system design.

 

[metroplex]

So the Supertech 5-year stuff is green Dex-Cool?

 

[ChrisW]

quote:

---

Originally posted by metroplex:
So the Supertech 5-year stuff is green Dex-Cool?

---

yes. it shares the same chemistry as prestone's version of dex-cool.

edit: the new mix-all supertech either comes in a black bottle or a blue bottle depending on whether its premixed or not.

 

[metroplex]

I used to use Texaco AF in my 00 Crown Vic (alum heads, alum radiator) and the hoses/interior gummed up badly (like cholesterol clogging an artery). I changed to Prestone green and everything cleared up.

Texaco AF was opaque just like this Supertech 5-year stuff. I'm wondering if the Texaco AF I bought was based on the Dex-cool chemistry??? Texaco AF worked fine in the 81 T-bird (iron heads, brass/copper/bronze radiator).

 

[Ray H]

If the Texaco antifreeze you used was dyed orange, it was DEX-COOL (Texaco actually blends and bottles GM "Mr. Goodwrench" DEX-COOL.) If it was green, it was very likely conventional green-snot-of-death silicated antifreeze that took a dump when the silicates, amines, and nitrites fell out of solution after a couple of years. The Texaco DEX-COOL, by either name, uses potassium 2-ethyl hexanoate as its OAT corrosion inhibitor. Whether Prestone's substitution of sodium for potassium or the inclusion of an additional hydrated organic acid salt, sodium neodeconoate materially affects the physical propeties is unknown.* As Chris pointed out, the only differences between the extended life Prestone/SuperTech/Advance Auto antifreeze concentrates (all aparrently made by Prestone) and the Prestone licensed DEX-COOL antifreeze concentrate, is the presence of the DEX-COOL labeling and that the low-priced spreads are dyed green** instead of orange. (perhaps to assure that GM's legal staff doesn't make a stink?)

I've had the extended-life SuperTech version in my Sonata V6 since early September - NO problems so far, adn I've been keeping very close tabs. (At less than 2-yrs, the factory coolant had clouded slightly. Though there were no deposits or scaling, still, I wasn't happy with the factory fill's turbidity - and Hyundai recommends 3 yrs or 36,000 miles before changing out.) Did a run from San Bernardino to Las Vegas and back yesterday with the A/C on full-arctic blast for the round trip. The coolant temperature gauge needle sat fixed at its usual location about 1/16" below the midline the whole time. There are several 6% grades on that run and I had the cruise control set to 75 mph. (Did more than break even this time, too!

)

*"DEX-COOL" is a GM performance spec, not a specific product - and some variance in chemistry is allowed in meeting that spec. Anyone can duplicate that spec without paying GM a licensing fee unless they plan to use the term "DEX-COOL" in the product labeling.

**Looking down into the jug, the SuperTech concentrate did, indeed, appear yellowish to me, too. However, once in the transluscent overflow bottle and diluted, it now appears definitely more green than anything else - dunno what that's all about unless it appears different under fluorescent lighting than in the shade of the garage . . .

[ May 15, 2005, 09:39 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]

 

[metroplex]

I pre-mixed the Supertech 5 year and the Prestone "Green" 2 year.

The Supertech looked like the old Texaco GREEN anti-freeze that I used to use (which clogged up the hoses in my 00 Ford Crown Vic and 03 E-250). Both of these vehicles have alum radiators, alum heads.

The 81 T-bird did not have a prob with the Texaco GREEN (non-alum radiator, iron heads).

The Prestone Green looked light green/yellow. I stored all these in clear bottles and you can certainly tell the difference.

Is Supertech Green ($4/gal) the same as Prestone Green?

 

[Winston]

Why do you call this fluid a "mix all". I thought that if you mix dexcool with even a tiny bit of other types of coolants you drastically reduce its service life. No?

 

[Ray H]

You're right, Winston. Metroplex, there aren't any outright chemistry incompatibilities in mixing the new SuperTech extended life "universal" antifreeze with "traditional green" - on that basis, they are compatible. But, in doing so, you HAVE limited the new stuff to the working life of the traditional juice you mixed it with. There's an advisory on the backside of the SuperTech jug in fine print about this point. (File under, "You Can't Make A Silk Purse Out of A Sow's Ear".)

Now, final question for you - are you absolutely certain that the Prestone you mixed the SuperTech with is really the old formula with silicates? The current Prestone is also a "universal" extended-life formula, and is identified as such on the yellow jug it's sold in. In fact, it's the SAME formula as the new SuperTech and Advance Auto "universal" products because Prestone supplies it in bulk to their bottlers. Except for the odd lot of old stock Prestone still in some out-of-the-way bumpkin stores, conventional, silicated Prestone is no longer available. The new, "universal" formula hit the shelves about last August.

[ May 16, 2005, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]

 

[metroplex]

????

There are different types of Prestone Green and Prestone "Yellow"??

I've always bought the Prestone Green ($7/gal) and only recently saw the 5-year Prestone ($8/gal) for sale at all the stores.

I'm still using the Prestone Green in the Ford modular engines.

Has the new 5-year Prestone replaced ALL the Prestone Green?

 

[Ray H]

Covered and answered in my previous post.

By the way, Pep Boys still carries conventional silicated antifreeze under their "Pro-Line" brand if you need a source or just want to stock up.