Universal Coolant

[Maritime Storm]

Are universal coolants actually good for everything or good for nothing? I know every manufacturer calls for a different spec, can these coolants actually meet all of them?

 

[tomcat27]

It depends... For example, on a bottle of Peak Long Life Universal it reads: "safe to add to any...." and that statement is fairly true: safe to top off - but not neccessarily to replace. Most long-life coolants use an Organic Acid additive package, which protects aluminum parts, including radiators. the problem is, some mfrs use silicates, some dont. I believe that DexCool is silicate free; Ford also. Chrysler uses siliicates, as do most Japanese and Korean mfr. So, the real answer to your question is: "it depends".
What's at risk? Corrosion protection, gaskets, and sometimes water pump seals. Did you know that the Chrysler/Dodge 2.7L engine has the water pump INSIDE the engine? you certainly dont want that to leak!
IMHO, and I service alot of cars, you can get a DexCool variant off the shelf. for Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep you can use Zerex G05. I purchase asian coolants from the dealer.

you cant even choose coolant based on color alone. So, what are you putting it in and lets go from there!

 

[Maritime Storm]

Nothing of mine, at the moment. We use large volumes of it at work, this is where my question arises from, with GM's use use Prestone's Dexcool, everything else we been using their Universal Coolant. I know my new Ranger calls for only Ford's Premium Gold, my Saturn ION calls for only Dexcool and I know the 2 don't interchange. Some Ford's used Dexcool, some Dodge's as well. A call to Prestone's tech line didn't exactly instill confidence in their line mixes with anything and good for 100k Kms. Then we've got G-O5. My question is does it matter or is their a fundamental difference in coolant specs/requirements?

 

[UNC017]

Originally Posted By: Maritime Storm
Nothing of mine, at the moment. We use large volumes of it at work, this is where my question arises from, with GM's use use Prestone's Dexcool, everything else we been using their Universal Coolant. I know my new Ranger calls for only Ford's Premium Gold, my Saturn ION calls for only Dexcool and I know the 2 don't interchange. Some Ford's used Dexcool, some Dodge's as well. A call to Prestone's tech line didn't exactly instill confidence in their line mixes with anything and good for 100k Kms. Then we've got G-O5. My question is does it matter or is their a fundamental difference in coolant specs/requirements?


I don't know of ANY Dodge that uses DexCool because of its 2EHA content. Apart from that, what do you mean by "fundamental difference." To me, the biggest fundamental difference is whether or not a coolant contains 2EHA (like DexCool) or not. On the other hand, Prestone seems to think that a zero-silicate formula is more "universal" than a zero 2EHA formula, something I totally disagree with. Truthfully, I don't think any cooling system will promptly fail or have other issues even if you put old-style high silicate antifreeze in it- you just lose the ability to go 5 years between coolant changes and *may* (debatable) shorten the life of the water pump seal due to silicate precipitates being abrasive. But I do think some cooling systems will fail in short order if exposed to 2EHA.

Nothing is "universal" in meeting every intent that the cooling system designer had in mind in selecting the OEM coolant, but some can almost be considered universal for all practical purposes. The problem is that not all coolant vendors have the same idea of "universal" that I do, which is "do no harm to ANY system." G-05, IMO, is the closest to truly being safe and effective in all applications. Do I recommend it for GM vehicles? Not unless it were *MY* GM- there is some risk of a problem and so I'd never encourage anyone to switch unless they were willing to accept that risk, however slight it might be.