Which Coolant????

[A10WartHog]

I just performed a complete fluid exchange on my 1991 Nissan 300zx TwinTurbo last wek. Prestone Extended Life was used. System refilled wih 50/50 mixture of this and distilled water. Red Line water weter was also added. After just recently looking over this form, it looks like that was not a good choice. From reading, it looks Zerex G-05 or Peak Global Lifetime would have been better choices.

Am I okay until next exchange which will be next year, or should I just go ahead and get that stuf out of there. Any other recommendations for type of coolant is welcomed.

Thanks

 

[tommygunn]

Be fine leaving what you got in there. I wouldn't fuss. The Red Line water wetter is all I'll get you on: its unnecessary unless you're running straight water in a racing application. Save your money next time.

 

[Donald]

+1 on forgetting the coolant additives for normal driving cars.

I don't think Peak Extended was a great choice but its OK. Its a Dexclone.

Zerex Asian or G-05 or Peak Global would be my choices.

 

[MuzzleFlash40]

I'm a prestone fan myself use it in all my cars.

 

[Corvette Owner]

These days you need a PhD in Chemistry to understand coolant replacement. I stay with the OEM fluids, a little more expensive but I know they are okay.

 

[Ramblin Fever]

ok....can everyone explain the differences of the coolants mentioned here.

I thought all extended life coolants contained *some form* of dexcool.

I have read numerous threads and links, but please explain the difference between *why* Peak Global is better then Prestone Extended

Is it *just* because of the vehicle in question, or is it truly a better antifreeze.

I know no one is a fan of Dex products, I'm not either. But give me MORE info then just that

For instance, my problem is I'm sitting with 3 vehicles that came with conventional green - what is *safe* to enter into their cooling systems without having to be in panic mode to make sure the old stuff got out.

Not only that, but 2 of them just had all new coolant put in; which is conventional green - so what is safe to add to them, if need be.

2 are Dodge vehicles (cummins and caravan)

 

[Drew99GT]

The Prestone extended life coolants have 2EHA as a rust inhibitor, similar to Dexcool, which many people fear is the cause of Dexcool's supposed problems with eating gaskets and sludging and all that stuff.

Peak Global Lifetime and GO5 based coolants don't have 2EHA, but the GO5 coolants have a small dose of silicates. Peak Global Lifetime, Dexcool, and Prestone Extended Life are all phosphate and silicate free.

If you want to use a coolant and not have to worry much about compatibility, Peak Global is about as good as it gets, but the whole issue of silicates and phosphates comes up as most Japanese OEMs and some European OEMs still use either a small dose of silicates (GO5) for protection, or a stiff dose of phosphates (Japanese).

There are a bunch of great articles posted online that discuss antifreeze formulations and you do either have to be a chemist or a nerd to understand them (I'm the latter!).

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
ok....can everyone explain the differences of the coolants mentioned here.

I thought all extended life coolants contained *some form* of dexcool.

I have read numerous threads and links, but please explain the difference between *why* Peak Global is better then Prestone Extended

I assume by Prestone "Extended life" the OP is referring to Prestone Long Life All Makes/Models, a universal Dexclone. A dex-clone because it contains the active ingredient 2eha like GM formula Dexcool.

And much like going by AF color, going by name alone is not enough information to identify an AF. Long Life can also be a 2eha free Asian P-Hoat like Toyota Red or Mazda Green. So name is also not a reliable way to identify coolant chemistry.

And Peak Global Lifetime is generally considered 'better' here, because it is a 2eha free coolant, that is effective for up to ~5years/100k and compatible with many AF's and cooling systems.

As for 2eha, the active ingredient in Dexcool, it is considered very effective, but primarily because some GM gaskets were not compatible with it, many LIM gaskets failed over time. Actually if one knows their vehicle's gaskets are compatible, 2eha based coolant like Dex and the universals can be effective. Ford is actually moving to consolidate all it's future AF to a dex/2eha based product. And, the universal varients are the most common AF's sold in parts store and places like Wally right now.

Also, agree with others here, no need for WW in pc use.

 

[Sayjac]

Prestone is called Extended Life AMM (correction), I generally just call it Prestone AMM. Peak calls their universal dexclone Peak Long Life, but it's basically a similar product to Prestone AMM.

And the linked article is about as good and recent as one will find on AF.

http://www.motor.com/article.asp?article_ID=1655

 

[Donald]

Don't think that the silicates are some fine sand in the G-05. They are a chemical that quickly coats bare metal to provide protection. For various reasons including cavitation the coating does get removed from the metal and the faster its replaced the better.

IMHO - I would use real DexCool if my vehicle came from the factory with it. Otherwise I would avoid it.

The dexclones are all-makes/all-models to save shelf space for Walmart and 7-11 not because they are better coolant.

If you want to spend $22/gallon, buy John Deere CG II. Might be the best coolant available.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: Ramblin Fever
ok....can everyone explain the differences of the coolants mentioned here.

I thought all extended life coolants contained *some form* of dexcool.

I have read numerous threads and links, but please explain the difference between *why* Peak Global is better then Prestone Extended

Is it *just* because of the vehicle in question, or is it truly a better antifreeze.

I know no one is a fan of Dex products, I'm not either. But give me MORE info then just that

For instance, my problem is I'm sitting with 3 vehicles that came with conventional green - what is *safe* to enter into their cooling systems without having to be in panic mode to make sure the old stuff got out.

Not only that, but 2 of them just had all new coolant put in; which is conventional green - so what is safe to add to them, if need be.

2 are Dodge vehicles (cummins and caravan)


If you are sure the vehicles are filled with conventional green and not just some dexclone off-green coolant, then the best thing to do is to only add conventional green. Are you sure the coolant used was labeled as "conventional" or "original" green? G-05 being somewhat similar would probably be the next most compatible to conventional green, but still it'd be best to stick with the same formula.

Coolants are generally compatible with each other, but the color dyes can clash, and it's never best to have a diluted mixture of more than one formula making both less effective.

Dexcool has very good corrosion inhibition properties and long life, and is not that aggressive with gasket vs other coolants. It doesn't tolerate air in the cooling system or being ran low as well though. Peak Global being an OAT could have some similar shortcomings if ran low.

There's nothing wrong with conventional green. It just needs to be changed about every 2 years (I know Zerex is now calling it a 5 year coolant but whatever). That's the main reason people go with G-05 and Peak Global to get longer service life.

 

[Ramblin Fever]

yes....all 3 are currently running *conventional* autozone green antifreeze.

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
The dexclones are all-makes/all-models to save shelf space for Walmart and 7-11 not because they are better coolant.

Add to that list O'Reilly's, Autozone, Advance and others. At O'R the majority AF's a just different versions/brands concentrate and premix universal dexclone coolants. Like it or not, the universal coolants dominate the parts store shelves, not just Wally and/or convenience stores.

I've also used Peak Long Life on a 2-3year/30k vehicle manufacturers interval change. Looking back, based on results which was good, the biggest chance I took was that the gaskets were not compatible to 2eha. That's what happened with GM LIM gaskets.

One of the reasons I'd choose Peak Global Lifetime, in addition to being 2eha, silicate free and specing a longer interval, is unlike most super long life Asian P-Hoats coolants, is it's available in a concentrate which allows a total system flush to correct concentration, and not paying for half water.

The linked thread below is devoted to the dexclone universals, and has some interesting thoughts on the subject.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2471312

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
Quote:
ok....can everyone explain the differences of the coolants mentioned here.

I thought all extended life coolants contained *some form* of dexcool.

I have read numerous threads and links, but please explain the difference between *why* Peak Global is better then Prestone Extended

I assume by Prestone "Extended life" the OP is referring to Prestone Long Life All Makes/Models, a universal Dexclone. A dex-clone because it contains the active ingredient 2eha like GM formula Dexcool.

And much like going by AF color, going by name alone is not enough information to identify an AF. Long Life can also be a 2eha free Asian P-Hoat like Toyota Red or Mazda Green. So name is also not a reliable way to identify coolant chemistry.

And Peak Global Lifetime is generally considered 'better' here, because it is a 2eha free coolant, that is effective for up to ~5years/100k and compatible with many AF's and cooling systems.

As for 2eha, the active ingredient in Dexcool, it is considered very effective, but primarily because some GM gaskets were not compatible with it, many LIM gaskets failed over time. Actually if one knows their vehicle's gaskets are compatible, 2eha based coolant like Dex and the universals can be effective. Ford is actually moving to consolidate all it's future AF to a dex/2eha based product. And, the universal varients are the most common AF's sold in parts store and places like Wally right now.

Also, agree with others here, no need for WW in pc use.


Note that Ford is moving to a DexCool like coolant. But they are not suggesting to use the new coolant in older Fords that came with G-05. So with respect to DexCool, if it came from the factory with it, stick with it, otherwise figure out what is best for your vehicle other than DexCool.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: sayjac
.....Ford is actually moving to consolidate all it's future AF to a dex/2eha based product. And, the universal varients are the most common AF's.....

Note that Ford is moving to a DexCool like coolant. But they are not suggesting to use the new coolant in older Fords that came with G-05.....

Thus the word "future" with no mention of the term 'back specing.' Point being, Ford, for whatever reason or reasons has decided to go to a Dex type coolant consolidation sometime with future vehicle production.

Agree, if the vehicle currently spec's G-05, then that's what should be used.

 

[blacklamb]

I dont know squat about coolant but I run this:

https://www.amsoil.com/storefront/ant.aspx

Seems to work out great so far anyways. It lives up to its name and last as long as they claim it should be great stuff.

AND

This was the other stuff I'm looking into

http://www.evanscooling.com/


Anyone have any insight on the stuff?

 

[PeteTheFarmer]

Some people swear by Evans, which is waterless. Other people love Red Line's product, which seems to work best using only water. I'm willing to bet a standard mix of glycol and water at forty to sixty percent is all that is needed except in rare cases.

 

[Donald]

Amsoil is polyglycol rather than the normal stuff (its non toxic). But I believe polyglycol is not quite as efficient at heat transfer as normal stuff. But its an excellent coolant, but the shipping is the problem at 8lb/gallon. However I do not believe its better than say JD CG II.