Any-color coolant?

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Jimmy9190

Jimmy9190

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I was at Walmart today and saw they had Prestone coolant, the bottle says it will mix and work with "any color of coolant". I assume this means Toyota pink, GM Dex-Cool Orange, plain old ordinary normal green coolant and whatever other types are used nowadays.

Anyone ever used this stuff and does it really work with all types of coolant with no problems, like it claims to do on the label? Or if I need coolant is it best to stay with the Advance Auto Parts brand of pre-diluted ordinary green coolant, like I have used in the past?

Just curious here. Thanks for any help.
 
I used it with the last flush I did on my 5.9l Ram about two years ago. Mainly because it was buy one get one. I have not noticed any problems with it. Nothing strange at least. I've also used it to add to other vehicles, and again I've never ran into any problems with. We used to stock the "universal" in bulk form at the last dealer I worked at and never had any problems with it in a service environment.


On that note, I don't know if I would say that it is the ideal choice for everything, but adding to or topping of a system does not seem to be a problem.
 
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Thanks. I have been thinking about water pumps lately, my truck has 141,000 miles on it now, and still has its original water pump. Sooner or later I will need a new water pump, I know they don't last forever.

I have half a gallon of the AAP 50/50 premixed green coolant/water. When I replace my water pump I will buy another gallon or two for the job.
 
Will it work? Well, sort of.
Is it as safe as what MOPAR put in at the Factory? No.

Do some reading here on the coolant forum - this question comes up all the time.
 
Thanks. I didn't have a lot of faith that it really would work with any type of coolant. I will stick with regular old green anti-freeze.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
I was at Walmart today and saw they had Prestone coolant, the bottle says it will mix and work with "any color of coolant". I assume this means Toyota pink, GM Dex-Cool Orange, plain old ordinary normal green coolant and whatever other types are used nowadays.

Anyone ever used this stuff and does it really work with all types of coolant with no problems, like it claims to do on the label? Or if I need coolant is it best to stay with the Advance Auto Parts brand of pre-diluted ordinary green coolant, like I have used in the past?

Just curious here. Thanks for any help.


Its basically a clone or close relative of DexCool. I wouldn't put it in anything *I* cared about- there's always a risk of gasket damage with a coolant that is built around a 2EHA inhibitor package in an engine that wasn't built specifically for it. IMO you're much safer with either a conventional inorganic inhibitor package, or an organic acid coolant built around a HOAT or POAT inhibitor package like G-05, Peak Global Lifetime, or the Asian vehicle coolants.
 
Originally Posted By: cos
Will it work? Well, sort of.
Is it as safe as what MOPAR put in at the Factory? No.

Do some reading here on the coolant forum - this question comes up all the time.


That coolant has been out for about ~5 years now....does anyone have any hard data? Has it clashed with other coolants? Has it caused problems?
 
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Originally Posted By: turbochem
Originally Posted By: cos
Will it work? Well, sort of.
Is it as safe as what MOPAR put in at the Factory? No.

Do some reading here on the coolant forum - this question comes up all the time.


That coolant has been out for about ~5 years now....does anyone have any hard data? Has it clashed with other coolants? Has it caused problems?


Its going to be VERY hard to establish any hard evidence of cause-and-effect, since that coolant is by definition going into old vehicles that may have cooling system problems for other reasons. I think Prestone knows that and its why they get away with marketing it as "universal." They're playing a percentage game, and they're right- it won't cause identifiable problems in MOST vehicles. But since we on this forum are a bit smarter than the average bear and know what 2EHA is and what it can do to certain gaskets, most people here recommend avoiding Prestone "all makes," especially in vehicles that weren't made for DexCool originally.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Which is a better non-Dexol any-color coolant then?


So you're asking what is a decent non-dex clone? I believe Peak Global is a non-dex clone.
 
If I had not read this topic, I would have picked up the Prestone any-color for my Japanese vehicle believing that Prestone being the market leader knows what it is doing :-(

Is Peak Global and/or Zerex Asian better for me?
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
If I had not read this topic, I would have picked up the Prestone any-color for my Japanese vehicle believing that Prestone being the market leader knows what it is doing :-(

Is Peak Global and/or Zerex Asian better for me?


I've used Peak Global in a Civic for awhile now without issue. The article Dan55 has linked above says Asian manufacturers still advise against using coolant with 2EHA.

Unfortunately, Prestone as the market leader has convinced the public and maybe even some other antifreeze makers and distributers that one antifreeze can be used in all cars. Another triumph of marketing over engineering.
 
The way i look at it. Those Zerex Asian jugs are like what? 9 bucks.

In my case Honda Type II is 11 bucks... i dont see the issue with just using the proper coolant that a car came with.

Is the off chance that something can mess up your 30k car really worth saving 6 bucks over on 3 gallons?
 
Honda type II typically retails for about $15-$18 around here, but I agree with, if you are going to pay for Zerex AVF you are pretty close in price to the OEM premix. Zerex AVF is not exactly the same formula as OE, it is close and is a phosphated HOAT, but it is sort of a cross between Type I and type II Japanese OE formula. I'd either go with Peak Global concentrate if I were trying to save money or just try to price some OE type II premix at the best price.
 
Deathcool has been a problem for some of the other older GM engines. Yours is not one of them. It eats lower intake manifold gaskets for breakfast. It is not a great coolant for a system that is not 100% healthy and sealed up. If your is, go for it. It is a very long life coolant if in a system that is in good condition.
 
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