NAPA Extended Life Universal Coolant

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Napa claims this coolant is compatible with alll vehicles, all years and all types of coolant. Is it possible for any coolant to be 100 % compatible with all coolants past and present?
 
Originally Posted By: hemitruck
No


Ok, can you give a specific example of where the Napa formula would be chemically incompatible with another coolant, e.g. form corrosive by-products and/or precipitate solids?
 
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Pure distilled water is an effective coolant that is 100% compatible with all coolant
(excluding evans waterless coolant, for the wise guys on here
wink.gif
)
 
Won't work for anything requiring HOAT coolant (Any Chrysler 2000ish-2013, some Fords I think too).
 
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Based on your responses I read the product description more carefully. I was wrong (again, lol). Napa does not claim it is ok to mix coolants, it says Napa Extended can be used on any light duty truck or car regardless of original factory fill. I will have to get a jug in my hands to read the actual label, but I guess they are saying if you flush your system you can safely refill any vehicle with Napa Exptended.
 
I think you'll find that most if not all the 'Universal Dexclones" OAT AF's make the same claim. They make up the majority of the AF sold under store names and brand name. They all contain 2eha which is major inhibitor found in DexCool. Because of their generally neutral color they claim they can be added to most any AF. However to get 'extended/long life' interval a complete change needs to be done.

Napa Extended AF has been discussed here before and it is made by Old World, and it's most like if not identical to Peak Long Life AF which contains 2eha. The SDS confirmes the latter.

Personally, it wouldn't be my first choice and unless the vehicle specs Dex Cool I would avoid it. Generally I'd choose the type AF the car specs. And if it specs DexCool that's what I'd use. Most the spec'd AFs are now readily available as aftermarket AFs. Chrysler FCA OAT might be one exception.

The only universal 'type' AF I would use (with a complete exchange) and am using in a Tacoma is Peak Global Lifetime. It's an Extended/Long Life OAT AF that does NOT contain 2eha.
 
Originally Posted By: artbuc
Originally Posted By: hemitruck
No


Ok, can you give a specific example of where the Napa formula would be chemically incompatible with another coolant, e.g. form corrosive by-products and/or precipitate solids?


Can I name one specific example? Not sure about that.

However, one thing I can say is that manufacturers utilize a specific chemistry for their coolants based on the physical makeup of their engines, and other associated systems (radiators, etc..), as well as the operating conditions under which their engines run. This results in a very specific chemistry for each coolant, or in some cases 'families' of coolants, such as is the case with Mazda FL22 and Motorcraft Premium Gold (G-05) coolants, which are chemically the same, just with different coloration. These coolants are both also good for 5-years or 100,000 miles before they are used up, or risk precipitating out, etc..

As far as I know, all "universal" coolants are essentially clones of dex-cool, based on the chemicals used to make them what they are. As such, if you mix them into the coolant in an engine that is already using a non dexcool coolant, you'll end up screwing up the chemistry of the fluid, and this will always negatively impact the effectiveness of the coolant, ultimately leading it to precipitate early, or potentially reduce their ability to mitigate/prevent corrosion, etc.. Instead of the coolant being good for 5 years and/or 100,000 miles (or more, in the case of Nissan, etc..), they might only be good for 2 years or 30,000 miles before they run the risk of causing problems.

That said, if you do a FULL flush so you can be sure that the previous fluid is almost entirely gone, then switching many cars to use only the "universal" stuff can potentially work fine.

I personally won't use the "universal" stuff myself. The genuine stuff is just not that much more expensive.
 
I don't think it's safe to use in every vehicle even if you do a flush and not mixing it...for example my Liberty has a plastic water pump impeller that would get eaten alive by OAT coolant.
 
Originally Posted By: Sayjac
I think you'll find that most if not all the 'Universal Dexclones" OAT AF's make the same claim. They make up the majority of the AF sold under store names and brand name. They all contain 2eha which is major inhibitor found in DexCool. Because of their generally neutral color they claim they can be added to most any AF. However to get 'extended/long life' interval a complete change needs to be done.

Napa Extended AF has been discussed here before and it is made by Old World, and it's most like if not identical to Peak Long Life AF which contains 2eha. The SDS confirmes the latter.

Personally, it wouldn't be my first choice and unless the vehicle specs Dex Cool I would avoid it. Generally I'd choose the type AF the car specs. And if it specs DexCool that's what I'd use. Most the spec'd AFs are now readily available as aftermarket AFs. Chrysler FCA OAT might be one exception.

The only universal 'type' AF I would use (with a complete exchange) and am using in a Tacoma is Peak Global Lifetime. It's an Extended/Long Life OAT AF that does NOT contain 2eha.


I am a coolant snob and will not use anything but OEM factory fill in my cars. I was asking for a friend whose cars I have been maintaining since her husband died. She has a 2003 Lexus ES 300 which needed a new timing belt before I got involved. They did a hack job with aftermarket junk and had to redo the job less than a year later. I am sure they did not flush but after two TB and WP replacements most of the coolant is now Napa Extended, if they are telling us the truth. Given the mileage she drives I will just top up with Napa Extended. Car has 148k miles and I am guessing something other than a coolant related failure will prompt her to get a new car.
 
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