I have a 2003 Mitsu Montero. The coolant is green. The manual says to use a high quality long life ethylene glycol coolant(or mitsubihi coolant). The normal change interval is 4 years or 60k miles. Is it just the old fashioned coolant?
What Is Mitsubishi Coolant
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I can't answer your question specifically, but I have a 92 Mitsu mirage and it says to use long life coolant on the coolant reservior. When I bought it 63k miles ago, it came with green coolant. I just used the regular green stuff ever since. no problem at all with this
Green dye is no longer an indication of conventional, silicated antifreeze. (Honda's non-silicate, extended life antifreeze is also dyed green. The new standard Prestone non-silicate, extended life antifreeze is green, too.) While not a certainty, if your engine block is cast iron, there is a possibility that the original factory juice is conventional. The Japanese automakers who've gone to all-aluminum engines have totally embraced OAT antifreeze (fortified with phosphates for quick protection of the aluminum components). If the back of the jug indicates ingredients such as:
sodium benzoate
sodium neodecanoate
sodium 2-ethyl hexanoate
(or any of the above's potassium counterparts)
AND NO MENTION OF SILICATES,
in addition to ethylene glycol, then the odds are that an extended life antifreeze was used as the factory fill. Post back any ingredients info printed on the backside of the jug.
sodium benzoate
sodium neodecanoate
sodium 2-ethyl hexanoate
(or any of the above's potassium counterparts)
AND NO MENTION OF SILICATES,
in addition to ethylene glycol, then the odds are that an extended life antifreeze was used as the factory fill. Post back any ingredients info printed on the backside of the jug.
The block is cast iron with aluminum heads. I would guess it is conventional fluid, but I am surprised they would recommend a 4 year 60k change interval for conventional fluid.
Then I'd suggest using either Zerex G-05 or the new extended-life Prestone/SuperTech/Advance Auto concentrate diluted with distilled or de-ionized water to 50% concnetration in that car - it'll be cheaper than buying from the dealer, and very likely at least as good if not even better than the original factory fill. Just be sure to do a full distilled or de-ionized water flush until the effluent drains water-white clear, first. (Unless you remove the water jacket drain plugs on the block, the remaining distilled water after the final radiator drain will give you just about a 50% mix when you refill the radiator with the antifreeze concentrate. Just be sure to watch the water level in the radiator for the first few days after refilling since it'll probably drop a bit as any air pocket(s) are purged* - again, use concentrate to adjust level in the radiator as necessary. If the overflow bottle is low at this point, adjust with 50% concentration you mix, yourself. During the flushing make sure that heat control valve is OPEN to ensure that the heater core is flushed, too.
*Check your owner's manual for any reference of a purge screw valve - and USE it if present. Some systems just won't self-purge. Trapped air equals hot spots and eventual corrosion regardless of the quality of the corrosion inhibitor chemistry present in the antifreeze selected.
[ May 15, 2005, 08:31 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
*Check your owner's manual for any reference of a purge screw valve - and USE it if present. Some systems just won't self-purge. Trapped air equals hot spots and eventual corrosion regardless of the quality of the corrosion inhibitor chemistry present in the antifreeze selected.
[ May 15, 2005, 08:31 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
Well, if it is anything like the coolant in my 00' eclipse, it is... crap.
I know they had a pretty big issue with the deposits forming from the coolant they used. I had the problem with my eclipse, thick silica deposits around the radiator hoses. I ended up having to flush the entire system completely, and replacing the hoses at ~35,000 miles.
I know they had a pretty big issue with the deposits forming from the coolant they used. I had the problem with my eclipse, thick silica deposits around the radiator hoses. I ended up having to flush the entire system completely, and replacing the hoses at ~35,000 miles.
Sounds an awful lot like conventional, highly silicated antifreeze, eh?
The stuff served well with cast iron and brass, but aluminum seems to have its own issues. I had a '91 Sonata that apparently came with conventional green. Its engine was Hyundai-built under license from Mitsubishi - a cast iron block V6 with aluminum single overhead camshaft heads. Ther radiator was aluminum with the now common plastic top and bottom tanks. I never ended up with scaling or corrosion, but I had to physically remove the radiator petcock and tediously "tease" the gelled silicate glop out of the bottom of the radiator in order to drain it. Thereafter, the coolant got changed like clockwork every 12 months. Never had a repeat of the "joy" of the 1st changeout at 24 months. On my 2003 Sonata, aluminum V6, I waited until nearly 24 months to change out. By that time the green antifreeze was a little turbid (murky). No drainage issues, no scaling, no corrosion, but I made a point to thoroughly flush with distilled water and refill with an extended life antifreeze - SuperTech (Prestone sourced, I believe).
Should've known better than to assume Hyundai had discovered the error of its ways 11 years later . . .
Should've known better than to assume Hyundai had discovered the error of its ways 11 years later . . .
I believe most of the Japanese automakers prefer a non-silicated coolant with phosphate and OAT corrosion inhibitors. A lot of the "universal" products out there don't contain phosphates because it would run counter to many European carmakers' recommendations.
A generic equivalent shouldn't be too expensive, although there's nobody out there making it. Only dealer supplied coolant seems to be the exact type. I was actually thinking of maybe trying the new Prestone and adding some sodium phosphate. I know - probably a bad idea - I'll just go to the dealer to get ripped off.
A generic equivalent shouldn't be too expensive, although there's nobody out there making it. Only dealer supplied coolant seems to be the exact type. I was actually thinking of maybe trying the new Prestone and adding some sodium phosphate. I know - probably a bad idea - I'll just go to the dealer to get ripped off.
For years people were using high-phosphate, silicated coolants in the US. Although Prestone no longer seems to, the generic non-EL coolants (Peak, Full Force, etc) still seem to use that combination. Before Dex-Cool and its clones, the #1 coolant used in American cars was probably yellow Prestone with its high phosphate level. I understand that high silicate coolants worked great up to the point where the silicates gel or precipitate out.
Premixed coolant seems to be a bigger trend these days. Honda's Type 2 coolant is only available already diluted with deionized water.
The Japanese seem to be alone in their preference for high phosphate levels, though that doesn't necessarily make them wrong. I'm just not convinced they're absolutely right, either. (In principle, their logic seems sound enough, but in practice, perhaps it's not really that much of an issue.) I ran Havoline DEX-COOL in a '96 Accord for three years with no problems whatsoever. Based on my prior experience, I wouldn't hesitate to substitute the Prestone extended-life antifreeze/coolant in any Japanese make at changeout time for vehicles out of warranty. The Japanese are also united in recommending dilution with distilled or de-ionized water. As you pointed out, the European OEMs are generally united in not wanting phosphates in their cooling systems - Europe's generally abysmally hard tap water and the fear a high phosphate dose would be more likely to fall out as hard precipitates to grind waterpump seals as the generally accepted reason. (And, again in principle, the European OEMs' logic seems sound, too.) The big three in the U.S. are also not fond of phosphates - DEX-COOL has always been phosphate-free, as are the Ford and Mopar G-05 clones owing to that formulation's European heritage. At some point, I suspect common ground will be attained, but currently the world's drivers are paying beta-testers for competing coolant philosophies.
(At nine months and two days with ST extended-life antifreeze/coolant, all's well in my 2003 Sonata aluminum V6* - no leakage, no crud, glop, or discoloration in the radiator or the overflow bottle, and bright, clean metal in the visible core passages.)
*Hyundai's 2003 Sonata owner's manual was a model of non-specificity - advising only to use a "quality ethylene-glycol coolant...[which is]...safe for aluminum engine parts".
(At nine months and two days with ST extended-life antifreeze/coolant, all's well in my 2003 Sonata aluminum V6* - no leakage, no crud, glop, or discoloration in the radiator or the overflow bottle, and bright, clean metal in the visible core passages.)
*Hyundai's 2003 Sonata owner's manual was a model of non-specificity - advising only to use a "quality ethylene-glycol coolant...[which is]...safe for aluminum engine parts".
I understand why Honda sells premix coolant. It is the only way they can assure that people do not mix the coolant with regular water. What I do not understand is why the coolant bottles do not mention distilled water. They usually say something like "clean clear water".
I took a quick look once trying to find the original non extended-life Honda coolant. I thought the "Type 2" label said that it was blended with deionized water.
It could be worse. A few years back Prestone was selling their "Super Purified Water" for about $2.50/gallon. They even made some outragoeus claim that it was better than traditional deionized or distilled water.
Oops, sorry for the unclear wording. What I meant to say is that I wonder why the pure coolant bottles do not say to mix 50-50 with distilled water. They just say to use "clean clear water"
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