Engine Coolant Choice

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by wagonman76

I use the old green stuff. Though it's getting harder and harder to find. Only place I can find it now is Kmart as Peak Original Green. It's always worked well in my old engines and that's all I want to use. And my engines have plenty of aluminum and plastic parts.

I'm not up on all these different types being discussed, but for all I know, anything "extended life" = Deathcool. I won't use any of it.

I think Zerex still makes the old green stuff, but I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere. And I think NAPA's own coolant is the old green too.

[jonathan150cc]

For what it's worth, I used to be of the perception that coolant was coolant and I would just buy whatever was cheapest at the time. That is until I owned a 1997 VW Golf. VW and other Euro-cars like to use this expensive Blue coolant. I don't remember if it's made by Bentley or Mercedes or whatever. So, being low one day, I topped it off with the green stuff because some packages say it if safe to use with coolant of any color. It didn't take long to notice an issue. The coolant in the cooling system began turning into a sandy mud and bascially just clogged its own arteries.

I pulled the thermostat (replaced it), flushed the system of all that crap, refilled with 50/50 cheap green stuff and never had another issue. But to say that all coolants are universal would be a false statement.

I think the argument that I hear most about the green stuff is that it's "corrosive" and needs to be changed at least a few times during the life of a vehicle. I say "so what?" It costs about $20 and takes half an hour to completely flush and fill your cooling system on an average sized car. Throw in a new thermostat and your only out $35.

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by jonathan150cc

For what it's worth, I used to be of the perception that coolant was coolant and I would just buy whatever was cheapest at the time. That is until I owned a 1997 VW Golf. VW and other Euro-cars like to use this expensive Blue coolant. I don't remember if it's made by Bentley or Mercedes or whatever. So, being low one day, I topped it off with the green stuff because some packages say it if safe to use with coolant of any color. It didn't take long to notice an issue. The coolant in the cooling system began turning into a sandy mud and bascially just clogged its own arteries.

I pulled the thermostat (replaced it), flushed the system of all that crap, refilled with 50/50 cheap green stuff and never had another issue. But to say that all coolants are universal would be a false statement.

I think the argument that I hear most about the green stuff is that it's "corrosive" and needs to be changed at least a few times during the life of a vehicle. I say "so what?" It costs about $20 and takes half an hour to completely flush and fill your cooling system on an average sized car. Throw in a new thermostat and your only out $35.

VW coolant is pink. And Mercedes coolant is G-05, which is yellow in the Zerex bottle. I've never seen the factory Mercedes coolant color. I've heard the blue stuff is BMW, but I've never seen it myself.

Two years is usually the recommended change interval for the green stuff. Coolants are designed to retard corrosion, but the additives do not last forever.