[Scott Collins]

Hello Friends,



is there a preferred brand/type of coolant for our cars. Thanks for sharing.



Scott

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[flash]

i use prestone - as long as it's phosphate free though, and you get the right mixture, i don't really think it matters

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[Cloud9...68]

To elaborate a bit on Flash's response, he means the Prestone in the silver bottle with the orange cap. It's called "Dex-Cool." It's what I've been using since my first coolant flush.

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[flash]

yup - that's what i use

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[Langley968]

Thanks for the post - I needed that info.

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[ds968]

Just went today to buy the Prestone "Dex-Cool" phosphate-free 50/50 mix I have always used in the past, and happened to notice the phosphate-free designation is no longer on the front of the can, nor mentioned anywhere on the back label details .

So I walked up to the counter ( O'Reilley's auto parts ) and the rep said Prestone no longer makes a phospahte-free coolant, orange, green, or otherwise.. ! HUH ? So I called Autozone, and was told the same thing, and that to their knowledge only

Pro Line , Chevron and Zirex ( sp ? ) "orange" brands are still phosphate free ! I'm sure this can't possibly be true, but just to

be on the safe side I bought the Chevron one - I use their gas exclusively, I like the Techron fuel cleaners, so anything else they make must be pretty good, IMO..

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[Cloud9...68]

Interesting... As another option, there's a BMW-branded antifreeze that BMW requires in their vehicles, and it says on the label that it's phosphate-free. Autohausaz sells it for a little over $21 a gallon, which is a little pricey, but only a few bucks more than Prestone, last time I checked, and at the rate the price of ethylene glycol has been increasing, the difference may be even less today. And if you order over $50 from Autohausaz, the shipping is free.



http://www.autohausa...ifreeze/Coolant

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[Mark]

Probably switching to Pentosin next time so I can keep it consistent across my vehicles, phosphate and silicate free. It's the Audi and VW OEM fill and possibly now the Porsche factory fill based on the bottle of Porsche coolant I have.

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[ds968]

Btw, on a coolant flush & replacement how much do we need ...one gallon, or more than that ?

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[Tom030]

I've been using the Aud/VW phosphate free since 1996, flushing the system every two years. I replaced the water pump at 115,000 while doing the belts and rollers. The pump was in like new condition.

~tom

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[Lim Yong]

The VW dealer here wanted $35 for the coolant......

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[Mark]

Lim If you want the VW/Audi stuff try NAPA ( https://www.napaonline.com) or one of the other auto parts places out there and look for Pentafrost SF, it's the same stuff. Being Hawaii I'm sure it's more expensive there than over here. This stuff is not compatible with anything other than the pink VW/Audi stuff so don't mix with green stuff.

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[Lim Yong]

Thanks Mark for the info.......

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[gcb729]

Zerex G05 for Porsches up to 96.http://www.google.co...TqVz-78RR99tltQ This is an excellent technical site for this Phosphate Free Coolant. Dexcool an organic acid base coolant and has TOO many issues (google dexcool / GM) and see. The G05 is a hybrid of the dexcool type of coolant, is long life, stays clear and is not hard on plastics like dexcool is. Oh, IMHO and experience in the auto industry for a few decades. The newer Porsches use a dexcool based coolant and many Boxsters 986 & 987's have coolant bottle issues, yes plastic part problems.

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[KesslerR]

Your post reminded me that I wanted to flush the cooling system on the 968.



Went to NAPA and they had Prestone Zerex Dex Cool anti freeze coolant that was Phosphate and silicate free. Says so on the label.

One gallon of DFZXEL 1 C was $20, Net $16.00 plus tax in AZ.



Look at the NAPA site on line and search for Dex cool . Up it comes; Prestone Extended Life Dex Cool Zerex anti freeze and coolant. Expand the picture of the container and you can see the Phosphate free printing next to the Antifreeze/ coolant printing.



968 Manual says you need 3.9 liters of antifreeze ( the one gallon container will do it) and 3.9 liters of good water ( no minerals) to fill the system and it will hold the cooling system down to minus 34 degrees F.

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[mrmister]

I just flushed and put in Engine Ice, which RSBarn recommends. Took a little under 2 gallons. I ordered 4 gallons for some reason so I have plenty for another full flush. If anyone in the San Fransico area wants to buy 2 gallons of Engine Ice for $80, let me know.

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[KesslerR]

Saw a mechanic friend of mine yesterday and was talking about the Prestone Phosphate free. He came right back and said do not use it if you do not plan to flush yearly. In the long term he says the orange Prestone gels or gums up with age and is difficult to flush out. Anyone heard about this?

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[ds968]

just had the prestone orange flushed out after about two and a half years and no problems noted at all, no gel traces, no residue , still very clean and also the composition was measured very potent - I drank a cup and seemed decent to me.;-) ;-) - ok, kidding, my mech has some instrument that measures that , so I probably could have left it alone another couple of years but since I already bought the new stuff, and I also had the brake fluid replaced that day I figured " why not.." .

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[Cloud9...68]

Yeah, on every car on which I've done coolant flushes lately (most recently my wife's 20078 BMW 328i at 64K miles), the coolant has looked brand new, with no signs of any contaminants in it whatsoever. This leads me to conclude that between modern allows, and possibly improvements to coolant formulations, frequent coolant changes are probably no longer necessary. I would say you're probably good for about 100K miles, although I personally wouldn't go that long.

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[ds968]

I would tend to agree on the longevity of the coolant. ( I have changed the coolant only once in our pathfinder since we bought it and it's now past 150k miles ) But I would not take the same chances with brake fluid, a coworker just spent $ 3,000 to fix the brake system on his BMW , damage caused by water built up in the fluid ..ruined a lot of stuff throughout the entire system.

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