"good on all vehicles/all models" antifreeze

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by Junyr, Mar 22, 2010.

  1. Junyr

    Junyr New Member

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    I'm not asking what's best, what you use or anything like that so I hope this doesn't get me burned at the stake...

    I'm changing my thermostat soon and headed over to the walmart (closest place to where I work) to pick up some antifreeze. All they sold there was the orange dex-cool and the yellow "works with anything" stuff...

    Does the yellow prestone antifreeze really ok ot use or should I just make a trip to the autoparts store and get 'normal' antifreeze?
     
  2. rc24rc51

    rc24rc51 New Member

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    whatever you use read the label and make sure it's formulated for aluminum radiators and components. Sierra will work just fine.
     
  3. elwray

    elwray New Member

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    I use standard green Prestone...

    Phosphate free, silicate free, borate free (the latter two being the most important).

    It's cheap, fits the requirements, and most importantly is GREEN the way antifreeze should be ;)

    Good luck with the thermostat replacement! Feel free to PM with any questions.
     
  4. Rangerscott

    Rangerscott New Member

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    What elwray said.
     
  5. motorking

    motorking New Member

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    antifreeze

    Hi,
    I am the tech manager at prestone coolants, sorry but Iride a bandit 1100. The all make prestone coolant is very much compatible with your cooling system on your VFR. If you drian and flush the coolant, you will be protected from freezing and corrosion for the next 5 yrs or 100k miles.
    If there are any other questions i can answer about our products, feel free to contact me at jay.buckley@honeywell.com
     
  6. Junyr

    Junyr New Member

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    Thanks for the info Jay!
     
  7. Hogan Longfellow

    Hogan Longfellow New Member

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    Jay - THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  8. 74ullc

    74ullc New Member

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    :funky::kaboom::whistle:
     
  9. DaHose

    DaHose New Member

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    How hard core are you? I run Evans waterless coolant in my M6. Very expensive, but worth it to me. Plan to do the same for my VFR. One fill for the lifetime of ownership, unless you bust a hose.

    No water also equals no pressure in your cooling system and ferrous parts in the engine won't rust. The boiling temp. WAY outperforms anything else out there.

    Jose
     
  10. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    I have been reading up on the Evans Waterless Coolant and it appears to have some valid advantages, but at a price; $100 per gallon for the "Powersport" version. It boils at a much higher temp and prevents localized pockets of steam in an engine. Also it will not corrode parts. However, it must be noted that water is a much better conductor of heat, specific heat of water = 1, specific heat of ethylene glycol is only .58. From another forum: "If you look at the Evans NPG MSDs it is just a Ethylene Glycol/Propylene Glycol blend. They can claim magical pixie dust and the like, but it is what it is." So, if you are racing or live in a hot climate (like CA), this may be a valid option, if you can afford it. My 8th gen still gets hot at long traffic light here in CA, but not near as bad as my old '03. Is this a solution looking for a problem worth $100 per gallon?

    Searching for Propylene Glycol I found Amsoil has this:
    http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/other-products/antifreeze/antifreeze-and-engine-coolant/?code=ANT1G-EA
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2015
  11. DaHose

    DaHose New Member

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    It's actually sold in 1/2 gallon jugs at $35 each. As I recall, one gallon is enough for our bikes, so it is definitely more expensive than water/antifreeze.

    The specific heat of 50/50 water and antifreeze is really good (about .9) at our normal operating temps and the Evans is about .6, so we do lose some efficiency. You can just make up for that with flow. As long as we don't have insufficient flow, things will be just fine.

    What's interesting is that if (more like when in many spots inside the engine water jacket) we exceed 212 degrees, the engine can actually survive it. Butyl O-rings can handle 250 degrees. Viton can handle 400 degrees, so I highly recommend replacing any and all seals with Viton. But I digress.... What an engine can't survive is catastrophic failure of the cooling system due to bursting a hose or boiling over. The sudden loss of pressure causes the water to instantly vaporize, which creates a nice heat insulation layer between whatever liquid remains and the metal engine block. That causes that well known sudden temperature spike and at 275 things start to get unpleasant. Exceed 285 degrees and your motor oil just kind of checks out. Then poop hits many of the proverbial fans and things end up REALLY ugly.

    Given all that science type stuff, we know with certainty that water boils off at 212 degrees. Some of us flirt with that temp. range in hot areas. That is why we tinker with our fans, right? So, if it costs me $50 more to fill with waterless coolant, but I save on one water pump/thermostat replacement, that sounds like a good trade off to begin with. If I get improved high heat protection/performance for the engine as a whole, then changing over really is worth it to me.

    Jose
     
  12. TaargusTaargus

    TaargusTaargus New Member

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    Jeez if that stuff really IS just the equivalent of just full strength antifreeze (of course with the token proprietary ingredients) without adding water that's disturbing that it costs that much. I use the yellow all makes and it works fine. Silicate/phosphate/borate free
     
  13. DaHose

    DaHose New Member

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    The Evans heavy duty is actually a mix of ethylene and propylene glycol with some proprietary stuff. The reason for mixing the two is that propylene glycol is really thick until it heats up. Mixing them gives better low temp. performance. The powersports version really looks no different than the heavy duty, but the race version is just pure propylene glycol. Many tracks do not allow ethylene glycol at all, but PG or pure water are typically ok.

    As long as you stay on top of an antifreeze/water mix, checking it yearly and flushing every couple of years it works just fine.

    For high heat areas, the water/antifreeze mix can't beat the waterless in total performance. Keep in mind that an engine rebuild for my M6 is $15k, so I am very happy knowing that my coolant doesn't corrode the insides. The nature of the cooling system in a straight 6 also can cause hot spotting and the superior high heat performance of the waterless is working great. It was expensive as I needed a little over 3 gallons, but my M6 is worth it. I found a good deal on 4 gallons. Considering the labor I save by not having to flush a cooling system every couple years (and the giant pain in the ass it is to do on my M6), I see the waterless as a bargain.

    To each their own, but the waterless definitely fits the bill for the question the OP asked. It works in everything.

    Jose
     
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