antifreeze what to use

[GMichaels]

I need to change my antifreeze soon. I have read through the posts and seems that a no silicate, ethylene glycol would be fine.



The orange stuff may eat head gaskets

long lasting stuff may cause premature clogging.



Any thing I am missing? recomendations?

need to go to 20 below. .



1993 dodge 360get no mods 3. 5

 

[Bob Beauchaine]

You are right about all the above - but you need to use a 50/50 mixture. This will provide the best protection for your CTD and will give you a -34 freeze protection. Cummins recomends changing coolant every 24,000 miles - they also sell a 50/50 pre mix.



Bob

 

[bgilbert]

I run the orange stuff with lots of boost, knock on wood, no HG problems to date. When I do it again, I will use the Cummins/fleetguard blue premix, so I don't use the garden hose which grows all sorts of neat stuff in my radiator, and don't have to worry about getting the % right, add more water, eh more antifreeze etc.

 

[Greenleaf]

The "orage stuff" is a fully Formulated Ethylene Glycol (type "B"). Having a tough time believing this will harm a head gasket. The long life stuff will not harm the system by plugging, unless you try to overdose the system with additives (SCA)



Scott

 

[tugboatphil]

I went to get the orange stuff for the wife's car last month. I guess it had been a while since I bought AF. It seemed like everything was premixed in the bottle. Prestone has one out that is supposed to work in any system. Anyone know about this?

 

[Greenleaf]

Phil,

Anything will work in any system. The deciding factor is longevity of both engine and coolant with the least amount of maint.



Our engines require only type "A" low silicate(green). Many of us like the added benefit offered by the type "B" fully Formulated Ethyene Glycol (pink/purple) or the type "C' Fully Formulated Propylene Glycol (blue).



Many coolants can be mixed.

Type C is the environmentaly friendly stuff. Have to use a refractometer to test it.

Any coolant can be formulated to be an extended service coolant.

Type "D" is red in color. Known as OAT (Organic Acid Technology)



Don't install that pruddy blue coolant in your washer solvent bottle. It'll smear your windshield.



I'm quoting facts and figures from "Commercial Carrier Journal"



Note:My new CAT and Cummins engines are arriving with the Fully Formulated coolant. The older (12 Valve 5. 9's) engines arrived with the low silicate (green) stuff.



GL

 

[JLEONARD]

The long life stuff will not harm the system by plugging,

Not to start a war, but my son makes a ton of cash in his auto repair business from people using this stuff.

Seems to most folks that "long life" really means "lifetime".

Come 80 to 100K with this stuff in there, and things may plug, or may start eating out the headgasket (galvanic corrosion).

I think it is ok to use provided that it does not stay in the engine forever without being flushed and replaced.

At least that's my take on the subject.

By the way, I'm an old fan of Prestone and the equivilents, premixed at 50/50 before putting in the engine. I always add water pump lubricant, and change everything out at approx 3 year intervals.

That has never gotten me into trouble yet. Someday I'll use the modern stuff... (maybe)

Jay

 

[GMichaels]

antifreeze

My statements at the top were gathered from reading all the past posts on the subject. there were several posts on the orange stuff and head gaskets, enough to make me believe that it had some truth.



although if diesel keeps going up, i can drain it and let the truck sit for the winter. $2. 45 in rochester NY

 

[Greenleaf]

What is the "orange stuff" anyhow? I mean what is the formula they speak of?? I would have to assume that it's an extended life/fully formulated formula. It would have to be A. drained out every 100K or B. have it's chemicals replentished according to the test the owner is performing. Oh, you mean the owner isn't performing any kind of test to determine the chemical balance?? Well that could lead to a problem.



BTW... the Fully Formulated stuff has chemicals added to control corrosion and liner pitting. It is designed for use in Heavy Duty diesels where liners are used and/or low maint. practices are employed. Often used in combination with a coolant filter that may or may not contain chemical additives.



If a particular coolant is eating away at the head caskets of engines then I'd say the formular would have been recalled OR the owner operator(s) are not maintaining the chemical additive properly which is having an adverse side effect.



What was the condition of the radiator/heater core on the vehicles effected??? What maint. program was employed or lack of?



I'd be asking some questions.



Scott

 

[bgilbert]

The orange stuff is simply a die. Want purple AF? Read in an old TDR issue a company produced a bunch of it for someone and then they backed out of it, thought it wouldn't sell, now there left with a bunch of purple AF. BTW my Cummins manual says not to use propylene glycol based AF, only ethylene glycol based or her other sister methyl ethyle propyl ..... Hey it all comes down to if ya change it a regular intervals, it doesn't matter what you put in your engine, trans, diffs, or radiator, jmo.