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By MarkMontereyBay - 13 Years Ago
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There was some discussion on the FE forum about a coolant controversy. It was said that coolant being sold now that states it is for all cars of all makes is actually GM Dex Cool extended life coolant. It also was said that this coolant is not for early cooling systems and will corrode solder and other problems associated with early cooling systems. I was at AutoZone yesterday and found only one kind of conventional coolant and it was an AutoZone brand. All the other coolant was the newer stuff. Anyone have some good information on this?
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By paul2748 - 13 Years Ago
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There was a discussion on the same subject on a TBird Forum. I'll try to find it and post it.
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By slumlord444 - 13 Years Ago
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I have been using the generic WalMart 5 year antifreeze in my T-Bird, 65 Mustang, and '56 John Deer "50" tractor for years, as well as my late model cars and have not had any issues so far. Change and flush every 4 or 5 years. Had a lot of problems with the Mustang with conventional antifreeze left in it for an extended period of time. Knew better but the time sort of slipped by and the car had never idled right so it sort of got left set in the shed. Now that I have it running again I start and dive it enough to get everything moving about once a month.
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By paul2748 - 13 Years Ago
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Here is the article I saw on the early TBird site
Antifreeze manufacturers haveformulated their long life products and the
inhibitor attacts, among other things,silicone compounds-the most commonly used
base for gasket sealants. It alsoattacks lead-based products (solder, Bab-bitt),
some yellow metals (cambearings, radiators) and conventional gaskets and packing
materials. Thewarning here is to NOT use coolants with OAT– inhibitors in
yourantique car! You need to read the label and use only IAT (inorganic
AdditiveTechnology) Inhibited antifreeze.
OAT stands for “Organic Acid Technology†basedcorrosion-inhibitors, and they
are designed to have longer service life thatthat of IAT coolants; but
unfortunately that feature comes with a badside effect to older cars. One
fel-low decided to change antifreeze in hisantique car. His regular brand was
out of stock so he brought the “advancedâ€formula. Four weeks later he found
pools of antifreeze under his car. Theantifreeze had dissolved the old gaskets.
It was formulated with OAT–inhibitors.
Tips for finding IAT coolantare as follows:
1. Prestone says that all oftheir current antifreezes are OAT formulas.
2. Peak says that their PeakAntifreeze and Coolant is an IAT formula. The
container is blue. It isimportant that it NOT say “long lifeâ€. Peak Sierra
brand is propylene glycolfor those who prefer that. It too uses an IAT formula.
3. Zerex says that ZerexOriginal Green is an IAT formula. It comes in a white
container. Do notuse their G-05 formula in the gold jug.
(This was first published inJim Crame’s W. Michigan Buick Chapter News
Letter.)
Editor note:
After reading the abovearticle, I became concerned as I had the used the
Prestone antifreeze in my ‘57for the past few years. The Prestone bottle had
the statement “Prestoneantifreeze coolant is intended for all passenger
vehi-cles and light trucksâ€. Howeverafter a trip to the local Auto Parts
Store, I noticed the Peak bottle had anexplanation stating “For use in Ford
and Chrysler 2000 & earlier - GM 1995& earlier - All MAKES & MODELS: 1989 AND
EARLIER .
I showed the above article tosome auto technicians and some people behind the
counter of a couple of AutoParts stores. No one could give me an answer as to
the truth in the arti-cle. Inever had a problem with the Prestone; but just to
be on the safe side, Idrained out the Prestone antifreeze and used the Peak
instead. The word-ing on thebottle indicated to me that maybe the Peak would be
better for older cars. Asalways, it is your decision as to what to use in your
car.
Dave Tulowitzky
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By charliemccraney - 13 Years Ago
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The formatting and spelling make me question the validity of the article. It's certainly not a professional article. I think it is bogus.
I use Prestone in mine. Since all Prestone is the bad stuff, I'll let you know when I start to find puddles under my vehicles.
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By paul2748 - 13 Years Ago
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All those little symbols through the article is because of different write programs, such as Word vs Word Perfect.
The first part of the article is from a guy in a Buick Club.
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By MarkMontereyBay - 13 Years Ago
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Here is a link to a discussion on the Mustang Corral forum and another on the FE Forum:
http://forums.corral.net/forums/general-mustang-tech/1380322-all-makes-all-models-green-coolant-dexcool-beware.html
http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182/thread/1346533891/Green+coolant+is+Dexcool--+beware
I built my 312 with Mummert Aluminum heads, etc. about a year ago. I will be draining and refilling the coolant just as a precaution. It is still green and no sludge.
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