To partially refill any color of coolant with a universal one would be a great asset. Do you have to replace or can you top off one coolant with another? A truly universal coolant would help matters greatly, Providing the ability to use one coolant for all purposes. OK, there are lots of coolants and different colors out there. Chrysler, Ford, and many European manufacturers are using these hybrid OATs. Silicate will also repair minor surface defects. Silicate is desired because it provides quick-acting protection for aluminum surfaces. They do not have 2-EHA but use other organic acids and add a little silicate. The group of hybrid OAT coolants is called G-05. Five years or 150,000-mile intervals are often recommended in this group of coolants. The corrosion inhibitors in this group are slower acting but longer lasting. This formula gives longer life, thus replacing the short-lived silicates and phosphates. They contain 2-ethylhexanoic-acid or 2-EHA and other organic acids but no silicates or phosphates. These are coolants based on organic acid technology (OAT). Unfortunately, many motorists do not keep up with maintenance, even with encouragement from their mechanics. If the customer fails to perform this maintenance, then expensive radiator, heater core and pump replacements soon follow. Why not make this the universal coolant? You could, and maybe in a way we have, but the corrosion inhibitors have a very short life, and the antifreeze must be changed every other year or every 30,000 miles. Virtually any vehicle can use this fluid. This familiar green liquid has proven its worth in all the temperature extremes of North America. They have quick-acting silicate and phosphate corrosion inhibitors that do a good job of inhibiting corrosion on both iron and aluminum surfaces. The original glycol-based green antifreeze we are all familiar with. The three basic divisions include the following: A blue coolant may have the same formula as a red coolant. Indeed, yellow coolants may have very different compositions. We will not define every possible coolant and its corresponding color. Let us begin to sort this out by pointing out the three principal groups of coolants. The closer we look at this diversity, the more confusing it becomes. We have green coolants, red coolants, blue coolants, yellow coolants and even pink coolants. Each formula considers corrosion protection, service life and chemical compatibility. It can be confusing to have special-needs coolants that can be identified by their color when the color is not an industry standard.įor the past several years, vehicle manufacturers have introduced a variety of new extended-life coolants. Today, coolants come in many colors, and each signifies a purpose. As engines and their accessories mature, heat transfer demands become more important therefore, the word coolant was used more often. Keeping the water in an engine block from freezing was the only reason for using anything but water. Originally, antifreeze was the preferred term because that was its main purpose. His comment was, “I thought all antifreeze was green.”įor our purposes, the titles of Antifreeze and Coolant will be interchangeable, as indeed they are in my business. At the garage, they replaced his coolant bypass hose and the water pump. I contacted a garage in the city where he was vacationing and got him towed. It was empty, but there was just enough residue to confirm that what he thought was transmission fluid was actually engine coolant. So it must be the transmission leaking that caused the car to run hot.”Īfter assuring him that a slipping transmission could possibly be the problem, but it was likely something else, I directed him toward the coolant reservoir under the hood. I saw you put it in, and it is the same color, transparent pink. “The same pink fluid you put in it is now running out on the ground. I asked him how he knew it was the transmission. I questioned him and determined that his engine was, in fact, running hot. “I am on a trip, and my car is broken down with an overheating engine.” “My transmission is leaking,” he said, with frustration and anger in his voice. Recently, I got an angry phone call from one of my favorite customers. I can calm, advise and perhaps solve their automotive challenges over the phone. I have always encouraged my customers to call me when they have problems on the road.
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