Based on my three years working for a regional blender and packager of
antifreeze, it seems that there is really very little difference between any
of the yellow/green colored national antifeeze brands. A smidgen of this
versus a smidgen of that, but they are essentially the same because they
have all had to meet the same specifications from the car manufacturers.
The same goes for the Dexcool varieties.(the orange KoolAid colored types.)
Where you can run into trouble is with local and regional brands. They may
be the equal of a national brand. Hell, most national brands package
antifreeze at independent plants around the country to minimize freight
costs, so a local brand may be identical. However,don't assume that a local
brand is of the same quality as say Prestone or Peak.
I have seen some very poor ad packs used. One brand I brought back for
testing had it's ad pack come out of suspension in the form of a gel in less
than six months from packing. I have seen other ad packs used that didn't
come close to meeting the industry specs. Other brands are made with
recycled ethelyene glycol. From an objective standpoint there is nothing
wrong with that, it's just that there are various grades of recycled.
Some of this stuff had been used as aircraft de-icing fluid. That product
cleaned up fine. Other stuff had been used as a catalyst in the manufacture
of synthetic clothing materials. That stuff was a problem. It smelled sort
of burnt, and had some polymer in the glycol that simply couldn't be
removed. Some companies mask this smell by doing a 50/50 mix of virgin and
recycled glycol.
Also be aware that the pre-mixed antifreeze brands can vary. Most are mixed
50%/50% to achieve a -34F freeze rating. I have seen others that were mixed
to -20F and some to 0F freeze ratings. Make sure you know what you are
buying.
Larry Steckel
>From: "Linnhoff, Eric" <elinnhoff@smmc.saint-lukes.org>
>Reply-To: "Linnhoff, Eric" <elinnhoff@smmc.saint-lukes.org>
>To: "'autox'" <autox@autox.team.net>
>Subject: Coolant?
>Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 14:56:05 -0600
>
>I know we all have opinions on which gas, oil and tranny lubes are the best
>to use but what antifreeze/coolant does everyone use? And why?
>
>Eric Linnhoff in KC
>1998 Dodge Neon R/T
>#69 STS #13 TLS
>eric10mm@qni.com
>ICQ#101282513
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