I get a lot of assorted Tech bulletins I have subscribed to over the years because things change often and I like to stay up on whats what.
An interesting article came my way compliments of Europarts and I think its a pretty fair explanation of coolants and the types plus why they are different.
Its basically an Advert for their Genuine Mercedes Benz citric acid flush but with a really good explanation.
On the older red block cars you can be a bit flexible but with the White block cars especially those laden with sensors it pays to stay on top of coolant and check things like the gravity of the mix on a regular basis (Like a Hydrometer for coolant).
its also worth noting that adding coolant to a car that hasn't had it for a while can cause issues as it will soften rubber and gaskets a lot of the time so if you DO want to add Coolant to a Non coolant car start swapping out the hoses and watch the head gasket.
Green, Orange, Yellow, Blue…What color coolant should I buy??
Posted on January 15, 2015 by eEuroparts.com
What color anti-freeze should I put in my car eeuroparts.com
Engine coolant, like many other fluids, is not a lifetime thing. It gets old. When it does, the protection decreases exponentially. Interestingly enough, however, the anti-freeze capability of the coolant does not. Coolant is special for two reasons that differentiate it from pure water:
-It contains Anti-Freeze, an alcohol based additive that keeps it from freezing (obviously), usually propylene glycol or ethylene glycol. Commonly mixed 50/50 with distilled water.
-It will also contain a variety of different additives that keep it from eroding, corroding, and leaving crusty deposits in your engine block.
Since engine blocks are nearly always made of iron, running straight water will quickly result in a rusty mess. The expansion tank will go from clean to orange to brown in just a couple of days. To combat this, a few additives are put in. This usually includes silicates and phosphates to protect against scaling and corrosion. When you buy a bottle of concentrated coolant, Most of this is the anti-freeze glycol, while only a very small percentage (in the single digits for most brands) are these additives. Even though they are in very limited doses, these protective additives are what you are paying attention to when you decide what coolant to put in your car, as they affect different cooling system metals differently.
volvo antifreeze
Genuine coolant is always a safe bet, but can be pricey
What color coolant should I put in?
Before doing anything, it’s a good idea to check your owners manual. If it calls out a specific coolant, you already found your answer. As with sparkplugs, coolant is one of those things that are best kept to the manual, so follow it’s words and you should be in great shape. Another quick way, although less reliable, is to see what is currently in the car. I say less reliable because many times previous owners will flush a system with the wrong coolant (usually when changing a cooling system component) and be unaware of their mistake. Some types of coolants aren’t compatible with each other.
Can I mix different colors?
The ultimate answer is no. Mixing different styles of coolant can lead to accelerated degradation of your cooling system and can cause all sorts of problems. To best understand this, it’s a good idea to do a quick explanation of what the different types are. Coolant color is NOT a sure fire way to tell what kind of coolant is in the car, the type of corrosion inhibitors used ARE.
Green/Yellow:
Green and yellow has been around for awhile, and uses the older style inorganic acids for their corrosion inhibitors, including silicates and phosphates. This coolant was designed with older style cooling systems in mind, such as ones that have yellow metals like brass and copper in their systems. Generally, this should be changed every 35k miles or 3 years due to the inhibitors being used up. Once these inhibitors drop out, you will experience buildup in all narrow passageways, specifically radiators and heater cores.
- Contains silicates and usually phosphates
- Also called IAT’s for Inorganic Acid Technology
- Do not mix with Orange/Red/Pink/Blue
Orange/Red:
These are the other side of the coin. Orange coolant is a modern style of anti-freeze that contains organic acids as their corrosion inhibitors, and usually uses ethylene glycol as it’s main anti-freeze component. Dex-Cool orange coolant is used in many new GM cars (SAAB), and has been adopted by several other manufacturers due to its long life and good protection on aluminum cooling systems, as well as high compatibility internationally. This new type of coolant is meant to be changed at intervals of up to 5 years or 150k miles!
- Contains no silicates or phosphates, instead the corrosion inhibitors consist mostly of this million dollar word: Carboxylate. Carbocylates are organic based compounds that target specific corrosion spots vs coating the entire system with a protective layer, like silicate and phosphate coolant does. This results in a much longer lifespan, as the inhibitors aren’t used up in the coating process.
- Also called OAT for Organic Acid (or additive) Technology
- This style of coolant should not be mixed with Green or Yellow antifreeze.
- Do NOT use an OAT style coolant in older vehicles, especially since it will eat away the yellow metals and solder used in radiators, pumps, and bearings.
What if my coolant is purple, pink, or blue?
blue mercedes coolant
Pentofrost NF is a silicated European formula that contains no phosphates or nitirites. Blue OAT coolant is common in German cars, and is different from the blue coolant used in Asian cars, which is silicate free.
Coolant colors are not a sure bet, as there are different types of coolants that have the same color due to differences in water quality between continents. For example, coolant in Europe doesn’t use phosphates due to high mineral content in the water. Calcium and Magnesium doesn’t play nice with phosphates, and can cause scaling and buildup. Almost all coolant coming in Asian based cooling systems is silicate free to protect seals. In short, European, Japanese, and Korean coolants will be constructed differently even if they are the same color.
If you can’t tell yet, what you need to pay attention to is if the coolant you are adding contains silicates and phosphates. Most new cars use the silicate and phosphate free orange/red but there are still companies that resist the deletion of these inhibitors in their cooling systems. Further mucking up the landscape is the Hybrid Organic Acid Technology (HOAT) coolant like G-05 which is meant to have the highest compatibility between cooling systems. HOAT coolants are usually phosphate free but still contains a low amount of silicates. There are also NOAT (Nitrite Organic Acid Technology), NMOAT (Nitrite Molybdate Organic Acid Technology) and POAT (Poly Organic Acid Technology) styles of coolant, each optimized for different types of applications and better compatibility.
OK that is a lot of science, so what coolant do I need again?
The coolant that came stock in your car. Your owner’s manual will usually say what type it is, or what rating it is. Just keep in mind that you can’t mix the two technologies (IAT and OAT) and your cooling system will stay healthy and productive for the life of the car. eEuroparts.com carries genuine manufacturer coolant for all of our supported brands. No longer do you have to go to the dealer to get genuine coolant.
I suspect my car has had the wrong coolant, or old coolant in it for a long time
citric acid flush
Citric acid cooling system flush is designed to reverse damage caused by coolant buildup and scaling.
eEuroparts.com carries a Genuine Mercedes Benz citric coolant flush that you mix with distilled water and run for a short period. It removes deposits and buildup in any cooling system, MB or otherwise. When you are done with the flush, simply add in the correct coolant for your car and enjoy a clean system and hot heater core.
Drain your cooling system and re-fill with distilled water. Pour the citric acid flush in and run the car for awhile, long enough for the mixture to spend time in all nooks and crannies. Be sure to turn your heat on so the flush flows through the heater core. Remember, this is not a good idea to do in below freezing temperatures, as the coolant will have no anti-freeze in it.
- See more at:
http://www.eeuroparts.com/blog/articles ... 6vOxX.dpuf
