Thread: Red VS Green Coolant again!!!

Originally Posted by feraldisco

I spoke to an old campaigner at Natrad last week - he was very much against ethylene glycol and OAT/HOAT. Reckoned that they just cause metal corrosion, rubber deterioration and therefore leaking problems. Even though I'm in Canberra, all this guy uses in cooling systems in all the vehicles they service is their own Natra Radiator Conditioner (112g/l Triethanolamine) - they don't recommend anything else unless you hit the snow. This guys been around a long time, so you reckon they would know about it if people had problems with coolant freezing. My Disco gets left outside, and even on a -3 night, the engine bay is still +3 (and water probably warmer still as it is a temperature "buffer" more so than air temp), even if vehicle hasn't been driven that day (it is in the sun during the day).

I agree with this post, but will add that ethylene glycol is a sugar based product. This in time crystalises and forms a coating on the inside of the radiator etc. A 5% blockage of radiator core = about 30% decrease in cooling. I use a tectalloy organic coolant inhibitor, available from repco, its mixed about 1:10.
The only way to clean the crystalised glycol out of radiator is to have it strtipped and rodded by a radiator specialist.

Originally Posted by iPom

Maybe the bittering agent is make it unpalatable. After all it is highly poisonous if ingested. There was a case in Europe a while back where some unscrupulous wine makers were adding anti freeze to wine to make it sweeter. Needless to say some people died.

Unbelievable!!!!

Sometime ago when I began having Kandy(Disco 2003 Td5) serviced at MR Redcliffe they used a green coolant-- when I rang them (thinking all OAT coolants were red) they said no, theres is fine and they would know. The latest servive done last week and a full coolant flush and change it was RED!. They now use Zerex Dex-Cool, a valvoline product and it meets all the OAT etc. stuff so I guess its not the colour but the specs. that matter as does the Penrite, a hybrid of OAt and other inhibitors.

Steve

Andy, my Td5 runs at about 88/89 ... peaking at 91/92 ... max seen was 100 from really HARD beach driving.

I'm running the OAT Nulon Red. It had a red (OAT?) when we purchased it, and I'll be changing it about every 2yrs ... which will be about 40,000km for our driving. They say it's good for 5yrs/250,000km, but 5yrs would be 100,000km for me ... coolants cheap.

Kev..

Originally Posted by Fluids

Andy, my Td5 runs at about 88/89 ... peaking at 91/92 ... max seen was 100 from really HARD beach driving.

I'm running the OAT Nulon Red. It had a red (OAT?) when we purchased it, and I'll be changing it about every 2yrs ... which will be about 40,000km for our driving. They say it's good for 5yrs/250,000km, but 5yrs would be 100,000km for me ... coolants cheap.

Kev..

G'day Kev.
Do you have a TM2 watchdog or similar on your engine, if so, where have you got the sensor attatched?
Regards Robbo

Robbo ... I run my Nanocom in instrument mode on the dash.

Don't have an engine saver yet ... still tossing up between that or an EMS1

I do like the extra guages the Nanocom provides whilst driving ... and the 100deg RED flashing water temp' light for the better half

Idiot lights & alarms seem to work better than guages when wives are involved ... she's already cooked 2 engines ... no oil, oil light on, but I was only 5km from home so I thought I could make it .... sigh ...

I just use Cat coolant. I get it cheap enough, about $60 a 20L drum. Have seen Cat engines with over 1 million km's on it and just as clean as the day it was assembled.
I am yet to see a radiator that has any blockage in it. The only radiators we ever replace are due to chassis twisting resulting in cracks.

OAT wont lay down a protective coating UNLESS corrosion becomes evident whereas normal glycol starts a silicate and phosphate layer being formed on all exposed metal surfaces. This is what clags cores and ends up the white crud on all the surfaces, usually due to the fact its started breaking down and the protective qualities are depleting.

DONT mix more than 50/50 and you dont need 50/50 unless your in freezing conditions. In temperate climates 70/30 water/OAT is sufficient but its easier to just by the premix.

Cat coolant also contains anti cavitation agents, stopping things like water pump cavitation and pitting around the upper cylinder from combustion.

There is a reason why its specified.

Cheers

Andrew

Huh?,as clean as the day they were assembled?.Dunno,after 6 years working on Cat machines I saw plenty of corroded out systems and plenty of overheating issue's.Natrad makes $$$$ out of the coal mines. Pat

Originally Posted by PAT303

Huh?,as clean as the day they were assembled?.Dunno,after 6 years working on Cat machines I saw plenty of corroded out systems and plenty of overheating issue's.Natrad makes $$$$ out of the coal mines. Pat

Thats machines mate, im talking about fastidious truck owners... When you have $300-400k of truck, you tend to look after them particularly when its your own money.
When i was machining 34 and 3500 V12's from machinery, they do come in looking like a blocked bog not to mention gallery pitting on the deck surface, but trucks are a different kettle when it comes to maintenance.

Cheers

Andrew.