BS. A lot of these death stories originated in the US (and still persist) as GM started using OAT (DEXCOOL) years ago, then had a rash of cooling system leaks in various models, particularly the Chev V6's.Quote:
Originally Posted by strangy
Turned out to be a crap inlet manifold gasket spec. Changed the gaskets, no more problems. A lot of people when converting to OAT from other coolants didn't flush the system properly, or the system was already in a poor state, then they blame the coolant.
Stray current is also a massive killer of cooling systems, particularly predominantly aluminium engines/rads, and no coolant will protect against that.
The advantages of an OAT are that it doesn't coat all the internal surfaces with silicates, therefore giving better heat transfer. (roughly half way between a silicate based coolant and straight water)
The lack of silicates and nitrates also reduces water pump wear, both on the seals and impeller. (the silicates act as an abrasive long term)
If the cooling system is in excellent condition, it lasts a long time.
As Dave stated, CAT ELC is almost identical to Land Rover OAT, both are supplied by Caltex/Texaco, the CAT one has a couple of supplementary additives. I don't think one of the worlds biggest diesel engine and heavy machinery manufacturers would jeopardise their customers engines with a substandard coolant.
