Mopar Muscle Association UK

I'm thinking of changing the coolant in my 68 Charger, can anyone recommend some decent antifreeze, with good anti corrosive properties. Plus somewhere to get it at a decent price, got 2 or 3 cars to do so I might need a bit.
Just so I can sleep sound at night.

All I know is modern anti freeze can harm old engines. Been known to eat gaskets and penetrate metal etc.

Particularly bad in old Rolls.

Is must have the glycole sumfin or other

fergal wrote: got 2 or 3 cars to do

Good thing you don't have more cars if you lost count at 2

any will do

all have to comply with certain DOT and SAE and BSI standards

but best get stuff specifically for aluminum block and heads if you have alluminium componets

otherwise any

just try to avoid mixing the two types they can under certain circumstances go lumpy when mixed

it dissolves again if you up the water content but not worth the hassle.


Dave

Check this out!

Technology moves forward and new products are constantly being launched with claims to improved formulations and performance. With the recent bitterly cold weather in January antifreeze has been in the headlines, with some alarming stories which at first seem to be about the well-known tendency of antifreeze to find the tiniest hole and cause leakages – but in these cases it has led to catastrophic engine problems.

Traditional blue ethylene glycol is a toxic but highly effective antifreeze and contains silicates as an inhibitor to help prevent corrosion in an engine with mixed metals in its make-up. Bluecol and Blue Star are well known brand names and both of these are declared suitable for ‘classic cars’ on their company websites. Be aware that there are also low- or no-silicate ethylene glycol formulations (usually red) available which may not be suitable for all engines.

Propylene glycol is another well-known and less toxic antifreeze formula and usually contains silicates but Comma, the main manufacturer, have now discontinued it in favour of an ethylene glycol product containing ‘bittering agents’ to make it less palatable and minimise the risk of accidental poisoning.

Both of the above products use inorganic additive technology (IAT). Recently problems have been reported concerning the use of antifreeze mixtures using organic acid technology (OAT). OAT was introduced in the mid-1990s and the products are biodegradable, recyclable and do not contain either silicates or phosphates and are designed to be longer lasting. However these products do seem to cause problems in older engines; over and above the ability of antifreeze to find the smallest crevice and leak, OAT antifreezes have been accused of destroying seals and gaskets and causing a great deal of damage in ‘old’ engines. For this reason the manufacturers do not recommend their use in historic vehicles. These products are usually coloured red, pink or orange.

The final category is HOAT. These products use hybrid organic acid technology in an ethylene glycol base with some silicates in the formulation alongside the organic corrosion inhibitors. The product is usually coloured green and are not recommended for use in historic vehicles.

Great info thanks Ivor

oooh

fair enough

duly noted

Dave

Great Ivor

Yes....but this bit confuses me since green was normally OK

"The final category is HOAT. These products use hybrid organic acid technology in an ethylene glycol base with some silicates in the formulation alongside the organic corrosion inhibitors. The product is usually coloured green and are not recommended for use in historic vehicles."
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I've always looked for the "Ethylene Glycol" bit and assumed ok

Mopar do stuff for modern cars and the older stuff sold in different part numbers

Should be a sticky.

Sorted!

I can get the blue or red antifreeze in 20l drums for about £50.

The last three classics i've had in from the States have all had green coloured coolant in them... Are these just UK variants?

bought some prestone from Costco to use for various family cars and emailed to see if ok for older/our type of cars-heres the reply-
what do you guys reckon(the OAT bit still worries me)

Hi Dave
Thank you for your enquiry regarding Prestone Coolant / Antifreeze.
The product (pictured below) is suitable for all makes and models of passenger cars and light duty vans, it is available in 1L and 4L containers and comes as a concentrate or ready to use.
It is suitable for all classic cars, and has a broad range of corrosion inhibitors suitable for the metals used in older engines (brass, cast iron, copper…)
It cannot be said that all Organic Acid Technology (OAT) based coolants are suitable for older 'classic' vehicles. It may be the case that some OAT based coolants are unsuitable, indeed it was proposed by our senior chemist (who formed part of the committee of experts which design the tests used to evaluate coolants) that some competitor OAT based coolants are unsuitable for use with 'classic' vehicles.
However, Prestone coolant/antifreeze is OAT based and is suitable for use in older 'classic' vehicles. Prestone's OAT is unique, patented and guaranteed. It is therefore unlike any other OAT based coolant on the market. None of Prestone's competitors have just one product in their range because they cannot develop the technology which is suitable for all vehicles regardless of age.
For more information please visit our website www.holtsauto.com

prestone every time used it for years not agressive to systems like bluecol etc