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VwDubber Samba Member
Joined: February 20, 2012 Posts: 144
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:16 pm Post subject: Anti-Freeze Color? |
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For a Standard WBX engine....
Is there a Correct Anti Freeze Color.. When i go to buy it and read the labels mostly all of them say meets or exceeds standards, but I notice that Anti-Freeze seems to come in two Basic Colors. Yellow and Green..
So does the color go with a certin Quality, or can they be mixed and matched etc..
Also I notice that some say non corosive, while most say Meets or Exceeds and meant for all engines, Alum and Steel .. Wouldn't that be one and the same.
It just gets F-ing confussing
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Ahwahnee Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2010 Posts: 9799 Location: Mt Lemmon, AZ
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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I think a key component is an absence of phosphate in the formulation. It seems that many long-life antifreezes are now phosphate free, but not all are.
I have used Sierra brand for many years, mainly because it was cheap, readily available and (at the time) one of the few phosphate free.
I do not mix colors even if the antifreezes in question claim to be compatible -- I like to see the pure color of what I put in there... then if I see something else I will know it is contaminated and investigate further.
So I would say my 3 rules of anitfreeze are: phosphate free, always top up with same stuff & change it every 2 years. |
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SCM Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011 Posts: 3115 Location: Bozeman MT
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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Ahwahnee wrote: |
So I would say my 3 rules of anitfreeze are: phosphate free, always top up with same stuff & change it every 2 years. |
What kind of polish do you use when you're waxing your engine? Man, that's clean.
I think GoWesty says it's ok to mix and match colors as long as you use phosphate free, and dilute with distilled water. The point about being able to see the original color in order to identify problems is good one though. _________________ '91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine |
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buildyourown Samba Member
Joined: March 01, 2009 Posts: 1668 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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Color is usually a branding thing. One brand is "green" another is "gold" Gold is better, right? But green is better for the world, man.
My Toyota truck is pink. Not sure what that means. I'm comfortable with my myself?
I've found the properly rated stuff at Napa and it was expensive and gold. Check the back and it should give year ranges and makes that are compatible. |
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schoonerman Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2008 Posts: 244 Location: vancouver
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 6:19 pm Post subject: |
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I bought mine from VW dealer and it's PINK, no mention on the label if it's compatable with thier BLUE stuff they sold before????
I think I'd better check with them before I mix it. _________________ 87 Westy/Vanagon |
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Corwyn Samba Member
Joined: December 29, 2009 Posts: 2237 Location: Olympia, Washington
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 6:28 pm Post subject: |
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I stick with Pentosin (blue). Now if I can just get the mechanic to stop topping it off with windshield washer fluid! _________________ '90 White Westy ("The Longship")
FAS Gen V 2.0
The Annual Baja Rally
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604813&highlight=baja
"If anything's" gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there"
~ Captain Ron ~ |
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kamzcab86 Samba Moderator
Joined: July 26, 2008 Posts: 7917 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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schoonerman wrote: |
I bought mine from VW dealer and it's PINK, no mention on the label if it's compatable with thier BLUE stuff they sold before????
I think I'd better check with them before I mix it. |
No. Blue = G11; pink = G12. Flush the system before putting the G12 in. _________________ ~Kamz
1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子 |
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hans j Samba Member
Joined: May 06, 2006 Posts: 2714 Location: Salt Lake City UT
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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Actually G12++ IS backward compatible with G11 but will turn it brown. Apparently they went back to silicates with G12+ and G12++? Only G12 is not compatible with G11. If you go into any dealer right now, you will be getting G12++
If you want to keep it G11, BMW still uses that formulation and color in their cars.
Flushes suck in these cars. We pull both drain plugs in the head, both radiator pipes and heater hoses, get them drained, run compressed air through them and then hook a hose up to them to flush. We pretty much half fill our 30 gallon coolant drain bucket with one flush, minus the stuff that gets all over the shop floor. We use an air-lift to create a vacuum in the coolant system and then air bubbles are kept to a minimum and easier to bleed out.
I tried looking but couldn't find the coolant TSB publicly, it's 1910-03 if you want to search. I downloaded it from Identifix so I can email it to anyone interested too.
Here is the main gist of the TSB
_________________ 1986 Canadian Syncro Westy TDI - 1989 Syncro Single Cab - 2001 Audi S4 - 1981 VW Caddy ABA - 1980 VW Caddy EV - 1973 VW T-181 |
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kamzcab86 Samba Moderator
Joined: July 26, 2008 Posts: 7917 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:19 pm Post subject: |
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hans j wrote: |
Actually G12++ IS backward compatible with G11 but will turn it brown. Apparently they went back to silicates with G12+ and G12++? Only G12 is not compatible with G11. If you go into any dealer right now, you will be getting G12++ |
Since this is a thread about colors, let's add some info to ^that:
G11 = blue
G12 = pink
G12+ = purple
G12++ = purple
G12 should not be mixed with G11. If you go into any VW/Audi dealer today, verify what you're getting because some will still sell G12 &/or G12+. In fact, several years ago I was still able to get G11 at my local Audi dealer.
_________________ ~Kamz
1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子 |
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hans j Samba Member
Joined: May 06, 2006 Posts: 2714 Location: Salt Lake City UT
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:42 am Post subject: |
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kamzcab86 wrote: |
Since this is a thread about colors, let's add some info to ^that:
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Here is the picture the TSB uses...
Personally, over the last 12 years of adding coolant to VW/Audi's almost everyday at work, I can't tell the difference between the 'red' and 'purple', it's all pink to me. Our dealer sold G11 several years ago too, it's only been in the last 9 months or so it has been unavailable. And if you go buy G12, you will get G12++
Basically, your coolant should be all of one color; however I don't recommend anything that isn't OE VW. I have to flush all the green out of mine and will be running G12++ as it is formulated for my car and easy to get (especially since we buy it 5 cases at a time at work!) _________________ 1986 Canadian Syncro Westy TDI - 1989 Syncro Single Cab - 2001 Audi S4 - 1981 VW Caddy ABA - 1980 VW Caddy EV - 1973 VW T-181 |
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Vango Conversions Samba Member
Joined: October 04, 2010 Posts: 1054 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:35 am Post subject: |
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I don't get why so many people think that these vans need the super expensive VW coolant. Most cars in recent years have either all aluminum engines or have iron blocks and aluminum heads. At my shop I've been using Prestone extended life antifreeze for everything I work on, for all makes and models. It's silicate free, available everywhere and they claim that it's compatible with all others including dex-cool and traditional green stuff. It has a light green color so it doesn't seem to change the color of whatever you're adding it to much. |
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James 93SLC Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2009 Posts: 937 Location: NE Ohio
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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Vango Conversions wrote: |
I don't get why so many people think that these vans need the super expensive VW coolant. Most cars in recent years have either all aluminum engines or have iron blocks and aluminum heads. At my shop I've been using Prestone extended life antifreeze for everything I work on, for all makes and models. It's silicate free, available everywhere and they claim that it's compatible with all others including dex-cool and traditional green stuff. It has a light green color so it doesn't seem to change the color of whatever you're adding it to much. |
X2
Prestone
_________________ -------------------------
91 Vanagon Carat
93 Corrado SLC
-------------------------
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/slc.corrado
--------------------------------------------------------
tencentlife "Sometimes a pooka is a problem and sometimes it's just a pooka" |
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Zeitgeist 13 Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009 Posts: 12115 Location: Port Manteau
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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Valvoline Zerex G-05 = Gold _________________ Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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greenbus pilot Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2008 Posts: 1285 Location: Wisconsin: Rustbelt, USA baby!!
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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Vango Conversions wrote: |
I don't get why so many people think that these vans need the super expensive VW coolant. Most cars in recent years have either all aluminum engines or have iron blocks and aluminum heads. At my shop I've been using Prestone extended life antifreeze for everything I work on, for all makes and models. It's silicate free, available everywhere and they claim that it's compatible with all others including dex-cool and traditional green stuff. It has a light green color so it doesn't seem to change the color of whatever you're adding it to much. |
^^^ True dat. And I thought BMW guys were overly obsessed with coolant- so I run the same Prestone in my Bimmer. It has not objected. I use the WalMart all- color- stuff now, and mix it myself- why pay $5 per gallon for water- ( premixed coolant at $10/ gallon, half water= $5 per gallon water.). _________________ Sent from a white van down the street. |
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SteelB12 Samba Member
Joined: December 21, 2010 Posts: 591 Location: Central Virginia
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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I was just about to ask about the pre-mixed stuff, but now I see its not a smart purchase. More convenient, though _________________ 1987 Westy |
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Tooharsh Samba Member
Joined: February 22, 2012 Posts: 92 Location: Waynesboro, PA
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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I wish there were not so many choices on this stuff... A clear cut answer of what is bets would be nice I do however appreciate the discussion! _________________ 1984 Vanagon Tin Top, 69,000 miles, Manual Transmission. |
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SteveVanB Samba Member
Joined: June 01, 2008 Posts: 1645 Location: This side of Daytona
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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X6 on the Prestone. Good thing I'm color blind or I'd be in a heap o' shit _________________ 91 CARAT |
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randywebb Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2005 Posts: 3815 Location: Greater Metropolitan Nimrod, Orygun
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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ok, who has used Prestone for how may years with no drama resulting?
and... who has done a teardown inspection to be absolutely sure... _________________ 1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans. |
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msinabottle Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2005 Posts: 3492 Location: Denver Area, Colorado
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 7:00 pm Post subject: 3X on the Prestone |
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I went so far as to ask about the Nitrites in a letter to Prestone about the 'Extended Life.' They were quite positive, never had 'em, never will. By way of confirmation, my box of Anti-Freeze Test Strips always warns me of the severe lack of nitrites when I test Winston's coolant.
You can buy distilled water cheap from the Big Box stores, and after that, you're ready to rock. Of interest on a related topic: Gates Rubber and some of the parts suppliers are about to come out with a new 'jetting' system of coolant flushing that is supposed to completely free up systems from the old gunk and accretions therein. We are no longer, apparently, in possession of the most arcane and convoluted cooling system on Planet Earth.
Watching... Let you know when shops start to offer it.
Best! _________________ 'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence." |
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sageandspirit Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2008 Posts: 46 Location: Taos,NM
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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FWIW, for the past ~4 yrs I have been using Prestone, but not the yellow container/green color version. I have been using the Dex-Cool type of Prestone which is bright orange in color ( the container is grey). I thought this was the preferred type of Prestone to use, instead of the green color, for these engines. But then again I am not particularly mechanically inclined. What "G" designation is this version? I always buy full strength coolant and gallons of distilled water and mix them half and half, alternating between them using a quart of each from a rinsed glass container(wide mouth). _________________ 1987 VW Vanagon, Wolfsburg Edition Weekender w/ pop top, 2.1L WBX & 4spd Tranny |
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