New Prestone® All Makes All Models Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant
- Thread starter Pluto5
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Sure, I'd use it. Never heard a bad word about Prestone's products.
I put some of that Peak brand "universal long life" stuff in my car awhile back and it didn't blow up.
Now have the Prestone version of "Dex Cool" in my car. Some folks say it's the same as the new "Yellow" with a different color...I don't know but it seems to work well.
Apart from the troubles people have had with poor GM designs that compromised their DexCool, these long life coolants are the ticket. Prestone's move to make a clean break from the old technology was brilliant IMO.
I put some of that Peak brand "universal long life" stuff in my car awhile back and it didn't blow up.
Now have the Prestone version of "Dex Cool" in my car. Some folks say it's the same as the new "Yellow" with a different color...I don't know but it seems to work well.
Apart from the troubles people have had with poor GM designs that compromised their DexCool, these long life coolants are the ticket. Prestone's move to make a clean break from the old technology was brilliant IMO.
I have used Prestone exclusivally for 40 years. I understand the new fluid will not loose fluid as much during use. I always have had to add water or fluid about once a month to keep it full.So I would like to try the new Prestone if it is better.
I have added the new univeral coolant in my Dexcool system and so far it's ok. Hopefully this stuff will be better than the Dexcool crap.
I believe it is, Pluto5. Prestone was the contractor for the previous ST silicate-containing antifreeze/coolant. (I had emailed Prestone a couple of years ago and actually received an affirmative response.) Also, some of the wording on the back of the reformulated ST jugs is identical to that of the newly reformulated Prestone jugs, i.e. "...for use with any antifreeze/coolant in ANY make of car or light duty truck...", and, "...a concentrated blend of premium long-lasting inhibitors to offer protection for up to 5 years or 150,000 miles against temperature extremes and the ravages of rust and corrosion..." (I realize some of the wording could just be coincidental, but, "ravages"?!) The production/date code stamped on the jugs follows the same alpha-numeric pattern in both cases. Both brands list the exact same forumulation chemical names and CAS numbers, too. What I think Prestone is doing in the case of ST is shipping bulk containers of the new extended life antifreeze/coolant to "Alsip Packaging, Inc." in Illinois for bottling and subsequent distribution to WalMart's regional warehouses. In any event, I'm confident enough in WalMart's brew that ST Extended Life antifreeze/coolant has taken over heat transfer duty in my 2003 Sonata aluminum V6's cooling system.
I think the "Universal" coolants claim compatibility only when used for top-off, not total exchange/refill.
The reformulated extended life Prestone and ST jugs state: "Provides extended life protection when added to any extended life antifreeze/coolant or when flushed and filled using these directions." The directions go on to detail the process to drain the old coolant and flush the engine block with clean water (and the advice to use a chemical cleaner to rid the cooling system of established corrosion, if necessary). The printed directions make it pretty clear these products are intended as stand-alone extended life antifreeze/coolants with the only exception being when they're used to top-up currently installed conventional antifreeze/coolants. "Extended life" means various intervals according to the vehicle manufacturer, so always consult your owner's manual to avoid warranty hassles.
[ October 18, 2004, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
I have to change my plastic ,leaky rad on my 01 Jeep so I'm going with a Modine (limited lifetime warranty)and the new Prestone pre-mixed "ALL MAKES" long life.The back of the jug makes a reference to a complete drain/flush/fill if need be so thats what I'm doing.The plastic rads on the TJ model Jeeps have a weak seal from the factory and getting 60,000 miles out of them is good
Update on my Jeep rad saga...The Modine company is no more,from the info I heard,so I recieved a SPI rad that was plastic and returned it to the store.Went to another source and purchased an all brass YJ rad for my TJ...this is an older model rad in a newer model Jeep (they all fit).This rad was made by Auto-Kool...never heard of em'.Installation went great,test drive all was well,parked it in garage for 5 minutes and the bottom tank developed a major leak and spewed fluid everywhere.Desperate called the Jeep dealer and went with an OEM rad (get discount prices at my local dealer due to jobber rates)and filled the new one with the new Prestone all makes pre-mixed long life.So far everything is fine and I hope that the new OEM rad will last longer than the one that was in there to begin with
Good luck - you've certainly been through it with that thing. For what it's worth, all current Asian imports have aluminum radiators with crimped metal ring attached plastic top and bottom tanks, sealed with elastomeric gaskets. I had an '86 Peugeot with the same construction. None of this is new nor rocket science and most of the time they work well. As you found out, you can get a brand new soldered-up brass radiator that's bad right out of the box, too. Just shows to go 'ya - feces happens...
You got that right..poop happens...to me fur shure
Ray, I guess I meant compatible with automaker recommendations. If you exchange oem with it, things get fuzzy as far as warranty goes. Remember, autos with inclusive service require oem fluids. Prestone probally will accept liability for topping is what I was thinking.
So, is this new Prestone/ ST brew most likely a G-05 hybrid- what's it called, a HOAT? The Prestone that I bought recently was colored green, just like the old stuff. Seems like we've now come full circle... It gets very confusing when servicing so many different vehicles with different needs. Maybe now we have something good to go with that works for many applications. Here's hoping that's true!
No. The reformulated Prestone green in the yellow jug and the ST (also green) extended life coolants are closer to DEX-COOL - at least insofar when comparing to Prestone's own orange dyed fully GM approved DEX-COOL compatible brew. (All have the same corrosion inhibitor per the listings on the back of the jugs.). Havoline/Mr. Goodwrench DEX-COOL use the hydrated potassium salt of 2-EHA, Prestone, et al use the hydrated sodium salt of 2-EHA and another salt, sodium neodecanoate. (I'm unsure whether this extra corrosion inhibitor hydrated salt provides a performance advantage or merely a convenient dodge around ChevronTexacos's patents... or none of the above...) This "extended DEX-COOL family" is related insofar as they all use "OAT" corrosion inhibitors, no phosphates, no borates, no amines, no nitrites, and no SILICATES.
G-05 employs reduced levels of silicates and a different hydrated organic acid salt, sodium benzoate, as its "OAT" corrosion inhibitor. The combination renders G-05 a hybrid ("HOAT") G-05 also is free of amines, borates, nitrites, and phosphates in deference to Europe's generally abysmally hard water. (Like Europeans can't be bothered with distilled or de-ionized water when they service their cars' cooling systems every three or four years?
)
The Japanese (Toyota, Honda, and Nissan) are more in line with the DEX-COOL philosophy with "OAT" corrosion inhibitors and no silicates. But, they do contain phosphates which provide a quick protective bond with aluminum. (It can take a while for organic acid salts to bond to aluminum. Also, if something damages the organic acid salt bond, phosphates can provide a bandage effect until the organic acid "skin" is re-established.) Co-reliance on inorgainic phosphates may lead to the interpretation that the Japanese coolants are a "HOAT" coolant. More a syntactical distinction without a real difference so far as I'm concerned. (But, what do I know?..)
The Japanese and GM feel silicates gelling and then falling out of solution as hard precipitates are implicated in premature water pump seal wear. The Europeans feel that issue isn't a problem so long as the silicates level is reduced from the conventional coolant levels of the past.
[ October 25, 2004, 09:41 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
G-05 employs reduced levels of silicates and a different hydrated organic acid salt, sodium benzoate, as its "OAT" corrosion inhibitor. The combination renders G-05 a hybrid ("HOAT") G-05 also is free of amines, borates, nitrites, and phosphates in deference to Europe's generally abysmally hard water. (Like Europeans can't be bothered with distilled or de-ionized water when they service their cars' cooling systems every three or four years?
The Japanese (Toyota, Honda, and Nissan) are more in line with the DEX-COOL philosophy with "OAT" corrosion inhibitors and no silicates. But, they do contain phosphates which provide a quick protective bond with aluminum. (It can take a while for organic acid salts to bond to aluminum. Also, if something damages the organic acid salt bond, phosphates can provide a bandage effect until the organic acid "skin" is re-established.) Co-reliance on inorgainic phosphates may lead to the interpretation that the Japanese coolants are a "HOAT" coolant. More a syntactical distinction without a real difference so far as I'm concerned. (But, what do I know?..)
The Japanese and GM feel silicates gelling and then falling out of solution as hard precipitates are implicated in premature water pump seal wear. The Europeans feel that issue isn't a problem so long as the silicates level is reduced from the conventional coolant levels of the past.
[ October 25, 2004, 09:41 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
Wow, very informative answer- thanks! So, bottom line, can we safely add this new Prestone/ ST universal, one-size-fits-all coolant to any other type, or would you recommend only adding to Dex-cool compatible cooling systems? Or better put, what other types of coolant would YOU feel it could be safely added to; and if the old is completely flushed out, is it ok to use this universal stuff in any vehicle? I'm mainly concerned about some type of gelling or a precipitative reaction from incompatible additive chemistry.
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