Zerex
- Thread starter LarryL
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It's just another GM-licensed DEX-COOL* clone. While I doubt the Zerex Extreme Life would harm your Toyota's cooling system, if your Toyota is under warranty, I'd think twice about giving Toyota a reason to deny warranty coverage for a cooling system problem, even one likely unrelated to the choice of antifreeze/coolant, by substituting the Zerex Extreme Life for Toyota red. Once off warranty and on your nickel, use whatever you like. I have yet to read anecdotal evidence of cooling system problems with the Toyota red. The only complaints are about its pricing through Toyota's stealership network.
*ALL DEX-COOLs are phosphate-free because DEX-COOL relies totally on the OAT chemistry for corrosion protection. The "big-three" Japanese OEMs WANT a stiff supplemental dose of phosphates in the cooling system to augment the protection of the OAT corrosion inhibitors.
*ALL DEX-COOLs are phosphate-free because DEX-COOL relies totally on the OAT chemistry for corrosion protection. The "big-three" Japanese OEMs WANT a stiff supplemental dose of phosphates in the cooling system to augment the protection of the OAT corrosion inhibitors.
I have a '97 Camry (no warranty issue). Zerex recommends their "Extreme Life" but am I understanding correctly that it does NOT contain phosphates since it's a GM-licensed DEX-COOL clone (even though Toyota wants phosphates).
Zerex G-5 contains silicates which I assume takes it out of the running.
Which coolant is safe to use if I just want to replace whatever is in there with a normal antifreeze? (not necessarily shooting for a long-life coolant since I question my ability to get all of the old mystery fluid out of there during a flush & fill).
PS Not worried about price but also don't want to just waste $ if I'm not getting the benefit.
Zerex G-5 contains silicates which I assume takes it out of the running.
Which coolant is safe to use if I just want to replace whatever is in there with a normal antifreeze? (not necessarily shooting for a long-life coolant since I question my ability to get all of the old mystery fluid out of there during a flush & fill).
PS Not worried about price but also don't want to just waste $ if I'm not getting the benefit.
Actually, better - you didn't pay sixteen or seventeen dollars a gallon for the stuff.
(Speaking of pricing, I see my local Wal-Mart's got the SuperTech "universal" extended life antifreeze reduced to $5.84/gallon. Agonizing decisions - buy a couple of gallons in anticipation of the next change-out in two years, or wait and use G-05 in my Sonata? Yeah, I know - I've got entirely too much free time on my hands . . .)
Thanks Mickey_M and Ray H.
Is the Zerex G-05 tolerant of being mixed with whatever coolant may be left behind?
I'm thinking of just draining the radiator, refilling with distilled water & running engine with the heater on & draining again? Will this clear enough of the old junk out?
Or... do I need to do a full flush & fill with one of the Prestone Flush N Fill kits?
Is the Zerex G-05 tolerant of being mixed with whatever coolant may be left behind?
I'm thinking of just draining the radiator, refilling with distilled water & running engine with the heater on & draining again? Will this clear enough of the old junk out?
Or... do I need to do a full flush & fill with one of the Prestone Flush N Fill kits?
zerex g05 will mix with any antifreeze..i called valvoline for that info from tech support
It won't "react" to other coolants.
On the other hand you'll get the longest life if it's the only coolant in the system.
I did a triple flush with distilled water.
Drain, fill with distilled, drive it, drain.
Let it cool off.
Drain, fill with distilled, drive it, drain.
Let it cool off.
Fill it with sufficient coolant to get a 50-60% concentration, top it off with distilled.
After the second flush it was clear, so the remainder of the Toyota coolant had to be less than 5%, which is basically the same as nothing.
The reason I use distilled is to keep the mineral levels down. As they react with the additives and the coolant breaks down, they'e the source of a lot of the whitish build-up in the radiator. Since distilled water is less than a buck a gallon, it's cheap insurance.
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Texas, huh? You picked a wonderful time of the year to do your coolant changeout . . .
Anyway, presuming your current coolant isn't clouded with corrosion or precipitates, and transparent except for marker dye coloration, you won't require a chemical flush. As to refilling with new antifreeze and using the Flush-'N-Fill kit, NO to the former unless the prior coolant is the same or very, very closely related to the new fill. My objection to the Flush-'N-Fill kit is that it relies on tap water which will leave some amount of mineral content in your cooling system depending on the mineral count in the water. Unknown concentration of mineral content opens the door to the possibility of mineral precipitates coming out of solution later on and playing havoc over time with waterpump seals. It's a #$@&ed nuisance timewise (believe me - I know), but doing multiple distilled water flushes (idling upon each refill until the thermostat opens - this happens once the radiator fan comes on twice and the upper radiator hose is hot) is the best way to avoid that. Doing the flush kit first, followed up with multiple distilled water flushes doesn't save you any time, and you really won't know when you've achieved stop point 'cause there's no marker dye at all left to guide you. Once the drained effluent is water-white clear or very close to it, you're good to go with the new coolant concentrate*, comfortable in the knowledge that anything previously in the system that's water soluable is essentially gone for all intents and purposes. (I don't obsess further if there's just a hint of the previous coolant's marker dye color still present.) At about sixty cents a gallon for distilled water at Wal-Mart, the extra expense of four or five gallons of distilled or de-ionized water to cover the flushing and final dilution for an intermediate size car is a negligible expense. When you do refill with your chosen brand of antifreeze/coolant concentrate, use one of the needle-gauge type Prestone or Victor hydrometers to adjust to the final dilute concentration.
*Even if you bother with removing the block coolant drain plug(s), there'll always be some coolant or water left in the passages' nooks and crannies. (I prefer to let sleeping dogs lie, myself - at best it's a gushing "shower" each time you remove the plug(s), at worst, the plug(s) is/are difficult to reach while lying flat on your ..."back side".) If you use pre-mix coolant, it'll be impossible to achieve an actual 50/50 concentration.
*Even if you bother with removing the block coolant drain plug(s), there'll always be some coolant or water left in the passages' nooks and crannies. (I prefer to let sleeping dogs lie, myself - at best it's a gushing "shower" each time you remove the plug(s), at worst, the plug(s) is/are difficult to reach while lying flat on your ..."back side".) If you use pre-mix coolant, it'll be impossible to achieve an actual 50/50 concentration.
Toyota, Honda, and Nissan use an OAT coolant which has no silicate but does contain phosphate. Mazda uses a G-05 HOAT just like the rest of the FOMOCO cars
There is no direct aftermarket replacement for these coolants (there wasn't one for the previous generation of Japanese coolants, either, but the conventional green worked fine).
Zerex recommends their ExtremeLife for Nissan and Toyota. They recommend G-05 for the Honda.
The reason is that while Nissan and Toyota don't rule out DexCool clones, Honda does.
I think it's a toss-up.
The ExtremeLife in common with all the DexCool clones can provide excellent long-term results as long as you keep the system topped off, don't mix it with other coolants, and don't have any leaks in the system.
The G-05 has very little silicate, so it really doesn't harm seals like conventional coolants with silicate do, and its HOAT package is nearly as long-life as the DexCool clones. It tolerates low levels and leaks better than the DexCool clones.
My 1990 Honda beater is in its fourth year with DexCool with no problems at all.
I replaced my wife's 2002 Toyota's red coolant with Zerex G-05 some months ago and expect it to work as well as the Toyota coolant.
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I'd really like to get away from Dexcool entirely in my 1995 3.8L LeSabre, Ray H.
What would you recommend as a substitute coolant?
-- The Zerex G-05?
-- Toyota Red?
-- Something else?
No leaks, and pure Dexcool all of it's life so far.
What would you recommend as a substitute coolant?
-- The Zerex G-05?
-- Toyota Red?
-- Something else?
No leaks, and pure Dexcool all of it's life so far.
The two readily available long-life coolants are DexCool and its clones, and G-05 and its clones (the current Mercedes, Chrysler, and FOMOCO coolants).
The DexCool is in theory longer-lived. Where it seems to have a problem is with systems that get low or have leaks allowing air into the system.
That's where G-05 does a bit better.
G-05 is available from several places for about $10 a gallon, including FOMOC dealers.
I'd go with G-05.
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