Antifreeze

[Kitz]

Is there any reason to use a manufacturers ethylene glycol antifreeze over any other big difference in price

 

[repete]

I have always considered any ethylene glycol that meets any reputable vehicle manufacturer's requirements good enough.

 

[ruffdog]

Ethylene glycol (green) and propylene glycol (purple) have big price differences. Not sure why different brands of EG would be way cheaper than others. I would choose a dependable brand though.

 

[rScotty]

I've always felt the same. Ethylene glycol is just a chemical with pretty good lube and anti corrosion properties that lowers the freezing point of water.

I pay attention to is whether it is pure ethylene glycol or has it already been mixed 50/50 with distilled water. Price is often the same. If it is pure 100% it needs to be mixed. Containers are usually labeled so you can tell which it is. Sometimes the pre-mix is labeled as "50% ethylene glycol - ready to use" - or something similar.

rScotty

 

[Kitz]

Case ih wants 32.95 a gal for theres prestone is @17 a gal cant see why case ih would be more other than thete name

 

[jonsstihl]

I use john deere cool gard. they say it is good for five years so I did all my liquid cooled equipment in 2020 so intervals are easy to remember now.

I buy the concentrate and mix with distilled water it comes out cheaper that way. but my local dealer doesn't stock any so they have to order and I get it a couple days later.

I guess they manage to sell "water" to most people. I can't remember exact prices but it is probably only 5 bucks more for a gallon of finished coolant

 

[Kitz]

Case ih wants 32.95 a gal for theres prestone is @17 a gal cant see why case ih would be more other than thete name

This is for straight not 50/50

 

[RjCorazza]

If you are looking at alternative coolants, you should determine what the OEM coolant is. There are many different coolant chemistries, with ethylene glycol and propylene glycol only being the base stock. The vast majority of coolants are ethylene glycol based.

 

[rScotty]

This is for straight not 50/50

$17 a gallon? I bought it a couple of years ago and believe it was about half that at Car Quest. What surprised me was staight and 50/50 were about the same price.

All of my equipment is old enough that it uses ethylene glycol type coolant. I also have some Cool Guard left from a few years back. Pretty sure the price was more reasonable then... maybe I am way out of date.

 

[Oaktree]

If you are looking at alternative coolants, you should determine what the OEM coolant is. There are many different coolant chemistries, with ethylene glycol and propylene glycol only being the base stock. The vast majority of coolants are ethylene glycol based.

Are they still? Not sure on tractors, but car/truck mfgrs offer dire warnings about using the wrong type in their vehicles.
Then again, most parts stores sell "universal" coolant which is allegedly compatible with all types. Hard to get a straight answer on that.

 

[oosik]

I've got extended life ( five year ) antifreeze in my tractor. The Power Wagon came with ten year antifreeze. One of these days I will find out the brand and see if it can be used in the tractor also.

 

[ruffdog]

You can't tell just by the colors anymore:

Which Is The Right Coolant For Your Car? | Coolant Colours Explained

 

[SPYDERLK]

Cavitation is sometimes a problem in diesel engines, esp those with wet cylinder liners. I use Fleet Charge from TSC. It is labeled as for all heavy duty engines. It contains Special Coolant Additives to resist cavitation.

 

[jjeff]

You can't tell just by the colors anymore:

Which Is The Right Coolant For Your Car? | Coolant Colours Explained

So if IAT is kind of universal, what are they advertising as extended mileage, claiming it can be "mixed" with all antifreeze? Being somewhat ignorant I've never really studied all the different types of antifreeze available, I've always used the newer "universal" kinds with claims it will work with all other colors. I think I'm definitely more informed yet also more confused. .

 

[jjeff]

Found an answer sort of, disclaimer I was being a keyboard commando, however my thoughts sort of mirror these paragraphs from this article . Universal Coolants: The Ultimate Answer?

Makers of universal coolants say their products are formulated to be compatible with all cooling systems (foreign or domestic) and all coolant types (traditional green, OAT and OAT-hybrid with silicate). The new universal coolants use unique OAT-based corrosion packages with proprietary organic acids (such as carboxylate) to provide broad spectrum protection.

When a universal coolant is used to top off a cooling system that already contains an extended life OAT or hybrid coolant, the service life is unaffected. It remains five years or 150,000 miles. If a universal coolant is added to an older vehicle that has traditional green antifreeze in the cooling system, the service intervals are also the same as before: two to three years or 30,000 to 50,000 miles.

 

[hosspuller]

spyderlnk has posted about liner cavitation. This bears repeating. A perforated liner is a major job to repair. Although you get almost a new engine after liner replacement.

 

[jjeff]

Cavitation is sometimes a problem in diesel engines, esp those with wet cylinder liners. I use Fleet Charge from TSC. It is labeled as for all heavy duty engines. It contains Special Coolant Additives to resist cavitation.

Interesting, never even thought or heard of looking for or adding supplemental coolant additives, or sca. nor did I ever think of cavitation being a issue. Curious as how prevalent a problem this is, at least on a stock non modded engine anyway?

 

[hosspuller]

Interesting, never even thought or heard of looking for or adding supplemental coolant additives, or sca. nor did I ever think of cavitation being a issue. Curious as how prevalent a problem this is, at least on a stock non modded engine anyway?

This is an issue with "wet sleeve" engines. Cylinder bores in the parent block metal are not affected.

 

[jonsstihl]

you have to remember that a gallon of concentrate will make two gallons of coolant and 1 gallon of premix is 1 gallon of coolant so for the same price you get twice as much coolant for the extra price of 1 gallon of distilled water (couple of bucks). thats why I mentioned that coolant companies have figured out how to sell people water "for 10$ a gallon".

I'm pretty sure most compact tractors don't have wet sleeves.

 

[jjeff]

This is an issue with "wet sleeve" engines. Cylinder bores in the parent block metal are not affected.

So for sake of argument let's say my l4150 uses wet sleeves has around 5k hrs is almost 40 yrs old completely stock, never had a rebuild to my knowledge, when I replaced the rad a few yrs back used traditional premixed green antifreeze, probably not even diesel rated with additives, what are warning signs my sleeves are leaking? Low, or oil in antifreeze, vise versa, white exhaust, overheating? So if you have a older tractor with higher hours would it even pay to replace a head gasket maybe a head without doing a complete rebuild with new sleeves? I am curious for future reference.