I'd like to flush my coolant sometime soon (I'm not sure when / if the p.o. ever did it) but don't know the recommended types of coolant that will work okay with the aluminum engines in these cars - any suggestions?

 

me too.. me too.
We should come up with a FAQ for recommended fluids.. we all have the same change intervals. I know the antifreeze has to be safe for aluminum engines, but which is best for our application?

 

Use the search. The question comes up every few weeks. For me, I use Audi/VW blue and distilled aqua.

 

clarks garage had recoomendation it hink

 

bump

 

Dexcool -- the orange stuff. Just look on the bottle and it will say something like "safe for foreign aluminum engines" or something to that effect.

-Matt

 

Yea, but I've heard not to trust such labels - are you using that stuff right now and if so, how long, what kind of temperature ranges, etc. . .

 

Don't ever go just by the label, if it says 'safe for aluminum engines'.
Check to make sure it also says 'phosphate free', because they can call it safe for aluminum engines if it's LOW phosphate as well. So be on the lookout for that.
I use Prestone Long-Life, it's Phosphate and silicate free, orange, and says 'GM-Dexcool approved' on it. It was pretty cheap too, I think $10/4L jug.

The vw/audi blue stuff should be fine, but I bet it's a little more costly as well.
I think there are some of the green antifreeze's that are phosphate free, but they are fairly rare.
Don't ever just put in el-cheapo green stuff from Zellers or whatever.

 

is there a way to see what type of coolant you have without draining it?

I'm low on coolant but my reservoir is too yellow to tell what type it is...

 

Stick an antifreeze tester or a tube or drinking straw and get a sample. If it's orange, its the Long Life DexCoool stuff. If its green its not. If you can't tell, it time to change it anyway.

 

If I remember correctly, Dexcool is phosphate free.

I have used it since I purchased my car and my temp gauge never gets above the second bar. Of course that was after a new waterpump, radiator, etc... I don't think I've ever seen the orange stuff that isn't phosphate free. Basically, just get the orange stuff.

-Matt

 

I was at Autozone today and the had Zerex G-05. It says it's phosphate free. I usually use the orange Dexcool stuff. The Zerex is yellow. Anyone ever use this stuff?

Oh, Matt, I cleaned out my pm box.

 

I'm sure my car had green antifreeze in it when I got it back in '85 with 11000 mi. I'm sure it had not been changed. I wonder if that stuff was Phosphate-free.

 

how much are y'all paying for tha vw/audi blue stuff?

-Mike-

 

We once had this disscussion on the 928 board and the final result was that the dexa-cool or orange anti-freeze is good but if the coolant ever runs very low it has a tendency to gel up. It was a tie between the BMW brand which is blue or the one I use which is the Audi/VW brand which is also blue. I had zero problems with the VW brand (blue) in my previous car (928) and now I use it in my 951, it seems to run a bit cooler. Remember the blue, green, and orange anti-freeze's are NOT compatible with each other, so if you go blue you must top off with blue. Reno