Anti-freeze for aluminum radiator
What type anti freeze should be used for a C2 327 with an aluminum radiator ? Green was in it when I drained it and the NAPA guy suggested NAPA 'Green' for older cars.
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
My choice is Zerex G-05.Leif
'67 Coupe L79, M21, C60, N14, N40, J50, A31, U69, A01, QB1
Top Flight 2017 Lone Star Regional -
Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
Check the archives as there are many many threads on this topic.
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.Comment
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
There are three types of ethylene glycol-based antifreeze - IAT (green), OAT, and HOAT, which has to do with the corrosion inhibitor chemistry. Green is considered obsolete and is no longer used by any OEM. OAT types may not provide sufficient protection to solder, which modern cars don't have in their cooling systems.
That leaves HOAT, which is now the new "universal" antifreeze that protects all cooling system materials including solder.
The prime example is Zerex G-05. If you want all the whys and wherefores, you can find them in the archives by searching the above acronyms.
DukeComment
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
Robert------
Zerex G-05 is the best for any 1953-96 Corvette with two exceptions. The exceptions? Any 1968-72 with an aluminum radiator that's also had its heater core replaced with an aluminum heater core (which I HIGHLY recommend) and any 1984-96 that's had it's heater core replaced with an aluminum heater core (which I HIGHLY recommend). For those, Dexcool is the best.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
Joe, why's that?Comment
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
William------
Aluminum heater cores for 1968-96 are of all aluminum construction and are all welded. These avoid the soldered connections and construction of copper/brass heater cores. Thus, the aluminum cores avoid all of the most frequent failure points of the copper/brass cores. Plus, the aluminum cores are very long lived. I've been waiting for years for aluminum heater cores to become available for C3 and C4 Corvettes. Finally, they became available. Unfortunately, they're not currently available for C1 and C2 Corvettes.
With an aluminum cooling system, Dexcool is the best coolant and will provide the longest life for the radiator and heater core. It does not matter that the block, cylinder heads and waterpump may be cast iron. The Dexcool will adequately protect those, too.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
Joe,
I'm sure you are right but I want to add that I own a Chrysler 300M 24 valve and it has all aluminum everything and the factory fill is the G-05 yellow antifreeze.Comment
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
Timothy-------
Yes, I think that Chrysler uses a G-05 type coolant across all their car and light truck applications.
Zerex G-05 is perfectly fine for all aluminum applications. I just feel that Dexcool is slightly better for such applications------certainly not a lot better, just slightly better.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
I am thinking back to my '81 Corvette, that I bought new. I seem to remember that it came from the factory with the pinkish/orange anti-freeze I think was Dexcool, no?Big Tanks In the High Mountains of New MexicoComment
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
Dexcool didn't show up as OE in GM cars until circa 1996 and was used across the board except Saturn, which picked it up a couple of years later.
The product we know as Zerex G-05 was developed by BASF and became OE on Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the early to mid eighties. Then Chrysler picked it up after the DB merger and still uses it. It's also OE on all Fords going back to about the mid nineties.
If you look at the anti-freeze products on the Valvoline Web site there are about half a dozen. All are ethylene glycol based, but have different corrosion inhibitor chemistry to comply with various OEM requirements.
Toyota' spec is OAT, but it's different than Dexcool. Apparently there are a couple of components that Toyota considers to be "plasticizers", which means they either harden or soften (I forget which) plastics and elastomers.
I think Audi has a unique spec, which is probably also used by VW and Porsche.
Dexcool was jointly developed by GM and Texaco who jointly owned the patents rights (probably now expired) and trademarked name. Maybe that's the real reason why no other OEM uses it.
The BASF developed HOAT is probably the most widely used product among OEMs. Maybe more new vehicles are equipped with OATs , but there are several.
...bottom line - it gets complicated, but the BASF formula (Zerex G-05) is the only modern "universal" antifreeze that protects all cooling system materials from corrosion whether modern (no soldered brass) or vintage with soldered brass components.
DukeLast edited by Duke W.; February 29, 2016, 11:52 AM.Comment
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Re: Ant-freeze for aluminum radiator
Several years ago there was an interview with a coolant engineer, I believe from Valvoline , in Car and Driver who said Dexcool was not compatible with the older Corvette's cooling systems ( at least C1's, C2's and most, maybe all C3's) or other older cars. and recommended the GO5 for those. That's when I began using GO5. I can't see why Dexcool would be best choice for a Corvette just because it has an Al heater core when radiator is Al.Comment
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