krs

My mechanic says yes as long as it's long life and red or pink.

But I saw at least one post on the net where someone claims he did that and his coolant ended up as jello.
Mechanic says that only happens when you add regular coolant which is typically green.
Any comments?

jordon

iTrader: (1)

your mechanic would normally be correct, but not with audis and vw's... they can only take G12, or pentosin/pentofrost. this is very important. you should always be cautious with your cars fluids, the power steering fluid for our cars is special (and expensive) as well, and if you ever "top it up" with generic off the shelf stuff, you will wreck your power steering pump.

mikeh

Bad News, Good News

The bad news is that it doesn't come down to color matching. Isn't all antifreeze compatible? Sorry, but it isn't. There are a few cases where you can get a fast case of corrosion, some where the water pump can be both eroded and corroded to an early death, and a lot of cases where you can shorten the effective life of the antifreeze. Antifreeze itself (most commonly a chemical called ethylene glycol) doesn't wear out–ever–but the key ingredients are the rust and corrosion inhibitors, and they get used up. The most common inhibitors, silicates for aluminum protection, are used up faster than others. That's why some new cars (all General Motors, Mercury Cougar, VW/Audi models) have red or orange antifreeze with a new class of inhibitors, called organic acids. Examples of U.S. brands with these organic acids: Havoline Dex-Cool and Prestone Extended Life, both recommended for five years or 150,000 miles. That's the good news.

Fill 'Er Up

How about just pouring orange antifreeze into every cooling system, say, yours? Sorry, but it's not that simple. The new organic acid antifreezes may be used only if the cooling system has an aluminum radiator (rather than copper-and-brass).

However, let's assume the reason you're thinking of a coolant change is because you're changing a cooling system part (pump, radiator, heater, thermostat housing) on a system with a conventional coolant, not an organic acid orange or pink. In that case, don't change to organic acid orange, even if the part you're installing is aluminum. Use a fresh fill of familiar U.S. yellow/gold or green silicated antifreeze.

The two orange extended-life antifreezes are compatible with each other, with what's factory-fill in GM ca rs and the '99 Mercury Cougar, and with the pink in VW/Audi cars. However, they're not compatible with a special orange antifreeze in 1998-99 Chrysler L/H cars (Dodge Intrepid/Chrysler Concorde and 300M), a special "hybrid" mix of organic acids and silicates. The green in most Japanese cars contains no silicates, so it's not the same as the green in the parts store. The yellow in some European cars contains some silicates, but it's very different from yellow Prestone, the top-selling U.S. brand. And then there is red antifreeze used by Toyota, and blue used on some European and Korean cars.

Freshen Up That Cup For You, Sir?

What about just topping up a system that's low? What kind should you use? If the system (except for Chrysler L/H) has orange or pink, use Prestone or Havoline orange for top-up. All you have on hand is regular U.S. yellow/gold or green? Well, if you're desperate, use what you've got, because it's better than running low o n coolant and possibly overheating. But the mixture is shortening the life of the antifreeze. By how much? It would take lab tests to tell, so the best deal is to do the equivalent of a "retrofit." Can you retrofit all systems? Sorry, the answer is no. What about draining green or yellow/gold from the radiator and refilling with orange? Is that considered a "retrofit"? No, and you'd better not try that, either.

What if the system has Japanese green, Toyota red, Korean or European blue, or European yellow? As we noted, European and Korean formulas have silicates, so U.S. green or yellow/gold is all right, but it slightly compromises the extended life formulas some have. Typically all that means is: Change at 30,000 instead of 36,000 miles. The Japanese green and red antifreezes have no silicates, but they are very different from U.S. orange. If you really drain out the old antifreeze from any of these systems (thoroughly rinse the system with fresh water), you certainly can refill with a U.S. yellow/gold or green silicated antifreeze.

SilentSam

Hey hey,

Depends if you're referring to G12, G12+ or G12++? G12++ can be mixed with most coolants. Audi/VW dealers only use/sell the new G12++ now. 2cents + GST lol

Leonard

adamstasiak

DO NOT MIX COOLANTS.

In case you add the wrong type and they don't mix, one of them will be sitting at the bottom of the system and the other one on top. The bottom one will be exploding from time to time and this will damage the whole system including your interior heater.

The worst **** I find is PRESTONE. Loaded with so much staff that it plugs everything.

You can always add antifreeze that contains ethylene glicol only.

What kind of mechanic did you go to? What cars have you seen at the shop - Fords and Dodges?
The statement of your mechanic is straight "S C A R Y".

SilentSam

Hey,

The Audi/VW dealers will advise you if you're running G12 in your car now that the new G12++ is completely safe to mix, runs about $30ish for a 4L jug. That's if you're 110% sure that that's what's in it now is G12. Some incompatible coolants will actually jell if mixed and could result in HUGE damage, if not a HUGE job to clean out from your system. 2 cents more.

Leonard