Green antifreeze or coolant as some call it.

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Bills65Dart

Bills65Dart

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Hello to everybody.

I have been looking for info about what antifreeze or coolant to use on my 1965 Dodge Dart with a 225 Slant Six.

From Norway where I come from originally I am not used to have a lot of options.

Some says use a red one, some says use a blue one, some says use a green one. Then, some says color does not matter. I realize that color does not matter in itself, it is the technology that matters. But, that said, I understand that the old technology often are colored green, while newer ones are colored yellow, and then there is the red one that some says is used for aluminum engines mainly. Well, my Slant Six is a cast iron thing, but the water pump is some sort of aluminum alloy I assume, pure aluminum is probably not used.

Any advices out there ? And, does brand matter any in this ? I am kind of a fan of Prestone, but that was when Prestone was green.


Bill
 
Copper radiator?
Copper heater?
Open overflow, or relatively open flow tank?
Use 'conventional' green.
Conventional uses inorganic corrosion inhibitors.
These provide immediate protection.

All of the others are some form of organic acid technology, or hybrid organic acid technology. This includes most if not all 'universal' antifreeze.
OATs and HOATs need some time in use to be effective. They work best with closed systems. Most do not have protection for soldered copper and brass as a important goal of their corrosioninhibition packages.
 
Dex-Cool is orange, and used in GM vehicles. Scour the internet, and you will find some nightmare stories about it.
Toyota uses a pink or orang coolant, and is used in aluminum engines.
For our old iron, use the green stuff, Prestone.
Use it in a 50/50 mix with distilled water.
 
Typical red stuff for domestic is called Dex-Kool. GM uses it, has for years. It builds up a scum like dried liquid soap or something like that. Mostly came in vehicles with plastic and aluminum radiator and heater core. Doesn't mix with anything else to my knowledge.
 
Prestone makes all types. Need to check the labels and/or the data sheets.
 
I use this Green, available at Autozone stores. See the last line below...
AutoZone green is a conventional ethylene glycol based antifreeze for use in older automotive and light duty diesel applications.

  • Provides year-round protection against damaging rust and corrosion
  • Compatible with all conventional green antifreeze
  • Protects all metals, including aluminum
  • For use in all makes and models 1989 and earlier
 
This is it.
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I would go green! Don't waste money on the pre mixed 50/50.

Buy 1 gallon of full strength, save an old empty bottle, pore 1/2 of the full strength in the empty, and add 1/2 gallon of distilled water to each, now you have 2 gallons of 50/50 for the price of one
 
Mattax said:
Prestone makes all types. Need to check the labels and/or the data sheets.
Click to expand...

I have looked at the Prestone site, and the only thing I find there is a brand called Prime, with low silicate formulation. I don't know if that is good or bad for my Slant Six.

Bill
 
Bills65Dart said:
I have looked at the Prestone site, and the only thing I find there is a brand called Prime, with low silicate formulation. I don't know if that is good or bad for my Slant Six.

Bill
Click to expand...
No sense to over engineer this. Go to Wal Mart and pick up gallon of their generic brand. It will be fine. Not rocket science! The non 50/50 mix is best mixed with distilled water with a 50/50 mix. Buy the premixed and you are paying a preimum for convenience and water. Your choice.
 
Bills65Dart said:
I have looked at the Prestone site, and the only thing I find there is a brand called Prime, with low silicate formulation. I don't know if that is good or bad for my Slant Six.

Bill
Click to expand...
That's the only one on their website that is probably appropriate.
Yup. Completely annoying they don't actually have a basic description.

The autozone conventional was the only stuff I could pick up easily around here. :rolleyes:
A lot of places don't bother carrying the full line of any brand. Easier to just tell the consumer "universal" is OK.After all, they;'re not going to be dealing with the consequences.
 
Dana67Dart said:
I would go green! Don't waste money on the pre mixed 50/50.

Buy 1 gallon of full strength, save an old empty bottle, pore 1/2 of the full strength in the empty, and add 1/2 gallon of distilled water to each, now you have 2 gallons of 50/50 for the price of one
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's just a scam for idiots! Pre-mixed, Ha.....more like pre-diluted!
 
Make sure you use Distilled water and I find best deals on it in the drugstore chains, Walgreens & CVS.
 
A some labelling is vague, like Shoprite's store brand. Its green colored but when I contacted them, they went to their supplier and asked. Its a universal HOAT, not IAT. Good radiators are expensive these days, so not worth taking chances when labelling isn't specific. Must say Conventional or inorganic or similar.
 
toolmanmike said:
No sense to over engineer this. Go to Wal Mart and pick up gallon of their generic brand. It will be fine. Not rocket science! The non 50/50 mix is best mixed with distilled water with a 50/50 mix. Buy the premixed and you are paying a preimum for convenience and water. Your choice.
Click to expand...

I did not mean to over engineer it. But, I know very little about antifreeze / coolants, so I thought it could be wise to askt. In addition I have now read about it here and there, and I guess I got some wiser. I sort of felt that I knew so little about it that I had no idea what things meant when I read it. And that if I go to a store they can tell me all kind of stories and I would have been happy with whatever they told me. I hate being fooled. :D

Bill
 
tonysrt said:
Make sure you use Distilled water and I find best deals on it in the drugstore chains, Walgreens & CVS.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I read that too. Where I lived in Norway we had the best water possible to find out of the tap, soft, very little minerals, so I have always used tap water. But, I have worked on engines where you can see on the outside of the liners / sleeves that there is a lot of beige chalc or whatever you will call it, and other things too not so good. I have never had any idea why it was like that, but then I read about the water. And here the water is hard, so I will find better water for the car.

Bill
 
Exactly. You can take a guess how I felt after buying the Shoprite brand and then later realizing that it didn't actually say on the label what it was.

upload_2020-1-7_23-38-7.png
 
Bills65Dart said:
Yeah, I read that too. Where I lived in Norway we had the best water possible to find out of the tap, soft, very little minerals, so I have always used tap water. But, I have worked on engines where you can see on the outside of the liners / sleeves that there is a lot of beige chalc or whatever you will call it, and other things too not so good. I have never had any idea why it was like that, but then I read about the water. And here the water is hard, so I will find better water for the car.

Bill
Click to expand...
I have used tap water for years in dozens of vehicles with no issues. No radiator repairs or water pump failures.
 
Mattax said:
Copper radiator?
Copper heater?
Open overflow, or relatively open flow tank?
Use 'conventional' green.
Conventional uses inorganic corrosion inhibitors.
These provide immediate protection.

All of the others are some form of organic acid technology, or hybrid organic acid technology. This includes most if not all 'universal' antifreeze.
OATs and HOATs need some time in use to be effective. They work best with closed systems. Most do not have protection for soldered copper and brass as a important goal of their corrosioninhibition packages.
Click to expand...

Well, the radiator is copper, and I assume the heater is too. It is not connected at the moment, for whatever reason. But the tubes that comes out of the firewall is copper.

The question about overflow and that stuff, I have no clue. It is a stock 1965 Slant Six radiator.

Bill
 
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