Organic or mineral coolant do you put in your engine?

[cquisuila]

Organic D type or mineral coolant C Type do you put in your engine?

 

NOTICE > specification for the riviera : GM1899M or GM1894M

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by cquisuila (see edit history)

[EmTee]

I use the standard, green ethylene glycol type in my Riviera.  I only use the OAT (aka: DexCool) type in cars that came with it originally.

[NTX5467]

I'm not sure how the European specs referenced might compare to the USA OEM specs, but in the USA, at the OEM level, the "green" coolant was what we used in the 1960s.  Some brands might have had different colors, but they were all of the same chemical make-up (i.e., ethylene glycol).

 

One detriment of ethylene glycol is that it does not like the solder in the heater and radiator cores of cooling systems, causing it to degrade with time.  So that coolant has additives in it to prevent/lessen that situation.  But as the additive package degrades with time, the coolant must be replaced for best radiator/heater core longevity.  The additive packages were upgraded in the earlier 1960s to be compatible with aluminum engine parts (i.e., the aluminum blocks and/or cylinder heads which came into use back then).

 

When GM introduced its long-life Dexcool coolants, it had a unique color and the caps on the plastic bottles it was sold in had a similar color.  Ford and Chrysler followed with their own tweaks in coolants with similar properties, with the Valvoline GO-2 coolants generally following the Ford coolants.  As I recall, there were three OAT-type coolants back then?  As the Valvoline GO-2 was possibly the best to change-over a cooling system than the others, but as the bulk of my experiences (at the dealership level) were related to Dexcool, that's what I know the most about.

 

ONE thing about the newer coolants is that they are designed to operate in a closed cooling system.  With a coolant recovery jug that is also where the radiator cap is located.  Nothing readily-exposed to "open air" as the 1960s-style cooling systems were.  Trying to use these coolants in an older vehicle is asking for trouble.

 

If there is some brand you are considering, you might Google that brand's products and look to see what they offer and look at their Material Data sheets to see if they might comply with the GM specs.  You might also Google the GM spec to see what comes up.

 

There is a brand of coolant which is not ethylene glycol or Dexcool which can replace them.  I don't recall the name, but one of its users is Jay Leno, who uses it in all of the vehicles he owns.  Using it requires some prep-flushes, too.  It is something like $100.00 USD per gallon, but is much better in many respects.  I thought about using it in my cars, but it would be cost-prohibitive for me, even if the long-term costs were less. 

 

Hopefully this might help guide you in your searches,

NTX5467  

Edited September 26, 2023 by NTX5467 (see edit history)

[XframeFX]

 

18 hours ago, NTX5467 said:

users is Jay Leno, who uses it in all of the vehicles he owns.

"Evans Cool"

Jay Leno has $$$.

[Craig Balzer]

On 9/27/2023 at 2:00 AM, XframeFX said:

Jay Leno has $$$.

I fixed it for ya!

[NTX5467]

In reading on the Evans website, it is a neat product and one which could work well in our old car orientations.  TNEN I read what it would take to convert to their product.  Kind of made the (at whatever change frequency one is currently on) coolant change look easy and low-cost to me, as a somewhat frugal person.

 

One disadvantage is that anybody which might buy one of Jay's cars would have enough resources to keep it or change it back to normal stuff.  BTAIM

 

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[60FlatTop]

20 minutes ago, NTX5467 said:

as a somewhat frugal person.

Somewhat would mean that you carry less restaurant condiment packets than the confirmed frugal person?

[gungeey]

39 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

Somewhat would mean that you carry less restaurant condiment packets than the confirmed frugal person?

 Frugal is when someone takes their watch battery out at night.

[NTX5467]

"Frugal" is when a person bought a new 2005 LeSabre Limited rather than a new Cadillac DeVille as the Buick 3800 V-6 was a 4.5quart oil change rather than the 7quart oil change of the more expensive Cadillac Northstar V-8.

 

Grand parents (on "fixed income") and young drivers (with little income) can appreciate the cost differences in such maintenance items.

 

Regards,

NTX5467

[gungeey]

42 minutes ago, NTX5467 said:

"Frugal" is when a person bought a new 2005 LeSabre Limited rather than a new Cadillac DeVille as the Buick 3800 V-6 was a 4.5quart oil change rather than the 7quart oil change of the more expensive Cadillac Northstar V-8.

 

Grand parents (on "fixed income") and young drivers (with little income) can appreciate the cost differences in such maintenance items.

 

Regards,

NTX5467

That's the excuse they use to save face. "I would of bought the DeVille but it costs too much to change the oil." The competitor for the Cadillac would of been a Town Car, maybe a Continental. The kids? I don't know.. maybe a couple year old Ford Contour or likely a cheap import. 

 

They could be frugal, but those two couples just couldn't afford a new deVille. Car salesmen call them Time Suckers. They suck all your time away from selling your next car.

[NTX5467]

A "real Buick owner" could have already have had a Cadillac, IF they wanted one.  Instead, they chose the Buick they liked and were used to, regardless of the price.  Not to mention the "little things" (as in the less expensive oil change) in the bargain.  This is what GM discovered when they deleted Oldsmobile, many Olds customers did not bite for the discount voucher for a new Cadillac, preferring to stay with their existing former Olds dealer and buy what he sold.

 

As for the young couple, by the time they can buy that Buick, they will be about the 4th owner of that car.  Which means about 20-somethnings who are still active before the kids come or they are in college.  I remember seeing a ;85 LeSabre with three couples in it of such people, on a weekend night, out for clean fun.  Why should they buy an inexpensive Ford compact when they bought a nicer Buick for the same money, which is easier to fix, and costs less to maintain?

 

On the other hand, a long-time Buick owner selling their car (when needed) in later life, at a very discounted price, can be a godsend for a younger buyer.  A very nice, nicely cared for car, for under $3000.00.  A similar Cadillac can have many more issues with its options, by comparison.  Not to forget the long-term issues which can happen with the Northstar V-8 . . . like when the cyl heads have to come of at 150K miles, having to have all of the cyl head bolt holes "Timezerted", etc.  As the typical Buick 3800 just keeps purring right along.  Nor the similar DeVille's $300.00+labor blower motor, or Northstar oil leaks.

 

As getting the oil changed at a local Valvoline oil change place now surpasses $75.00 for their syn-blend oil, knowing well that a gallon of the same oil at WalMart is only about $26.00+tax, I can use their coupon to buy it down to $55.00 incl tax.  You don't like "coupon clippers" either?

 

Buick was the low-cost maintenance leader over Cadillac.  Want to consider EPA fuel economy ratings between those two engines too?  Advantage Buick.

 

Regards,

NTX5467

[XframeFX]

On 9/30/2023 at 12:54 PM, NTX5467 said:

On the other hand, a long-time Buick owner selling their car (when needed) in later life, at a very discounted price, can be a godsend for a younger buyer.

When my kids started driving, one of the two (and his like demographics) would purchase 20-year-old high-end rides, mostly European that were $85K CAD new, from the late '90s. Jaguars from that era (both Ford Jaguars and prior) would be especially cheap.

Seen one kid pulling up to the neighbours' kid (still living at home) in the last generation T-Bird with hardtop off. Original Owner had it pegged as an "old car". I wish the same would be the case with the original Owner of a Cadillac CTS-Vee!