Which coolant to buy all I see is ELC

Classicfordguy · Sep 9, 2008

Tried to buy some coolant the other day from the auto parts store and all they seemed to have was prestone extended life 150k mile coolant and Peak extended life 150k mile coolant. Isn't this the ELC that is supposed to be bad news? What do you guys buy for your trucks and other vehicles? I'm looking for coolant for my truck and for a sport bike and don't want to screw up either one if the ELC is nasty stuff.

Thanks,

-Rob

hesutton · Sep 9, 2008

I'd recommend low silicate old school ethylene glycol (green). That's what the cooling system was designed to use when it was engineered. You can use Napa's, Shell's, Fleetrite, and many others. It's hard to find at Autozone. Don't forget to get some DCA-4 to add to the coolant. To know how much and how to check it CLICK HERE.

Heath

cleithau · Sep 9, 2008

It won't say low silicate, it will on the back say "meets ASTM 4895 or 4985" I'd have to look at the bottle to know for sure.

RLDSL · Sep 9, 2008

The plain old green stuff or the low tox , either with SCA's will be fine.
If you want extra protection, switch over to Evans waterless coolant
Keep in mind that stuff aint cheap, but it's cheap insurance

Avoid the ELC, Dexcool garbage like the plague :backoff

Mr_Roboto · Sep 9, 2008

I'm finding that even the plain green coolant is now labeled ELC. I suppose it's cheaper to add the "whatever" to all the coolant rather than have 10 different types of coolant.

Diesel JD · Sep 9, 2008

I like the Caterpillar ELC, its possible that it will eat the oil cooler orings and I did have to replace the water pump about 5 months after I switched over. Its NOT the disastrous dexcool stuff that kills engines. If you use a diesel rated and proven coolant like CAT or Rotella it will protect the engine very well and you can forget about the cavitation worm, adding water and such.

The Warden · Sep 9, 2008

Diesel JD said:
I like the Caterpillar ELC, its possible that it will eat the oil cooler orings and I did have to replace the water pump about 5 months after I switched over. Its NOT the disastrous dexcool stuff that kills engines. If you use a diesel rated and proven coolant like CAT or Rotella it will protect the engine very well and you can forget about the cavitation worm, adding water and such.

+1 to this. I switched to Caterpillar ELC (the red stuff, NOT the orange Dex-Cool garbage) when I re-did my engine, and haven't had a single cooling system-related problem. I don't think I'd recommend making the switch on an engine with questionable oil cooler O-rings, but if they've been recently replaced, I think Cat ELC's a worthwhile upgrade.

HammerDown · Sep 9, 2008

The Warden said:
+1 to this. I switched to Caterpillar ELC (the red stuff, NOT the orange Dex-Cool garbage) when I re-did my engine, and haven't had a single cooling system-related problem. I don't think I'd recommend making the switch on an engine with questionable oil cooler O-rings, but if they've been recently replaced, I think Cat ELC's a worthwhile upgrade.

And for those of us that don't have a Farm and Tractor Store at the end of the street...just where do we purchase this CAT coolant? ;Really

Ironman03R · Sep 10, 2008

I know I'm gonna get flamed on this but I have ran GM dex cool coolant in my truck for almost 5 years now. Also used it in my old plow truck, Saturn, and several other vehicles over the years. Why? Because it was free! I have a coolant filter and add DCA as needed and have never had any problems with it. I replaced the water pump a few years back but it was the origional one and had over 200K on it.
I would not have a problem with useing prestone antifreeze.
Its just like the oil brand debate, some are better than others but your gonna use what you prefer.

Agnem · Sep 10, 2008

This is a serious question. Before the IDI Weekend rally, I wanted to change out the coolant in the Moose Truck, which has the "good" green stuff in it, and probably is 8 years old, but maybe has 14,000 miles on it. It runs through a coolant filter, and looks brand new. I stopped at a farm supply place, and looked at all the bottles they had. NO GREEN stuff. The only thing I could find that looked like it would be OK, was yellow in color. I still have the 4 bottles I bought on the shelf. I don't believe there is a single new vehicle sold today that uses the green stuff. This is the same problem that we now have with the CJ API oils. What our trucks require is no longer readily availble. If somebody could find a source for a SPECIFIC brand and part number of low silicate green antifreeze and post it, I'd be most appreciative.

Classicfordguy · Sep 10, 2008

Well I did find some PEAK coolant at Advance Auto Parts that sais it is ethalene glycol based and does not say Extended Life on it anywhere it also sais original green formula. I could not find any of the numbers on CLEITHAU stated but I assume it is the good old stuff.

82F100SWB · Sep 10, 2008

I'd think that any bulk fuel/lube distributor should be able to get you both the CI oils and the proper HD coolant. I work for an Esso(Exxon/Mobil in the US) re-seller, and we carry both oil specs side by side, it's just a matter of what we order(our 0W40 synthetic isn't even available in CJ4 yet AFAIK). Same goes for the coolant, our HD stuff hasn't changed anything but colour, it's purple now, but, it's still the standard life stuff, and pre-charged with DCA.

cleithau · Sep 10, 2008

The Prestone Green antifreeze, pre-mixed, at of all places...Walmart, meets ASTM 4895, or 4985 which ever it is. Just your standard old green anti-freeze, add your SCAs and go.

The Warden · Sep 10, 2008

HammerDown said:
And for those of us that don't have a Farm and Tractor Store at the end of the street...just where do we purchase this CAT coolant?

I bought mine from a Cat dealer (Peterson Cat in San Leandro, for those in the Bay Area)...I don't think there are ANY farm supply shops within 100 miles of me. I bought enough so that I have three gallons in the toolbox in case of any system failure, and in a true emergency, you can put water in the system (but, then you have to flush the water out of the system later on)...

Mr_Roboto · Sep 10, 2008

I wouldn't run Dex Cool even if it WAS free. I've seen too many GM vehicles come through my shop with coolant sludging.

It's an ELC, but if it is not changed out soon enough it actually becomes corrosive.

Which coolant to buy all I see is ELC

Classicfordguy

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