What autozone/orileys coolant can I use?

DiecellDan

Registered User
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Posts
74
Reaction score
8
Location
Tx
Whats the best coolant to use thats easily found in local auto parts stores? With or without adding sca
 

CBRF3

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2020
Posts
238
Reaction score
158
Location
Southern Illinois
My advice use the prestone with core guard concentrated and then add distilled water to it also I suggest add a coolant filter on your heater feed line reason being can buy coolant filters with the SCA already in them for cheap and a coolant filter gets rid of any trash in the system this helps to avoid cavitation as any trash / dirt / rust and such will work as an abrassive on the cylinder walls add cavitation issues our motors have well this covers you from all directions do not use the extended life coolants in our engines its asking for problems as they are more acidic or base depending on the brand we need a neutral coolant PH and prestone with core guard is one of best ones out there I have found for the money.
 

franklin2

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Posts
5,161
Reaction score
1,385
Location
Va
My advice use the prestone with core guard concentrated and then add distilled water to it also I suggest add a coolant filter on your heater feed line reason being can buy coolant filters with the SCA already in them for cheap and a coolant filter gets rid of any trash in the system this helps to avoid cavitation as any trash / dirt / rust and such will work as an abrassive on the cylinder walls add cavitation issues our motors have well this covers you from all directions do not use the extended life coolants in our engines its asking for problems as they are more acidic or base depending on the brand we need a neutral coolant PH and prestone with core guard is one of best ones out there I have found for the money.

Is that the purple coolant? I see O Reilly's list it, but they don't keep it in all the stores. It is SCA pre-charged.
 

CBRF3

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2020
Posts
238
Reaction score
158
Location
Southern Illinois
Is that the purple coolant? I see O Reilly's list it, but they don't keep it in all the stores. It is SCA pre-charged.
nope its standard green coolant without any precharge prestone with core guard is regular coolant with more anti corrosive additives and also a better PH stabilizing additive compared to other green coolants be carefull most of the odd colored coolants aka non green coolants are hybrid organic acid technology and not organic acid technology ours need the regular organic acid technology coolants otherwise it causes issues with our gaskets aka head gaskets and intake gaskets and such the prestone with core guard is best all around coolant I have found for our motors then add the motorcraft VC8 coolant additive or add a addon coolant filter with precharge.


good filter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OKXAD0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

good filter mount kit https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CSINYU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Here is a good read for you to understand why the coolant additive is needed and what causes the issues https://www.dieselhub.com/maintenance/cavitation.html

a few videos on what cavitation is

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

stay away from the extended life coolants and non organic acid technolology coolants otherwise your playing with disaster from experience using the prestone with core guard and a coolant filter I have yet to have any issues and my coolant stays nice and clean and any trash or anything is caught in the filter and if my filter is getting plugged I know because my heater output goes to crap telling me to change the filter LOL rather than having the heater core get plugged or other issues with the motor debris and trash in cooling system is a killer of our motors cavitation is amplified when there is debris / trash in the cooling system read up on what cavitation is then imagine having debris in there working like a sandblaster on top of the cavitation itself and you might understand why the coolant filter is so important.
 
Last edited:

franklin2

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Posts
5,161
Reaction score
1,385
Location
Va
I have been using the Zerex GO5 ever since I went to the champion radiator. That has been 15 years now, I posted in another thread that the radiator just sprung a leak, so I am buying another one. I am being careful and trying to save what GO5 I have and then add new, it's almost $20 per gallon.

I know what the original poster is getting at, you need something that works and is easy to get. The GO5 fills that bill. If it's good enough for Mercedes Benz diesels and also newer Ford diesels, it's good enough for me and my old truck. It's supposed to inhibit liner corrosion and pitting.
 

CBRF3

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2020
Posts
238
Reaction score
158
Location
Southern Illinois
I have been using the Zerex GO5 ever since I went to the champion radiator. That has been 15 years now, I posted in another thread that the radiator just sprung a leak, so I am buying another one. I am being careful and trying to save what GO5 I have and then add new, it's almost $20 per gallon.

I know what the original poster is getting at, you need something that works and is easy to get. The GO5 fills that bill. If it's good enough for Mercedes Benz diesels and also newer Ford diesels, it's good enough for me and my old truck. It's supposed to inhibit liner corrosion and pitting.

Zerex GO5 is hybrid acid technology and is high on the PH range and is not a good idea https://www.autozone.com/antifreeze...50-50-antifreeze-and-coolant-1-gal/368286_0_0 read under notes :::::: Notes: Hybrid Organic Acid Technology. Yellow, Ford, Daimler, Chrysler. Pre-mixed

This is a bad idea its exteneded life coolant and is a huge NO NO for our engines its not safe for our gaskets and because of the higher PH its bad for our engine blocks / heads aka eats them over time and will only go up in PH over time becoming more and more acidic which is likely another reason your radiator was ate up cast iron blocks need a neutral or lower PH coolant ours is not compatible with the zerex G05.

The reason extended life coolants are higher PH has to do with way an aluminum block motor self neutralizes the acidity that a cast iron block cannot add cast iron heads vs aluminum as same thing only organic acid technology coolant is safe for our motors simple as that and we have to be carefull even further and look at the PH rating and the additive package prestone with core guard is a exact match for our motors unless you want premature death of either the cylinder walls or other components in the system.

Prestone with core guard is a low silicate coolant and neutral PH

I just tried to look for my tried and true coolant and its nowhere to be found what is going on i just bought like 8 gallons of it a few months back when i did my engine swap after the rebuild i did cannot find the prestone with cor guard anywhere.
 
Last edited:

franklin2

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Posts
5,161
Reaction score
1,385
Location
Va
I am not saying you are wrong, but you do not have me convinced yet. The newer engines use cast iron blocks. Not sure what type of head gaskets they use and if they are some new fangled thing compared to our head gaskets.

I read somewhere that the silicate in the older style coolants protect aluminum. The low silicate coolants that are compatible with the SCA's don't have the silicate, but on a stock older trucks they don't have aluminum in the cooling system. Mine does, and a lot of people replace their heater cores with the aluminum ones available in the stores. This thing I read was a long time ago, they may have gotten rid of the silicates in all the coolants. I want to say I read somewhere that Europe banned using silicates in all their coolants some time ago. I may be wrong about that.
 

snicklas

6.0 and Loving It!!
Staff member
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Posts
6,164
Reaction score
2,342
Location
Greenfield, Indiana
Zerex G-05 meets the Cummins standard (Cummins CES 14603) to be compatible with the OLD Cummins engines. At first G-05 didn't meet this standard, but they changed their formula and now meet this spec. It is safe of the older seals and gaskets. I've run it in my IDI's and netx service interval, it's going in my 6.0 also....

If you want something that is easy to find "everywhere", then go with the Zerex G-05
 

Frankenwintch

Registered User
Joined
Nov 17, 2019
Posts
13
Reaction score
9
Location
Springtown, tx
Me and my husband actually use the fleet charge full strength then we add distilled water as well it works really well it is more expensive. But I used to work for O'Reilly's so it was cheaper for us. But the G05 is really good as well it's really up to I which one u want to go with just always ask questions because not every O'Reilly's or autoblowen employee is as knowledgeable as the people on this forum.
 

jrollf

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2008
Posts
285
Reaction score
226
Location
Houston, TX

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
91,217
Posts
1,128,504
Members
24,045
Latest member
Ramtough01
Top