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Originally Posted by porsche986spyder
So why can't we just buy the universal coolant that is out there. I mean, I know that some manufacturers say you must use there coolant because there have been problems with some coolants not mixing well together and gunking up and clogging the radiators. But there are a few new coolants that are sold TODAY that are suposed to be universal and SAFE FOR ALL other type of coolant already being used in your car. Are these not to be trusted? Other than the color being yellowish-green, they are not suposed to cause clogging problems like some older brands have done in the past. Sound true?
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Hi,
No such animal as Universal Coolant, except H²O. There are all sorts of Cooling Systems out there using a variety of materials and each has it's specific needs. No Coolant is totally compatible with them all. What you want is a Phosphate-free OAT (Organic Acid Technology) Coolant such as Sierra, Prestone 5/150 (longterm), etc.
Porsche doesn't make Coolant, nor do they spec the Coolant from a Supplier. IIRC, the Porsche Coolant is made by a joint venture by Elf, a european chemical company and ChevronTexaco, marketed as Arteco. This same formula is available here in the US as Havoline DEX-COOL Extended Life Anti-Freeze/Coolant and
Chevron DEX-COOL Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant.
I looked up several Coolant Brands MSDS sheets to cross reference the chemical composition to that of other OAT Coolants to see if there are any identical formulas. I suspected that there are only dye and other minor diffences amongst the latest OAT Coolants. The exception is whether or not a company uses either Potassium or Sodium based 2-ethylhexanoic acid for their OAT Coolant .
HOAT is another story. Zerex makes this as G 05. Hybrid OAT (HOATs) Coolants use a low level of
Silicate in addition to organic acids to resist cavitation better than straight OAT.
The problem with OAT coolants is that if they are neglected; if the system is alowed to run low - not kept topped up, air contaminates the fluid, and cavitation can occur reducing the overall Heat transfer. G 05 is more resistant to cavitation if the cooling system is slightly neglected.
G 05 is used by Ford and Daimler-Chrysler in their newer vehicles. Mercedes has also used G 05 coolant in their cars exclusivley.
It is not a good idea to mix an OAT Coolant with a Silicated Coolant. This will cause gelling, sludge, and sediment buildup.
G 12 (G 30 in europe) is OAT based. It is phosphate, silicate, borate, nitrate, amine and nitrite free. The Porsche Coolant is G 30.
G 34, Opel and GM in europe, (here, it is commonly reffered to as "Dex-Cool) was originally distrbuted by Havoline, but is made by Arteco-Coolants, and is also an OAT based coolant. It too is phosphate, silicate, borate, nitrate, amine and nitrite free.
If the composistion in the MSDS of G 12(G 30 in Europe) matches that of the MSDS availible for G 34(Dex-Cool), then chemically, G 12 and Dex-Cool would be the same, minus the color. Hope this helps...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99