I need to tackle either a bad cap or cracked expansion tank today and would like to change the coolant. Did a search here and found some good stuff (especially by Jim). So my question is what is the best coolant in terms of reducing wear, corrosion, etc. I guess more specifically my question is, "Is there anything better than the Mercedes coolant?" Here is what I have found so far:
1) Porsche: Porsche coolant is green which the Mercedes guys say to avoid like the plauge (referring to old "prestone" green coolants I am sure). But Porsche must know what they are doing and wouldn't put in stuff that would corrode, right? (update: factory coolant is not green - it is pink, thanks jdaks)
2) Mercedes: Found a very convincing site that talks about mercedes brand antifreeze here:
http://www.thesaabsite.com/Coolantinfo.htm
The Mercedes bottle doesn't even say antifreeze on it, it says "anticorrosion fluid"!
3) Zerex g-05: Then I found this site that I think is saying that Mercedes coolant is the same as Zerex g-05.
"Hybrid OAT in this case means it has a traditional Ethylene Glycol-base, with a single OAT inhibitor and is moderately silicated. The version now being installed by DC, and tested by Ford, is based on the German BASF product, Glysantin G 05. It has been used in extensively in European Mercedes Benz and other manufacturer’s vehicles since the late 1980’s. New users expect that it will provide the 5-year, 100K miles coverage they desire. G 05 proponents believe that its moderate dose of silicates provide greater aluminum protection than a straight OAT while still being water pump friendly."
Here is the site:
http://coolprofits.com/articles/antifreeze-coolant/G05-Glysantin.htm
Also the coolant discussions here support g-05 as a good option.
So I would love to hear what people think about which coolant is the best for longevity of the engine, water pump, radiators, plastic parts, etc. Thanks a lot and please let me know what you think.
update: just found another article which says to ignore color (similar to what Jim said in a post about it being just a dye). This article talks about collants used by various manufacturers:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3828/is_199908/ai_n8867775
Mike