It is not yet wise to place any faith in this "all makes, all models" claim. There's just simply not enough of a track record in older cars like ours for the claim to be validated, and the claim itself is a very tall one, for there are many different an incompatible coolant formulations.
And a whole bunch of anticorrosion additives that aren't listed because they are considered proprietary information—and which are the determining factor in the coolant's compatibility with any given system.

Major types of coolant, by corrosion inhibitor chemistry:

• Conventional/silicate: The "green stuff" that until recently was the only
stuff that could be had on the general public market.

• Conventional/low-silica: Required for a number of decades in certain
imported cars, during which time it was pretty much necessary to buy it from those automakers' dealers 'cause the parts stores only had the green stuff.

• OAT, Organic Acid Technology: GM Dex-Cool and several other-brand "Extended Life" or "5 year / 100,000 mile" coolants, mostly coloured bright red-orange. This stuff is NOT compatible with systems not specifically designed for it. In fact, it has proven to be one of GM's bigger mistakes, for it is scarcely compatible with systems designed for it! Offers zero protection for solder and is chemically aggressive to an uncomfortably-long list of gasket and seal materials. I've watched Dex-Cool and compatibles dissolve coatings, sealants and composite materials in head gaskets not specifically intended for use with Dex-Cool. Cost me a lot of money replacing a lot of head gaskets before I twigged to what was going on and did a bench test by applying Dex-Cool to a new head gasket sitting on the bench and observing the destructive effect over a few days' time. (I wish I'd been quicker on the uptake; it would've saved me not only a lot of parts and labour costs on head gaskets, but also three heater cores and four radiators.)

HOAT, Hybrid Organic Acid Technology: G-05 is the industry term, and this coolant is appearing on the general public market under three brand names:

• Chrysler Mopar G-05 (from the dealer only, coloured orange, made by Zerex)

• Ford Motorcraft Premium Gold (from the dealer only, coloured light
yellow)

• Zerex G-05 (on the aftermarket, coloured orange).

There is no info readily available on what kind of corrosion inhibitor is used in Prestone's "All makes, all models, all colours" stuff. That silence alone crosses it off my list.

Detailed coolant information in Car & Driver's detailed 2-part article on the topic, written in 2002 and available here (part 1) and here (part 2).

The T-flush fittings are good for creating leaks, not much else.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I love 'em and swear by 'em. Never had one leak (yet), and used 'em all my life.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

When I had to replace my rad last fall I completely emptied the entire cooling system and changed over to the mopar pink. The car has always had problems with rust floating around the cooling system and I can always find more of the pink on the workbenches at work. Another word of advice don't bother taking it to have it flush (dealership,sears, etc...) they are really only coolant exchange machines.

I do have a leaking T fitting if I don't really reef it down. One advantage of the tee is that it allows you to air bleed the system fairly well.

Here's a trick for ya for really nasty, problematic cooling system rust. Flush and clean, then ask your wife or girlfriend for an old stocking. Cut about a six inch closed piece (toe) and place it in the upper hose fitting @ the radiator between the hose and the fitting. Don't let it get all bunched up under the radiator hose, or it will leak. The stocking will act as a filter and let the coolant flow freely, it will stretch a bit out into the upper radiator tank, but this is OK, possibly even desired. Clean it out about once or twice a year. You might be amazed at the amount of ckunks and rusty mud it will trap. You can even go one step further and put a small refrigerator-type magnet in it (soft). You want a cheap soft magnet so it doesn't bang around and beat up the inside of your radiator or core.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Err, you sure? The Zerex G-05 I bought (last year?) was a light yellow. I think the ford/mopar version is orange but the aftermarket stuffs is yellow.

Could be wrong on the Zerex-branded stuff's color. Mopar's is orange, Ford's is light yellow.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

This reminds me... over the summer my boss told me there was a lawsuit against GM because Dexcool was so corrosive. I looked around and never could find anything to substantiate his claim. (He was a nice guy, but liked to talk a lot.) Has anyone else heard anything along these lines?

Would not surprise me to learn of at least one class action suit going on. I know a lot GM owners very displeased at the money they've had to shell out for repairs that would not have been necessary had Dex-unCool not been GM's coolant of choice.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

[quote="SlantSixDan
• OAT, Organic Acid Technology: GM Dex-Cool and several other-brand "Extended Life" or "5 year / 100,000 mile" coolants, mostly coloured bright red-orange. This stuff is NOT compatible with systems not specifically designed for it. In fact, it has proven to be one of GM's bigger mistakes, for it is scarcely compatible with systems designed for it! Offers zero protection for solder and is chemically aggressive to an uncomfortably-long list of gasket and seal materials. I've watched Dex-Cool and compatibles dissolve coatings, sealants and composite materials in head gaskets not specifically intended for use with Dex-Cool. Cost me a lot of money replacing a lot of head gaskets before I twigged to what was going on and did a bench test by applying Dex-Cool to a new head gasket sitting on the bench and observing the destructive effect over a few days' time. (I wish I'd been quicker on the uptake; it would've saved me not only a lot of parts and labour costs on head gaskets, but also three heater cores and four radiators.)
[/quote]

i wonder if this is the same orange stuff that mazda abandoned after 2 years in the mid-late 90s? IIRC, the only other orange coolant that was on the market at the time was dex-cool and i think the parts department bought a few cases at a "deal." mazda later came out with a bulletin stating there was no advantage to the stuff, and i think they wanted us to recommend flushing it out at the first major service and replace it with the green stuff.

-james

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It would be nice if there had ever been any standardisation on colours. Unfortunately, it's impossible to determine the chemistry of any coolant by its colour. There have been green, yellow, orange, red-orange, red, pink, blue and purple coolants, with no specific chemistry assigned to any specific colour, and no specific colour assigned to any specific chemistry.

Gee, thanks, guys, because yeah, picking one colour per chemistry is rocket science and all...

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Don't forget the clear coolant that mercedes used.

And the chrysler stuff varies in color from gallon to gallon. Some is almost pink some is orange. We generally call it pink cause that is what color it is in the overflow.

Dennis love it! That's a cool idea.

The t flush fittig I was just going to put on a junk heater hose, flush, and then replace. That way its not a leak hazard.

I'll let you guys know. I'll search around for some more coolant other than catch and see what happens.

MJ

I've had 1 T fitting break, and it cracked when I tried to tighten down the lid............. (but it was probably 10 years old)


I haven't used one on the slant as I didn't want water dripping over the valve cover onto the distributor or up front onto the alternator........

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Or any of several keen commercial solutions. The Gano unit is nifty 'cause you can see through it, while the Tefba's nifty 'cause it's got a locking lid you can remove for quick filter cleaning.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

maybe i'll just have a look at gano...they're only about 5 miles from my house =) But its not as neat as a stocking

Its all going on hold for a few weeks as I take apart the front end. I didn't want to put a treatment chemical in there and leave it for a month or so while I finish the disc brakes and the car sits. I'll report back on results.

Dan do you have a specific coolant you *do* think will work? I didn't see much besides prestone, sierra anitifreeze, and the ready mixed crap.

MJ