Is this the right coolant???

[dj_eddie]

Howdy,

I have a VTII Berlina (2000 Model).

Im gonna replace my radiator on Saturday and i got my hands on 5lt of 'Holden Extended Life Anti-Freeze Coolant' (Part 92145527). [for free]

Contains Ethylene Glycol 1060 g/L
Contains bittering agent 10ppm

My only concern is that this stuff is red.

Can i use this product?? Or should i go and get the green stuff (Nulon perhaps??)

Cheers.

[alien]

Doesn't matter about the colour :P Use that or Nulon, hell you can even get the Nulon in red too for a little extra. Just flush your radiator first and get all the crap out of it :P

[dj_eddie]

thanks, will do.

I was also advised (by a radiator bloke) to get the thermostat from Holden, so i did that today.

So whats the diff between the red and green?? do they work differently??

i noticed on the back it also suggested different mixtures for different freeze/boil-over protection.

Coolant/Water | Freeze Protection | Boil Over Protection

40/60 -22C 127C
50/50 -37C 129C
66/34 -64C 132C

whats the total capacity of liquid that the cooling system can handle anyways???

[alien]

For a VT from memory the WHOLE cooling system is 12 Litres, but unless you get all the coolant out you wont be putting that much in. Just make sure you flush it with Water first, and add a little more coolant. Never hurts :P

Sometimes there is no difference between coolants, just the colouring. You have to see which Glycol they're using though (Ethylene will generally be green and Propeylene will generally be red). Propeylene is not as toxic as Ethylene. Just dont mix the two colours. I prefer to use Ethylene though.

[burnz]

thanks, will do.

I was also advised (by a radiator bloke) to get the thermostat from Holden, so i did that today.

So whats the diff between the red and green?? do they work differently??

i noticed on the back it also suggested different mixtures for different freeze/boil-over protection.

Coolant/Water | Freeze Protection | Boil Over Protection

40/60 -22C 127C
50/50 -37C 129C
66/34 -64C 132C

whats the total capacity of liquid that the cooling system can handle anyways???

green for iron block's.
red for alloy block's.

[banga]

if you want to flush thru the engine block , remove one of the heater hoses on the left hand side of the block and shove a hose in the end turn the heater on and flush until it flows clear , dont forget to put the heater hose back on block the red coolant is for later generation holden motors , you can use it if you want , but just green holden coolant is good for it and a lot cheaper for them that have to pay for it lol , go buy from a radiator shop you may get it cheaper as they buy in bulk and dont charge like wounded bulls like holden, ps green coolant is for alloy blocks too , the early motors used to have a rust inhibitor /coolant stuff shoved into them ie: green coolant early version

[Hot-Rod]

The most important aspect of a new radiator is to flush the block, including heater cores as best as you can. Do not do a 2 min job. Make sure you remove as much of the old coolant as possible otherwise you could face corrision issues down the track with the old coolant mixing with the new causing corrision.

[dj_eddie]

Thanks to all who have contributed. I also rang Holden to double check and they said for a VT block, to use green coolant, so i'll be doing that.

Yes, i also plan to flush the sh1t out of it. Any tips on flushing out the resevoir?? Since the whole things has brown mus through it i want to pull out the resevior and give that a good flushing as well.

Cheers

[banga]

well ive never taken one out but i presume you can , just try blasting a hose in it for a while , maybe a bit of detergent then blast it out again, im sure the lads here have an easier way to take it out , i prefer the old vr type res bottles to clean out at work so much easier to do ,

[vxcalais_01]

For a VT from memory the WHOLE cooling system is 12 Litres, but unless you get all the coolant out you wont be putting that much in. Just make sure you flush it with Water first, and add a little more coolant. Never hurts :P

Sometimes there is no difference between coolants, just the colouring. You have to see which Glycol they're using though (Ethylene will generally be green and Propeylene will generally be red). Propeylene is not as toxic as Ethylene. Just dont mix the two colours. I prefer to use Ethylene though.

Alien, this is not entirely true, Red coolant is Ethylene as well. But have slightly different chemical makeup to the Green one, i think it has the organic acids that is typical of toyota engines for longer lasting or something like this.Some for cast iron, some for alluminium, then why would it matter as some blocks are cast iron, upper mainifold is alluminium, and is the radiator......Propylene Glycol which i only know of Amsoil selling here, Sierra sell in larger quantities is someimes pink or yellow, can be green as well, doesnt matter. Less toxic.

If you know of other Proylene Glycol i would like to know. Amsoil one so far is the best as it even has anti leak sealant built into it. hot and cold properties similar to ethylene.

[hsvpunk]

just make sure you use coolant, that is readily available... No mixing off brands.

[commsirac]

found this on google:
Certain cars are built with Organic Acid Technology (OAT) antifreeze (e.g., DEX-COOL [1]), which is claimed to have an extended service life of five years or 240,000 km (150,000 miles).

According to the DEX-COOL manufacturer, "mixing a 'green'[specify] coolant with DEX-COOL reduces the batch’s change interval to 2 years or 30,000 miles, but will otherwise cause no damage to the engine."[citation needed]

DEX-COOL specifically has caused controversy. It is causally linked[citation needed] with intake manifold gasket failures in GM's 3.1L and 3.4L and with other failures in 4.3L engines. Class action lawsuits were registered in several states, and in Canada,[3] to address some of these claims. The first of these to reach a decision was in Missouri where a settlement was announced early in December, 2007.[4] Late in March 2008, GM agreed to compensate complainants in the remaining 49 states.[5]

Typically OAT antifreeze contains a red or pink dye to differentiate it from the conventional glycol-based coolants (blue or green). Some of the newer OAT coolants claim to be compatible with all types of OAT and glycol-based coolants; these are typically green or yellow in color (for a table of colors, see http://www.eetcorp.com/antifreeze/Coolants_matrix.pdf


Its important to realise that the coolants are actually colorless and the bright greens and reds we see are just coloring agents that are added for identification purposes.

[vxcalais_01]

Apparently the Dexcool turned the gaskets to jelly

[howepower]

the real rewason is the organic was used because of the graphit and cometic head gaskets that is all