PEAK extended life coolant now available for Chrysler

y_p_w · Mar 4, 2004

Bill Putney said:

One of the reasons the type of coolant on the Japanese cars of the era
was so critical was that the radiator tubes were extremely fine (i.e.,
the inside oval cross-section height of the tubes was very small). This
meant that even a slight build up of residue and/or corrosion inside the
tubes greatly affected the flow and cooling capacity - it didn't take
much at all to completey block the tubes. This was not true of the
typical American car radiator, and there was significant reserve
capacity in the size of the radiator, so build up and radiator
performance degradation was not important except in extreme cases.
Click to expand...

Yeah - the cooling system capacity of my '95 Integra GS-R was less
than 2 gallons. The plastic radiator tank finally cracked at
130K miles, but I understand this isn't unusual with plastic tanks.

From my ownership of an '86 Subaru turbo wagon to 275k miles and
considerable time spent on Subaru forums, it became understood within
the Subaru owner community that the radiators would have to be replaced
every 80k or so miles *if* the "American" type of coolants (i.e., the
green stuff) and tap (not distilled) water were used. Aafter the
introduction of the Extended Life? coolant into the AMerican market, the
standard advice became to use only it and distilled water for indefinite
radiator life (unless the external fins got clogged or corroded away,
but that's another story).
Click to expand...

I always mix with distilled water. However - I did a few flushes
with out local tap water in the Berkeley, California area, which is
very soft (checked with an aquarium water test kit). I lived in
Santa Clara, where 2/3 of the water comes from wells in the city.
The water leaves hard water stains everywhere. A measurement showed
it was around 250 ppm of calcium/magnesium, or about 8 times the
level of the water around Berkeley. I preferred not to wash my car
with that water.

Back then, Subaru, Toyota, and Honda sold their own "brand" of coolant
at the dealer. The price was unbelievable - something like $10 or $14 a
gallon. The typical American owner (including yours truly) assumed that
was a gimmick - after all - antifreeze is antifreeze. I was told it was
the low- or no-phosphates that was the key, but I still thought it was a
gimmick. We all learned that it was no gimmick when our temperature
gages started creeping up, with the nice side benefit with those engines
that if you waited around to replace the radiator, you also would be
replacing the cracked heads.
Click to expand...

I once bought a bottle of Honda coolant mail-order (for $7) along with
oil filters. However - typical dealer prices were in the $10-13
range.
I just bought a bottle of Prestone Extended-Life for $9 at a local
parts store. It's about $2 less at Wal-Mart, but I didn't want to
make the trip.

Seriously - Honda doesn't care about phosphates, but goes bonkers over
silicates. In addition to the water pump issues, don't silicates
eventually gel out? Those tiny passages could get clogged awfully
quickly.

PEAK extended life coolant now available for Chrysler

y_p_w Guest

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

Keeping your Leather Interior preserved for the cars life......

Obj. : Seek 3.OL Engine available in Europe

88 New Yorker - Brake hoses not available ?

New Charger now widely available?

500 ppm diesel still readily available......

coolant level and oil life

Cancelling a Chrysler Extended contract?

Start A Credit Repair Division... Create Customers For Life!

PEAK extended life coolant now available for Chrysler

y_p_w Guest

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

Useful Searches