C3 Tech/Performance V8 Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine, Basic Tech and Maintenance for the C3 Corvette
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

What Antifreeze???

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 12-17-2009, 07:03 AM
  #21  
not a '76
Racer
 
not a '76's Avatar
 
Member Since: Aug 2005
Location: Salem MA
Posts: 308
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by ajrothm
I recently had a weird experience with coolant. I just installed my freshly built 496", freshly cleaned/rodded oem radiator and used Peak brand pre-mixed 50/50 coolant. I put in the 6-7 gals it takes to fill the system and drive it about 100 miles within a couple weekends. Then I had to drain the coolant out to repair a radiator leak that I inflicted with the shroud installation. Upon draining the coolant, it was all brown and chitty looking...I pulled the drain plugs out of the block out of curiousity and on one side the water wouldn't even drain out until I ran a screwdriver into the hole to break up the blockage..

I don't know what the hell happend but this motor was completely clean inside as was the radiator at the time of the coolant install. The pump/hoses/heater core etc was all brand new. I drained it all out and switched to Prestone pre-mixed 50/50 and it seems like it is staying clean. Only have about 50 miles on it though. I have no idea what happened but needless to say I won't be using Peak antifreeze or pre mix ever again.


its not Peak's fault. no matter how clean you think a motor is inside, it never is. whenever i put in a new motor, the first 20 minutes of break in also include a coolant system filled with water and some radiator quick flush. and every time that initial flush is full of nasty.
Old 12-17-2009, 07:53 AM
  #22  
L88Plus
Drifting
 
L88Plus's Avatar
 
Member Since: Aug 2004
Location: Lubbock TX
Posts: 1,867
Received 120 Likes on 95 Posts

Default

I run straight green in mine, no water. We don't get to zero, so I'm not too worried about freezing. My engines all cool fine and there's zero rust in any of the water jackets and no corrosion in radiators. It's still clear green after a couple of years, so I leave it alone.

Spilled DexCool doesn't kill cats nearly as quick a good ol' green. That's another good reason to stay away from Dex.
Old 12-17-2009, 09:39 AM
  #23  
71coupe454
Burning Brakes
 
71coupe454's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 2009
Location: Clarksville Indiana
Posts: 1,224
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post

Default

Originally Posted by L88Plus
I run straight green in mine, no water. We don't get to zero, so I'm not too worried about freezing. My engines all cool fine and there's zero rust in any of the water jackets and no corrosion in radiators. It's still clear green after a couple of years, so I leave it alone.

Spilled DexCool doesn't kill cats nearly as quick a good ol' green. That's another good reason to stay away from Dex.
That is just so wrong! but I still had to laugh!
Old 12-17-2009, 09:51 AM
  #24  
ajrothm
Le Mans Master
 
ajrothm's Avatar
 
Member Since: May 2006
Location: League City Tx
Posts: 9,961
Received 1,095 Likes on 746 Posts

Default

Originally Posted by not a '76
its not Peak's fault. no matter how clean you think a motor is inside, it never is. whenever i put in a new motor, the first 20 minutes of break in also include a coolant system filled with water and some radiator quick flush. and every time that initial flush is full of nasty.
The thing about mine was that the engine had been on two different dynos after it was built and the block was drained both times and compresses air blown through the pump ports in the block. Both times the water came out crystal clean after the dyno sessions. Yet after only about 80 miles of use the Peak pre-mix the system was brown and nasty. I know it doesn't make sense but.....
Old 12-17-2009, 09:54 AM
  #25  
noonie
Race Director
 
noonie's Avatar
 
Member Since: Mar 2006
Location: Florida
Posts: 14,111
Likes: 0
Received 21 Likes on 19 Posts

Default

Most people don't flush their system nearly well enough.
This loosens a lot of the build up in the system and thru the heating/cooling cycles will then suspend it into the coolant.
Make sure you run a neutralizer thru the system after flushing like washing soda.
Old 12-17-2009, 10:11 AM
  #26  
tigers123
Burning Brakes
 
tigers123's Avatar
 
Member Since: May 2004
Location: belle plaine ks
Posts: 1,100
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts

Default Use as a mix with water

Most people don't realize that anti-freeze also raises the point of boiling for water. That is why running straight water is not a good idea in a car like the c3. The way the radiator lays in the car does not lend itself well to airflow in the first place. But mixing anti-freeze with that helps to alleviate that situation. So mixing does two things, it allows the lowering of the freeze point and raises the boiling point in the summer. If I spent all that money for a product, I believe I would use it to its biggest advantage.

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc.../chem03987.htm
Old 12-17-2009, 02:04 PM
  #27  
hugie82
Safety Car
Thread Starter
 
hugie82's Avatar
 
Member Since: Mar 2007
Location: Bridgewater nj
Posts: 3,652
Received 47 Likes on 46 Posts

Default

Originally Posted by 71coupe454
I thank Dexcool for bringing many many dollars into my shops from cooling system repairs over the years. It was allmost as good as neon did for me with thier head gaskets. I saw what dexcool was all about and I still left that crap in my new 99 S-10 thinking I would flush it every 30,000 instead of the 100,000 GM #.. So after flushing the system with a good machine at 30, 60, 90k.. I now at 115k on the truck have a leaking heater core, a leaking intake gasket and res tank that looks like mud in it.. I guess with cars evolving its allways gonna be something.. oh I forgot astro van idler arms..
My 96 S-10 at 50000 was a slug fest. I couldn't even drain the radiator until I jabbed a screw drive in the hole. The over flow looked like a mud pie. Just sharing
Old 12-23-2009, 04:06 PM
  #28  
Clue
Advanced
 
Clue's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 2007
Location: Sandnes Norway
Posts: 96
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

I have just been told that mixing some different kind of anti-freeze will make your coolant slurry/slushy. He told me that mixing red anti-freeze with blue/green or vise verca will make my system slurry. Blue and green can be mixed, but red should never go into a system with blue or green.
Any of you heard something like this?
Old 12-23-2009, 04:54 PM
  #29  
SH-60B
Melting Slicks
 
SH-60B's Avatar
 
Member Since: Mar 2008
Location: Meriden CT
Posts: 2,975
Received 194 Likes on 162 Posts

Default

Originally Posted by Clue
I have just been told that mixing some different kind of anti-freeze will make your coolant slurry/slushy. He told me that mixing red anti-freeze with blue/green or vise verca will make my system slurry. Blue and green can be mixed, but red should never go into a system with blue or green.
Any of you heard something like this?
Yes I have heard that. AC-Delco recommends against mixing the two as it "may degrade the coolant system's integrity".
Old 12-23-2009, 05:57 PM
  #30  
turtlevette
Melting Slicks
 
turtlevette's Avatar
 
Member Since: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,053
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
St. Jude Donor '03,'11

Default

I use Sierra antifreeze from NAPA because i'm worried about my pets gettng into it. These POS C3s are always puking antifreeze and i don't want to pollute.

I've never heard that using pure antifreeze will raise the freezing point. I'm sorry but i think that is BS.

Pure antifreeze will not tranfer heat very well at all. I used pure antifreeze once and the car overheated right away. That's the real reason to mix water in.
Old 12-24-2009, 01:15 PM
  #31  
73BLWN
Racer
 
73BLWN's Avatar
 
Member Since: Apr 2005
Location: Columbus Mn
Posts: 259
Received 44 Likes on 16 Posts

Default

I tried Evans NPGR this summer. I've got nothing bad to say about it. My Motown 400sb with a 671 blower never missed a beat. One of my two cooling fans died, and it ran very hot, but did not boil over. I also like the idea that it contracts as it freezes. If I recall correctly, the NPG+ would be best for a vehicle driven in the winter. I think the NPGR I'm running will thicken when it gets real cold out. I put some in a small glass jar, and kept it in my truck all last winter (MN). It never thickened up noticably. I don't here many people talk about Evans, I just thought I'd give it a try. So far so good.

http://www.evanscooling.com/

I also liked the anti-detonation properties.
Old 12-24-2009, 08:03 PM
  #32  
Red 71
Pro
 
Red 71's Avatar
 
Member Since: Sep 2002
Location: Melbourne, Fla. 6 months- New Middletown, Ohio 6 months
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post

Default

Originally Posted by ajrothm
I recently had a weird experience with coolant. I just installed my freshly built 496", freshly cleaned/rodded oem radiator and used Peak brand pre-mixed 50/50 coolant. I put in the 6-7 gals it takes to fill the system and drive it about 100 miles within a couple weekends. Then I had to drain the coolant out to repair a radiator leak that I inflicted with the shroud installation. Upon draining the coolant, it was all brown and chitty looking...I pulled the drain plugs out of the block out of curiousity and on one side the water wouldn't even drain out until I ran a screwdriver into the hole to break up the blockage..

I don't know what the hell happend but this motor was completely clean inside as was the radiator at the time of the coolant install. The pump/hoses/heater core etc was all brand new. I drained it all out and switched to Prestone pre-mixed 50/50 and it seems like it is staying clean. Only have about 50 miles on it though. I have no idea what happened but needless to say I won't be using Peak antifreeze or pre mix ever again.

You obviously did not hot tank the block before the build or had a substitute clean that was ineffective. A couple weekends between the build and finding the problem was not long enough to create that much crud
Old 12-24-2009, 08:21 PM
  #33  
'75
Le Mans Master
 
'75's Avatar
 
Member Since: Dec 2007
Location: McHenry Illinois
Posts: 6,416
Received 583 Likes on 504 Posts

Default

Originally Posted by turtlevette
I use Sierra antifreeze from NAPA because i'm worried about my pets gettng into it. These POS C3s are always puking antifreeze and i don't want to pollute.

I've never heard that using pure antifreeze will raise the freezing point. I'm sorry but i think that is BS.

Pure antifreeze will not tranfer heat very well at all. I used pure antifreeze once and the car overheated right away. That's the real reason to mix water in.
I lived in Alaska for more than 1/2 my life and worked on the North Slope oil field for 18 years. 100% antifreeze does freeze and the best mix for freeze protection is 60% antifreeze and 40% water.

Last edited by '75; 12-24-2009 at 10:13 PM.
Old 12-25-2009, 11:07 AM
  #34  
turbojet
Burning Brakes
 
turbojet's Avatar
 
Member Since: Mar 2008
Location: brewster NY
Posts: 808
Received 7 Likes on 6 Posts

Default

There was a thread on this a few years back after I read it I went with
ZEREX Original green you can pick it up at any NAPA parts store.
What do you use to flush the system.
Old 01-06-2010, 05:42 PM
  #35  
LNZ
Intermediate
 
LNZ's Avatar
 
Member Since: Oct 2009
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

I replaced my Dexcool with "Peak Global Lifetime" in my C5 -01
It works in both aluminium and cast engines.

http://www.peakantifreeze.com/



Quick Reply: What Antifreeze???



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:41 AM.