Coolant - anti freeze

My tractors from the US have a bright green coolant in most of them, we dont seem to do that colour here in Scotland. I need to top one or two radiators so need to know what the main ingredient of your green coolant would be. We have red, blue and a lilac colour all with different spec. It might be that I have to drain them and start over but just thought I would ask first.
Thanks
Bill
 
Hello Bill, I'm not sure what to make of it but I wish all of you the best of luck as you leave the EU. I myself have no opinion regarding this, just wishing you all well! Here in the US the main or active ingredient in almost all of our antifreeze is Ethylene Glycol that has pretty much always been the case. There is another product that is advertised as being less toxic and more environmentally friendly that product being propylene glycol, it's ok in some applications but I can't say that it's nearly as widely used and I don't think it's quite as good of a coolant. I worked for a pipeline company with large compressor engines and we used the propylene glycol in them because of the quantity of coolant we had in case of a spill or leak it was more environmentally safe. It seems like we now have different colored antifreezes here now two, traditional they've always been green or greenish yellow. Now there is some that is specially formulated for aluminum engines and is supposed to be longer life than the green stuff but I think the prime ingredient is still ethylene glycol along with some corrosion inhibitors and water pump and seal lubricant. I usually buy my antifreeze here at Walmart, they sell one that says you can use it with any other color of coolant in most any brand engine etc. I buy the traditional gallon jug of anti freeze that you mix 50-50 with water. They do sell one that is already pre-mixed but then you are essentially buying the 50% water that you can add yourself. What I do is when I have an empty gallon antifreeze jug I save it then when I buy a new gallon I put 1/2 of it in the empty jug then I top off both jugs with water and I end up with 2 gallons of coolant ready to go. If you are fussy you could use distilled water in case your tap water is hard with minerals etc. Good luck and have a good day!Jim
Walmart Anti freeze/coolant
 
We have some Blue here, I have mixed it before. It is primarily a form of Glycol, Poly Ethyleen Glycol I believe and a rust inhibitor. The rust inhibitor typically has a life of about 2 years, resently they came out with a long life inhibitor which extends the coolant life to 5 years. They put a lot of steel in raditors today, without rust protection they will not last long. If it has been in there for 2 years and you don't know if it is longlife Coolant, I would change it.
 
I found out that one should not mix the green and red anti-freeze. In my case the combination turned into a dark colored "almost sludge". Flushed it out and replaced with the red long-life antifreeze that I prefer.
 
The poly part of the ingredient is left off when used for antifreeze. it is ethylene glycol. The poly is more of a chemical precursor for plastics. Jim
 
I don't know if I was fed a line or not but while at the dodge dealer for another reason I asked about antifreeze and was told not to use anything else but Chrysler antifreeze as it wouldn't mix with other bands and there would likely be trouble with heater core or some other such. It cost me more but I don't want to chance it so I bought the Chrysler stuff, it mixes with water, I will be buying distilled as it is only $.85 or so at Wall Mart. Before going to the dealer I was in W M and looked at the antifreeze, and yes, there is one that claims to be compatable with all colors, and there is the Prestone that claims to be usable in all engines. How do you know? I will use the Chrysler I guess and know that if I have a problem it can't be blamed on the wrong anitfreeze.
 
The difference between antifreeze formulations is in the rust inhibitors. Assuming your tractor has a cast iron block and head, you can probably get away with using whatever is easiest to find or cheapest to buy. Your tractor is probably filled with an antifreeze using silicate inhibitors. Most newer vehicles use organic inhibitors. Look for a silicate antifreeze; if you can't find any it's not that big of a deal to mix organic antifreeze with silicate.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top