recommended antifreeze?

Is there a commonly available antifreeze that's sufficiently
aluminum-engine-friendly for a 94 Civic, or is genuine Honda antifreeze
the only way to go?

 

I know of a Honda Dealer that uses Service Pro, its cheap and in a black
bottle (http://www.service-pro.com/images/50-50antifreeze.jpg). I know a
lot of people say to use only Honda coolant, but I've had good luck with
various brands, as long as they are 'low silicate' formulations.

 

If you go to this site--http://www.prestone.com/ and then to antfreeze,
Prestone says that its "New Prestone® All Makes All Models Extended Life
Antifreeze/Coolant" is suitable for all cars. Here's some other info
from the site--
Q: Does Prestone® Antifreeze/Coolant contain phosphates?
A: Some European automobile manufacturers request that a phosphate-free
antifreeze be used in their vehicles. This issue is related to the
extremely high mineral content of the water in Europe. If you were to
mix an antifreeze that contained phosphates with the type of water they
have in Europe, it may produce deposits that can settle in the cooling
system and promote corrosion. However, in North America we do not have
this type of water problem. Typical North American coolants have
contained phosphates (which is part of the corrosion inhibitor package)
for many years. Therefore, the question of phosphates is a non-issue
here in North America. Prestone® Antifreeze/Coolant is completely safe
for use in both foreign and domestic vehicles.
For those consumers who would feel more comfortable using a
phosphate-free antifreeze, our Prestone® Extended Life 5/150
Antifreeze/Coolant is phosphate, silicate, and borate free. This coolant
uses a special chemistry and technology that extends the life of the
corrosion inhibitor package so that it lasts for five years or 150,000
miles (whichever comes first), and is safe for all cars and light trucks
(old or new). Prestone® Extended Life 5/150 Antifreeze/Coolant has been
approved by General Motors under their DEX-COOL® specifications and is
compatible with other DEX-COOL® approved coolants.
Prestone® Extended Life 5/150 Antifreeze/Coolant meets or exceeds
the following industry standards and specifications:

GM 6277M
Ford WSS-M97B44-D

When tested in ASTM D 1384, D 4340, D 2570, and D 2809, Prestone®
Extended Life 5/150 Antifreeze/Coolant will meet the chemical, physical
property characteristics and performance requirements of the following
standards and specifications:

GM 1825M
GM 1899
Ford WSE-M97B44-A
Ford ESE-M97B44-B
DaimlerChrysler MS 7170 and MS 9769
General Services Administration A-A-52624
ASTM D 3306
SAE J 1034
ASTM D 4985

 

This is one of those controversial topics here.

If you have no time to fool with possible car breakdowns, pay the ten extra
bucks or so and use OEM anti-freeze always. It's only once every two years or
so.

For my part, two years ago I did a thorough flush of my 1991 Civic's (159k
miles) cooling system (containing green Prestone at the time) and then used the
orange Havoline Dex (properly diluted). It's supposed to be friendly to Hondas.
All's well after 25k miles and two years. This past summer I changed out the
thermostat and cleaned the EAC valve and so had a chance to look at some of the
coolant that had been in there all this time. What came out looked mighty clean.

The Havoline container says it's supposed to last five years/150k miles, but
I'll probably change it out at three years, to play it safe.

I have had a premature water pump failure (or two?). At the time I was using
ordinary green Prestone.

OTOH, at this point in my DIYer career, I can deal with a failed water pump on
my own.

 

Thanks, guys. I'm not one to insist on OEM stuff unless there's an
essential reason to do so (as I understand there is with the power
steering fluid)--particularly if there's a major brand that makes
antifreeze safe for aluminum.

 

i go with the orange prestone dexcool in all my japanese engines. never
a problem with anything. mix 50/50 with distilled water, and youre good
to go. tends to drop the temp a notch or two, also. silicate and
phosphate free is whats needed.

you want to AVOID the regular green crap. bad, bad, stuff.

ive noticed a few other brands out there that now say theyre
"compatible" with all coolants, etc. never tried em, so i cant say.

 

they dont use distilled water in europe?

no mention of silicates...

yess.... this is the shit i use!

This coolant

 

same here. i was pretty impressed how new the radiator core looked.
course, i used the orange prestone, but i think its pretty much the same.

thats whats called for- 3 years. just did mine again earlier this year.
the old stuff was completely clean, so i felt no need to "flush", or
anything. just drain, refill, run the engine with the heater on, and top
off. the temp gauge went down a fraction from the halfway mark, too.

bad, bad stuff!

yeah, but when it leads to a timing belt/head/valve job...? LOL.

 

the prestone 5/150 comes in a silver jug, and runs about $10. its not
the cheapest stuff out there, but it works.

 

Ahh, makes perfect sense to use distilled, thanks. Hadn't occurred to me.

Now if I could only figure out this clutch slave cylinder grease thing...

 

Ya, I dunno how close they are.

Without reading the chemical makeup closely, the evidence seems to be the Orange
Dex (GM?) formula is practically a generic at this point.

Why are they all orange if not to suggest pretty good or dead-on compatibility?

What's your Honda's year again?

For my 1991 Civic, the owner's manual says 2 years/30k miles for the coolant.

I'm going to go three years based on what you posted here a few months ago, as a
matter of fact, as well as how clean my coolant looked this summer.

That would be nice. One reason I'm happy putting this off is because I've gotta
dispose of all the old coolant again. The more thorough the flush, of course the
more contaminated liquid for which I have to find a legal depository.

Gee, thanks. ;-))

Seems like from my own experience and reading here, water pumps on Hondas fail
gradually. Last time I had a little leakage and was adding a little coolant
after every short errand until I could get a new water pump installed. But I
really don't know the nature of the failure at this point. Bad bearings cause
the pump shaft to misalign, and so seals don't hold properly? Thus the bit of
leakage but a still somewhat functioning pump?

 

Well, since I'm going from a vehicle that took something like 4 gallons
to one that takes just 1, I can't complain. On the other hand, there's
only so much flushing I catch. Once it reaches a nice diluted state I
let it go.

 

I went with that in an '89 Integra, then my '95 Integra GS-R after
my upper rad hose burst and I needed a quick repair at night. No
problems, other than a cracked radiator tank, which probably wasn't
related. It cracked after 130K miles BTW.

Actually - original Honda green coolant may be the way to go if
you can still find it. The label only says silicate and borate
free. My understanding is that it uses organic acid corrosion
inhibitors similar to the extended life coolants, but also has
a phosphate (and other) inhibitors. The jist is that they don't
try for the "universal" formula (free of multiple corrosion
inhibitors) that the Dex-Cool approved coolants attempt to be.

The thing about OEM Honda Type 2 coolant is that it costs about as
much per bottle as the original Honda green, but comes prediluted
with deionized water. I guess that might prevent some problems
from people using hard tap or well water with phosphate containing
coolant.

 

y> The thing about OEM Honda Type 2 coolant is that it costs about as

What? You're saying that only the B.S. Type 2 is available now? So
you can buy 2 gallons where one should do?

By the way, for the poster making the disposal comment, it is
appropriate to pour the used coolant down the drain. The treatment
facility can deal with it just fine.

JM

 

Whoa. Everywhere I've lived my research showed this was prohibited by law.
Folks asking were told to put it in bottles and directed to recycle
facilities. These fortunately have sprouted up in abundance, thanks to laws
and the for-profit motive.

 

Some cities' recycling guidelines instruct you to flush used coolant
down the toilet. I don't know if all cities' sewage districts reccommend
this though.

 

y_p_w <> sprach im

You got it!

 

Depends on where you live. I've called a few sewage districts, and the
answers I got on pouring antifreeze were from, "You're not supposed to,
but our system can probably handle a bit" to "Absolutely not". I store
my coolant in bottles, and take it to my county's hazardous materials
disposal facility. I can also take solvents, brake fluid, or other
assorted waste.

 

Like I said in another post, my county has several hazardous waste
disposal facilites. A guy in a hazmat suit takes the waste from your
trunk and places it on a cart for sorting out later.

 

Well - some Honda dealers apparently have the original green stuff,
although it's supposedly increasingly rare. Type 2 is supposed to
be fully compatible with the previous generation coolant, although
I haven't tried it. Honestly - I haven't had to worry about this
after my Integra got stolen and the insurance company declared the
recovered/stripped car a total loss.

Depends on where you live. I doubt a little coolant would kill a
sewage system, but there are varying local laws.