Actually, the pitting comes after the gasket and sealant fail. If the gasket is working, there will be no antifreeze under it so the type of antifreeze doesn't matter. The phosphate free has to do mostly with those nasty white deposits settling out and clogging things and the abrasiveness wearing out pump seals and heater cores. It is mostly an issue with hard water. Dennis -----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of John Rodgers Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 10:18 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: waterboxers in Mass./ coolant redux The "Phosphate Free" issue has to do with corrosion control, and in the vanagon........... avoidance of head pitting. which leads to head gasket leaks - the very bane of Vanagon owners. For my van I run GM's Phosphate Free orange biodegradable, 5 year coolant mixed to a 50/50 ratio with distilled water. I also add a bottle of Redline Water Wetter. I change the coolant out every two years, religiously. Regards, John Rodgers 88 GL Driver Woody Halsey wrote: > Dear All, > > One more round on coolant ... > > Has any one ever determined (and I remember lots of traffic on this > topic five years ago when I was tuned in to the list for a while) what > is simply the best choice for coolant for our engines? It seems clear > that color no longer necessarily indicates anything. But do we really > need "phosphate free" coolant? Do we really need to use distilled water? > What about pre-mixed, add-no-water products? > > After having been re-sensitized to the issue, I asked my mechanic to > flush and refill my system with something phosphate free. He claimed > that no one in our area, including the dealer, knew what he was talking > about. He put in "Peak Global Lifetime pre-mixed" coolant. It claims to > be good for Mercedes and other European engines. FWIW it is yellow. > > What thinks The List? > > Also what do you know/think about Zerex G-05, a product my mechanic can > get that claims to be "phosphate free?" (He had not read the flyer very > carefully before he said there was nothing like it available.) > > Woody > 83.5 V'gon > Haverhill, MA > > > PS If my neighbor's blue stuff is a) phosphate free and b) compatible > with the yellow stuff now cooling my engine, I'll swing by and pick it > up on my home from visiting my parents in Brookline some day. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf > Of Dan Barrett > Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 3:27 PM > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > Subject: waterboxers in Mass. > > Volks, > I no longer run blue coolant, but I have three unopened jugs of it > cluttering my apartment. If anyone in the Boston area is interested, > you're welcome to them for free. > > > Best, > d. > > 1990 GL -- "Mudskipper" > > > |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.