Date:         Fri, 7 May 2010 21:09:24 -0500
Reply-To:     mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: Antifreeze shelf life
Comments: To: Arkady Mirvis <arkadymirvis@GMAIL.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

---- Arkady Mirvis <arkadymirvis@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Has anyone asked anyone a question: "What is that antifreeze shelf life?"
> Like the original blue color or pink color VW Autobahn antifreeze
> Ark

I haven't asked VW that question.  The Prestone web page states that unopened antifreeze should be good for "many years."  A following sentence begins, "If it has been opened ... " but is incomplete, as if the web page did not load completely. Another attempt to load the page got the same result.   If I remember correctly from a few weeks ago when I was researching coolants, the page said that opened but undiluted antifreeze should also keep for many years so long as the container was properly closed.  It also said that antifreeze should be stored at ordinary indoor temperatures (between freezing and 130 F).  That stuff was missing from the evidently incomplete page today.  However, Prestone and other makers sell diluted antifreeze, and I keep a bottle that I have diluted in my van.  If it survives in the engine and radiator, why wouldn't it survive in the bottle, which is a more stable environment than the engine?

I also noticed on the Prestone web page today that they seem to have dropped the "regular" antifreeze.  Their web page lists "Extended Life," "Dexcool" (which I've been warned away from by more than one tech though it claims to be suitable for all makes of cars), "Low Tox" (Prestone's brand of Propylene Glycol based coolant), "Heavy Duty,"  and something branded as "Prime," which I had not heard of before.   No simply "Prestone," though it was available a few months ago locally.

David McNeely