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3 basic type of antifreeze.
The old standard ,Green
OAT, or as many know it Dexcool
HOAT, a hybrid that can be combined with either Green or OAT type
Standard green is a short life fluid
OAT, is a long term great fluid, but only if maintained, otherwise has some rather nasty side effects.
HOAT has a combination of additives that can allow it to be mixed with either standard or OAT type fluids. YOU CANNOT MIX GREEN AND OAT!
Dyes are used by various manufactures to brand their coolant, like the red you saw.
GM's Dexcool is orange, other car companies using the Dexcool style formula, just change the color and possibly some minor ingredients, most of the HOAT types I've seen are a yellowish green.
Like said the old green was short term, usually a two year life, the newer OAT and HOAT are long life, 5 year/150000 miles.
The old green could be mixed with water, actually it had to, to work correctly.
Don't do that with OAT or HOAT, it is used straight. Water mixed with OAT can cause nightmares in your cooling system, I've seen it turn into an almost jelly.
As for those life figures, ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in all of em, does not wear out, it's the additives for corrosion protections and such that do.
The old standard ,Green
OAT, or as many know it Dexcool
HOAT, a hybrid that can be combined with either Green or OAT type
Standard green is a short life fluid
OAT, is a long term great fluid, but only if maintained, otherwise has some rather nasty side effects.
HOAT has a combination of additives that can allow it to be mixed with either standard or OAT type fluids. YOU CANNOT MIX GREEN AND OAT!
Dyes are used by various manufactures to brand their coolant, like the red you saw.
GM's Dexcool is orange, other car companies using the Dexcool style formula, just change the color and possibly some minor ingredients, most of the HOAT types I've seen are a yellowish green.
Like said the old green was short term, usually a two year life, the newer OAT and HOAT are long life, 5 year/150000 miles.
The old green could be mixed with water, actually it had to, to work correctly.
Don't do that with OAT or HOAT, it is used straight. Water mixed with OAT can cause nightmares in your cooling system, I've seen it turn into an almost jelly.
As for those life figures, ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in all of em, does not wear out, it's the additives for corrosion protections and such that do.
