recommended antifreeze?

"SoCalMike" > wrote
> Caroline wrote:
> > 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.
>
> 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.

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?

> > 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.
>
> thats whats called for- 3 years.

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.

> 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.

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.

> > I have had a premature water pump failure (or two?). At the time I was using
> > ordinary green Prestone.
>
> bad, bad stuff!
> >
> > OTOH, at this point in my DIYer career, I can deal with a failed water pump
on
> > my own.
>
> yeah, but when it leads to a timing belt/head/valve job...? LOL.

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?

Caroline wrote:
> 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.

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.

SoCalMike wrote:

> Abeness wrote:
>
>> 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 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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
> 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.

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

"JM" > wrote
snip
> 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.

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.

Caroline wrote:
> "JM" > wrote
> snip
>
>>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.
>
>
> 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.

Chopface > wrote in message >...
> Caroline wrote:
> > "JM" > wrote
> > snip
> >
> >>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.
> >
> >
> > 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.

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.

"Caroline" > wrote in message ink.net>...
> "JM" > wrote
> snip
> > 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.
>
> 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.

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.

(JM) wrote in message . com>...
> y> 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.
>
> What? You're saying that only the B.S. Type 2 is available now? So
> you can buy 2 gallons where one should do?

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.

> 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.

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

(JM) wrote in message . com>...
> y> 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.
>
> What? You're saying that only the B.S. Type 2 is available now? So
> you can buy 2 gallons where one should do?

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.

> 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.

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