warmeck

i am wondering if i can mix green antifreeze with orange antifreeze. my antifreeze is getting low so i wanted to put some in reserve tank for when the car needs it. the orange anti freeze is called peak 50/50 prediluted antrifreeze + coolant50/50 prediluido anticongelante & refrigerante. ive gotten a lot of confusion looking online and not a clear anwser. thanks

armedtrigger

Do not do it!!!!

GaryDoug

If the orange coolant is a Dexcool design, mixing is highly discouraged.

Fatdog2

This subject has had many posts in the past pro and con.But Motor Trend magazine in Oct.of 1997 said the orange stuff should not be used in 1993 and some 1994 f-bodys as it will eat the welds out of the radiator.I would go by what the 1994 manual says to use.Hope this helps.

shoebox

To ease your mind, use a coolant that says it is ok for either. It's easily found on the store shelf. There is generally no harm in mixing them, though the coolant properties will be whatever is the weakest of the two (which would be the green stuff). I don't know why it would eat the welds out of an earlier radiator, since they are all the same 93-97 and Dexcool was introduced in 1995.

Fatdog2

I don't know why either.I heard this for years though.Might check this out.Good reading if nothing else.
New Long Life Coolant May Not be Good for Old Cars
Hope this helps.

87DJP2001

NO...You can not mix the two coolants.

ToocoolZ28

Based on fact or just something you heard?

GaryDoug

From the 96 owner manual:

"If silicated coolant is added to the system,
premature engine, heater core or radiator
corrosion may result."

The green coolant is silicated. The orange, installed in 96, is organic.

shoebox

Interesting, but I am sure there are lots of owners that store their car in winter and are not worrying about coolant problems. I'd be inclined to say that if there were any coolant caused issues, any related parts would already be near the end of their life, anyway. I wouldn't loose sleep over it. The GM bulletin mentioned specifically noted Buick year models. There might have been some design changes in their line. We know (or we think we know )the f-body radiators are the same 93-97.

ToocoolZ28

I drained the orange coolant and put the green stuff in my 95 Z28 back in 97 and have used it ever since. I guess I better go out there and drain it since it only has 300,000 miles on it . Seriously, I don't think its anything to worry about.

Wild Willy

I know plenty of people who switched from the orange Dex-cool over to the green, that seems to be okay. But I have heard many people caution that mixing the two kinds will result in some kind of sludge or precipitate. Go with one or the other, but don't mix.

SteveC

You can not mix silica base antifreeze (orange) with ethylene glycol base (green) anti freeze.

As said above "DON'T DO IT"

shoebox

Please elaborate on why.

Injuneer

To clarify, both conventional (green) and Dex-Cool (orange) are ethylene glycol based coolants. The difference is the additive package, which fights corrosion. The conventional additive package does contain silicates and phosphates. The Dex-Cool additive package is called "organic acid technology" and contains no silicates.

In attempting to answer the question of mixing, the only fact-based info I could find was a chemical study that indicated that the problem with mixing the two different types of coolant was the interaction of the additive package. The study claimed that the mixing of the two additive packages form a corrosive compound that would increase the corrosion rate to a point more severe than either type coolant unmixed. There was not a lot of data in the study to demonstrate that conclusion.

The Dex-Cool licensed coolant manufacturers simply warn the if you add more than 10% conventional coolant to Dex-Cool, you will eliminate the "long-life" properties of Dex-Cool.

I suspect you got your info regarding "silica" in Dex-Cool from this article, which is totally incorrect.

http://www.ehow.com/info_12196331_di...r-coolant.html

The composition of Dex-Cool, containing 90+% ethylene glycol can be found by looking at the "MSDS" (Material Safety Data Sheet) for Havolin/Texaco Dex-Cool, or any other GM licensed manufacturer.