Anti-freeze

[Guest mopargirl53]

Is there special anti-freeze to use in these old pilothouse trucks? I'm worried about using this new stuff with all the additives in it. Just got my Dodge running and don't want to hurt it.

Brenda

[Reg Evans]

I have always used what ever the latest product was on the store shelf. No problems in years. Just don't drink it !!!!

[Young Ed]

Stay away from the pink or orange dexcool stuff. You want good old fashioned green antifreeze.

[Jim Shepard]

After talking with a couple of old garage rats (I'm sure there's a few on this site...), and not being in a location where freezing is that common, and always garaging my B2B, I don't run anti-freeze. I run a 50-50 mix of water and soluable oil (grinding oil). It looks like skim milk but, so far (since October), it works. Should also take care of rust.

[Guest 51plymouthod]

Regular old Prestone, Zerex, etc. Ethylene-Glycol with a good rust inhibitor in it...brand doesn't really matter.

[Don Coatney]

You want good old fashioned green antifreeze.

Ed;

Real old fashioned anti freeze is alcohol based (red in color if I recall correctly) and must be "freshened" weekly as the alcohol evaporated. There was a lot of controversy when "permanent" anti freeze came out as it was rumored this new fangled stuff would ruin an engine if a head gasket failed.

[BobT-47P15]

I bought a jug of the newest thing - the 50/50 pre mix. Half antifreeze and half water already mixed. Of course, that is the commonly recommended mixture percentage as I recall. I tend to use a higher percent of antifreeze than that, "just because".....it makes me feel better. Good to 25 below, etc. Going to drain and flush the car soon and refill with the new stuff. Haven't looked at it, but presume it is green ....not orange.

[Young Ed]

Bob I think I've seen premixed in both varieties. Don't buy it personally cause I can get water a lot cheaper out of the faucet.

[BobT-47P15]

All I could see at Wally World was the pre mixed stuff. Thought....what the heck, lets give it a try. So will see. You're right.....that water is cheaper straight out of the home spigot.

[TodFitch]

Ed;

Real old fashioned anti freeze is alcohol based (red in color if I recall correctly) and must be "freshened" weekly as the alcohol evaporated. There was a lot of controversy when "permanent" anti freeze came out as it was rumored this new fangled stuff would ruin an engine if a head gasket failed.

That "new fangled" ethylene glycol anti-freeze is listed in my 1933 PD's owners manual. I'd have thought the controversy would have been over by the time the P-15, D-24 and Pilot House trucks these discussion forums cover were built.

I thought the only reason people used the alcohol based anti-freeze after the mid-1930s was because they were too cheap to buy the good stuff.

[grey beard]

There are a couple of good reasons to use antifreeze, even if you live in a temperate zone where freezing is never a concern. First, it raises the boiling point of the coolant quite a bit. Indy race cars run straight glycol in some engines just to get the higher boiling point. Secondly, it lubricates and keeps the water jacket from rusting. Some of the worst engines I have overhauled were old farm tractors that never used antifreeze - just filled it with water and used it, then drained it when they were done - not good for the water jacket.

I like to use 50 percent antifreeze and then add a cooling system conditioner that helps to keep the pH down inside the water jacket and heater core. Most radiator and heater core corrosion and damage takes place inside, due to high acid buildup, just like a water heater in your home. This acid buildup needs something to neutralize the stuff, for all the metal parts to stay happy. THEN, I still flush and change the stuff every two years.

By fhe bye, most auto stores do not carry much in the way of cooling system conditioners because most car owners don't know they need the stuff. Look for it at bigger truck stops and diesel shops. These guys pay a lot for their engines and they're business men - they kinow what it takes to keep 'em in good condition. JMHO:)

[greg g]

Another opinion.... I have read from several sources that water is much more efficient at accepting and dispersing heat than antifreeze is. And that cars which run hot on a 50/50 mix, will run cooler on straight water. Personally, since I do not drive my car in the winter, I run about 75% water and 25% green antifreeze. So I am protected to about 20 degrees, (never gets below freezing in my garage) and have the rust protection, lubrication and other system benefits that the anti freeze has. My car has never run above 190 degrees even on the hottest days.

[dmulhall]

*laughs*

20 degees...*dreaming* I wish...

in the winter it gets down to -50 degrees celcius or lower with the wind chill...I dont know what that is in fahrenheit but -40 C and -40 F are pretty much the same I think..

I usually mix a little over 50/50...

just dont know about those really cold days

you know its cold when your eyelids freeze shut

[grey beard]

By the Bye,

Didja know that pure ethylene glycol (green) antifreeze, will freeze somewhere below zero Farenheit if unmixded with water? In 1966, my first year as a service rep for the Ford Division, a Ford dealer's parts manager made the mistake of letting several cases of the stuff sit outside in upstate New York one bitter winter night, and lived to rue the decision, as it were. My understanding is that when one mixes very much LESS than 50 percent H2O wirth the stuff - richer mixture as i were - the freezing point begins to drop, just like when the mix is too lean - too much water. JMHO