Thread: antifreeze question

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I have a small block chevy, with aluminum heads, water pump, intake, and radiator. witch antifreeze should i use. I work for a oil company, and we have many different kinds. every salesman has a different awnser. so i thought i'd try you guys,. you seem to know alot. thanks Tony.

I was at the understanding that when they came out with that orange antifreeze was due to the newer engines with all the aluminnum parts.Rhis is by no means a answer, I am just as curious as you. just thought I would add my 2 cents

Hi Track Shy, I am not sure of what brands of anti-freeze you have over there, but I beleive the most important thing about an anti-freeze is it's rust inhibitor quality. Not using a good inhibitor in your radaitor results in the water attacking the aluminium engine parts from the inside so that you don't know you have a problem until it is too late. I had a modified straight six (GM) with only an aluminum water pump and ran without anti-freeze until the water wanted out all over the road. Expensive lesson.....

Read this linked article: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_...e/1272436.html

You'll see why it's hard to get a consistent answer. It also involves your radiator in deciding the choice, the world is much more complicated today.

Thanks for that link Bob, very interesting. We have Prestone Coolant down here and is the brand I use in both my BMW and 350 Chev Bucket but in the T I don't dilute it as much as the instuctions say. Yeah, Bob, I know that is a shock even to me, me reading the instructions.

That article gave me a headache. Seems to be the thing to do nowadays. Something works well, lets screw it up. Heck the government is doing that now too.

One thing about using any 50/50 mix of antifreeze is it should be changed every 2-3 years or so. I know lots of people who do change theirs but they never empty the block. If you don't totally empty the whole system its like changing oil and leaving the old filter on. Electroylsis is a big factor in motors with different metals, like aluminum heads and steel block. As the coolant get solder , it also gets more acidic and can turn the radiator into a very weak battery. I've seen the insides of radiator being eaten up by this.

It is a good idea to use a sacrificial anode in your radiator to protect your aluminum engine parts against electrolysis. You can get them from J.C. Whitney and numerous other places.

well i have used green i have all aluminum engine with copper /brass rad its been in there for 4 years should check and see if i still block left

I dunno know, Pat - I think ya might notice if the block was gone, especially when you stomp on the gas real hard!!

Interesting article.. Thanks....