Are Antifreeze Brands Basically the Same?
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Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,362
Likes: 22
From: Florence, SC
Are Antifreeze Brands Basically the Same?
I got in a bind and had to buy some coolant/antifreeze fast. I bought the green coolant version from Bumper to Bumper made by Parts Depot. I have never seen this store before nor have I heard of the "Parts Depot" brand. It says "low silicate","safe for aluminum radiators", and the protection is rated the same as all of the other brands. The thing is, after dumping it all in, I did not find a statement saying that it meets or exceeds the ASTM standards like all the other name brands like Prestone, Peak, and Advance Auto Parts brand does. Should I drain all of this back out and fill it with the good stuff, or is antifreeze basically the same (as long as the same color is used.)
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 9,176
Likes: 4
From: Western Central NV
In my truck I use the old basic green antifreeze. The NON LIFETIME, or 1,000,000 MILE stuff.
Mixing those with the green I read is not recommended. Although I believe that it is more of a problem mixing in the newer cars & trucks. But I agree any of the green. By the way most of the house brands are the old green antifreeze. There has been a lot of discussion about antifreeze with these new cars & trucks with there alloy engines and so on. Newer GMs is the one that really have problems with mixing.
Mixing those with the green I read is not recommended. Although I believe that it is more of a problem mixing in the newer cars & trucks. But I agree any of the green. By the way most of the house brands are the old green antifreeze. There has been a lot of discussion about antifreeze with these new cars & trucks with there alloy engines and so on. Newer GMs is the one that really have problems with mixing.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 334
Likes: 0
From: Milltown, NJ
While we're on the subject, what IS the difference between the green and red antifreeze?
I planned to use some in my F-100. I had less than 1/2 gallon of a 50% mix left and inadvertantly bought the red and made two gallons of 50% out of the two.
Is it a fatal error? I have not used it yet.
I planned to use some in my F-100. I had less than 1/2 gallon of a 50% mix left and inadvertantly bought the red and made two gallons of 50% out of the two.
Is it a fatal error? I have not used it yet.
