Radiator Fluid

[MorpheusGPR]

Well I got my lower radiator hose in from rock auto.com so once it gets a bit warmer I plan to install this and see if that fixes my leak or not.

What fluid should I be putting into this car? Can I use the orange stuff that is good for 5 years or does it need the green stuff? I am not even sure what they put into my newer fords, 2001 and 2004 cars.

Also anything I should know about replacing this hose?

 

[1stSHO]

Just use the green stuff. They say its good for 5 years, but look at it after 5 years, looks like poo poo. Go with the green and I change my coolant every year, thats just me. When i do, its still clean.

 

[k_mesaros]

Just use the green stuff. They say its good for 5 years, but look at it after 5 years, looks like poo poo. Go with the green and I change my coolant every year, thats just me. When i do, its still clean.

If you change your coolant every year the green stuff is fine. If not, then I would recommend the orange stuff. The orange antifreeze has no silicates or phosphates in it. Our SHO's, along with many newer cars, have aluminum and steel engine parts. When you use coolant/antifreeze with silicates and phosphates on an engine with aluminum heads the 2 metal types will react with the antifreeze and create an acid. Your cooling system will basically turn into a battery. This is BAD for heads and intakes, as you can probably guess.

Kevin

 

[HopefulSHO]

Any coolant will do; practically. Just make sure if you are switching to an 'extended life' coolant of any color that you completely flush the system pretty well. Otherwise the 5 year coolant turns into your usual 2 year stuff it's mixed with; or so I understand. I'm using the new Prestone witch is a "5 year" coolant now - it's not forumlated like the old green stuff. So far, so good

 

[rangerj]

Use the new green Prestone formula. But, whatevr You use mix it with distilled (deionized) water. It is available at any grocery store. It is commonly used in irons to prevent mineral deposits from blocking up the iron. Minerals in tap water, well water, or water that is not deionized will accumulate in the cooling system, and can reduce its efficiency or block the flow of coolant. rangerj

 

[K-Dawg]

Its not so much the minerals, but that deionized water doesn't conduct electricity. Always use distilled/deionized water.

 

[Fourcats]

Nice tip about the water...

 

[MorpheusGPR]

Ok so the above post would lead me to believe that the green coolant is bad on the SHO engine and new engines, such as my 2004 cobra and 2001 Lightning due to its make up and I should use the orange coolant? I don't plan to change the coolant every year at this time.

Green = bad for SHO, L, and Cobra
Orange = good?

 

[HopefulSHO]

Nothing wrong with the ol' Green - it's what the SHO was shipped with. Just have to make sure to change it often enough, or it will become acidic.

 

[MorpheusGPR]

but the orange does not become acidic? so basically anything new including the SHO is better off with the orange? If something will react and become acidic not sure I want to use it...

 

[olympic]

Either is fine as long as you change them accordingly(green=2 years, orange=5 years). Just don't mix orange and green!

Personally, I just stick with the color that's in the car already. It's alot of work to completely flush the system so you can change over.

 

[GR8SHO]

Either is fine as long as you change them accordingly(green=2 years, orange=5 years). Just don't mix orange and green!

Personally, I just stick with the color that's in the car already. It's alot of work to completely flush the system so you can change over.

If you go to a place like AZ, you will see that the new Prestone that they carry works with either the green or orange stuff. The old green stuff was not environmentally friendly, but works just fine. I'm not a fan of leaving coolant in for more than 2 years (really 1 year) anyway. If you make the mistake of mixing old green and orange, you may be in for a new motor and I understand the mixture turns to goo.

As for the original post, you may find that the real issue is the radiator that leaks from the area where the plastic tanks are crimped to the aluminum section. This is a known weakness in the design.

 

[HopefulSHO]

The problem with sticking to one color is that (for instance) one green coolant might not be the same as the next. The new Prestone is pretty green; not quite as dark as the old forumulation, but still pretty green. But it's still different from the old, and should be treated accordingly when swapping over.

I think Zerex's (?) green stuff is still the 2/yr variety. And I don't really buy the 5 year BS either; I still dump my radiator every 6 months..

Plus the longer this heater core lives, the better.

 

[Tommy's SHO]

I have used Toyota's Red long life antifreeze straight out of the bottle for a few years now. Temp gauge never went above the M on the NORMAL and this past week my 3 year old cooling fluid did not freeze in the -26ºC (-14ºF) temps.
I will change it in the spring though....

 

[rangerj]

K-Dawg,

It has been a very long time since I have had a chemestry class so correct me if I am wrong. I think it is the distilation process that "deionizes" the water. Secondly, any water will conduct electricity, will it not?

As an added thought to the topic the water should be deionized (distilled) and be ph neutral, that is neither acidic nor alcaline.

The problem occurs when the fluid becomes acidic and HOLDS a charge, then the rubber parts (hoses) are deteriorated from the inside. Some minerals can contribute to the process.

This is a good discussion folks. Keep it up K-dawg, your thinking and learning. If I mistated something up above I expect to hear about it! rangerj

 

[SHOdownTN]

There is also a new clear antifreeze. not sure how good it is but it's also suppose to keep down on the corrosion to the internals.
It would also be hard to tell the mixture without a good tester. I think it is also good with both types of coolant.

Mixing green and orange makes brown and looks like muddy water.

I will be going orange with my next flush but will be done every year......

 

[ILUVMYSHO]

Yeah I actually use a type of coolant (just bought it today in fact) on my SHO. Live in AZ. Its compatible with any coolant it says. So w00t for that.

 

[K-Dawg]

Ranger, I'm no chemistry expert either, but I do know that pure distilled water does not conduct electricity. Distilling removes materials that ionize in the water, hence "deionizing". These substances in the water are what carry the electrical current.

I need to get to work now; maybe I'll look more into this later.

 

[Mike Kelly]

The newer/safer antifreezes are propylene glycol. Most of the extended life antifreezes are propylene. The older formulations are etheylene glycol which are more dangerous to people, animals and the enviroment. Mike

 

[djsSHO]

Water conducts electricity due to the minerals which can be found in tap water naturally. Things like lead, nickel, iron, etc can all be found in water at some concentration. Your water is delivered to your home by metal pipes. Those minerals will fall out of mixture when mixed with coolant and create sediment. The sediment will then potentially block coolant passages. You could use either distilled or even spring water in most cases does not contain the mineral content of just plain 'ol tap water. Conducting electricity isn't really the problem with regular water, but the minerals that end up floating around in your coolant system.

Feel free to correct but this was as I remembered it to be....