Does it matter what coolant I get?

Well, you use the coolant that is specified in your owner's manual. If you just need to top it up, the recommendation is still the same, however it is unlikely to cause any serious problems if you add a litre of a different type of coolant, as long as you follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule.

Is coolant a car specific?

Different vehicles require different coolants. There are varieties for every type of vehicle, from diesel engines to American, Asian and European vehicles. Each one is specifically formulated to keep its designated engine type running in extreme temperatures.

What happens if you use the wrong coolant?

Using the wrong engine coolant can gradually lead to corrosion and damage to the water pump, radiator, radiator hoses and cylinder gasket. This can lead to damage to the engine in the worst case.

Is all coolant for cars the same?

There are three main types of coolant that car companies use: Inorganic Additive Technology (IAT), Organic Acid Technology (OAT), and Hybrid Organic Acid Technology (HOAT). Typically, older cars use IAT. It needs to be changed every two years or 24,000 miles, making it far inferior to newer formulas.

Can I put any coolant in my car?

There are lots of different types of antifreeze and it's crucial to understand that there is no single antifreeze that's suitable for all makes and models. The best thing to do is to always use the antifreeze that's recommended by your car manufacturer.

Can I Use ANY Coolant in My Car

What colour coolant should I use?

The most common method to find out is to simply check the coolant and find out what colour it is when the vehicle is cold. Most coolant brands will keep their coolants the same colour to prevent any confusion. If you're still not sure, check the owners/service manual for coolant specifications.

Can putting wrong coolant cause car overheat?

There's a problem with your coolant – If the wrong coolant was put in your car, or you have an improper coolant-to-water ratio (50/50 is proper), your engine may be prone to overheating.

What color is universal coolant?

Traditional North American “green” antifreeze, the original “universal” formula that everybody used until the introduction of today's extended-life coolants.

Is it OK to mix coolant brands?

The short answer is that you can mix different coolant brands and mixtures as long as they are the same type of coolant. The color doesn't matter as much since it's just a dye.

Is universal coolant actually universal?

Check in your owners manual to see what type of coolant is specified for your vehicle. Once your vehicle is out of warranty, you can use the same type of antifreeze that came in the cooling system from the factory, or you can switch to a "Universal" or Global" coolant that is compatible with all makes and all models.

Is it OK to use universal coolant?

Breaking the Old Antifreeze Habit

But using an OAT-based universal coolant will be fine in your classic car.

What coolant should I put in my car?

For most vehicles, a glycol based antifreeze coolant is the best type of coolant to be used in any vehicle radiator. However, using the glycol based antifreeze alone is usually not a good idea. In most cases, you will need to mix the glycol based antifreeze with a certain amount of water.

Why are coolants different colors?

If antifreeze is green, that probably means it was made from an older formula that uses something called Inorganic Additive Technology. Green antifreeze is made with special tweaks to the formula specifically to help prevent the corrosion of metals in a vehicle's cooling system.

Which brand of coolant is the best?

Can I mix yellow and green coolant?

You can mix two different colors of the same kind of coolant without any problem whatsoever. But if you mix a significant amount of one type in with the other type, you're weakening your corrosion inhibitors (it happened to my brother, and look at the condition he's in now).

Can I use universal coolant with green coolant?

Makers of universal coolants say their products are formulated to be compatible with all cooling systems (foreign or domestic) and all coolant types (traditional green, OAT and OAT-hybrid with silicate).

Can I use green coolant instead of red?

In fact, if you were to mix green and red antifreeze together, it would end up creating a thick gel that would fail to flow through your cooling system properly. This can cause overheating, as well as damage to various components of your car's cooling system.

Can I use blue coolant instead of pink?

no dont mix them, pink is longer life (5 years) blue is normal (2 years) for some reason mixing the two counters the effects of the pink meaning you will still only have 2 year life. best is just to do a full coolant drop as 5 liters of pink premix is only about 12quid.

Can I use orange coolant instead of green?

This is a mistake and can lead to expensive repairs. The two coolants should never be mixed together as they do not react well. When mixed together they can form a thick, jelly-like substance that can completely stop all coolant flow which can lead to overheating.

Is all antifreeze the same color?

What colors does coolant come in? Variations of coolant/antifreeze can come in; pink, red, orange, blue, green, and yellow. This can make it confusing when trying to decide which coolant you need in your vehicle. The different colors can mean different properties of the liquid.

How do I know what coolant to get?

You should check your owner's manual, to check on what type or color of antifreeze your car takes. One of the most common, and longstanding coolants of this type is DEX COOL®, which was developed by GM in the late 1980's and has been used ever since.

How long can an engine run without coolant?

However, if you absolutely must start your car without coolant, it can probably run for about a minute without too much risk of damage. You may be able to get away with as much as 5 minutes of running without coolant, depending on the engine, car model, and how hard you're asking the engine to work.

Is red and pink coolant the same?

The pink coolant is an OAT (organic acid technology) that typically has a longer service life. The red coolant on the other hand is an IAT (inorganic acid technology) that is considered to be more “conventional” but still longer lasting than some other coolants on the market.

Is green and yellow antifreeze the same?

Usually (but not always) dyed orange or yellow so you could tell the difference between OAT and IAT, this coolant has similar corrosion protection as the green stuff, however they are designed to be slower acting, hence the extended-life moniker.

Is blue antifreeze universal?

Quantum Blue concentrate Antifreeze & Summer Coolant is an economical, proprietary blend of corrosion inhibitors and additives in glycol that provides all year round protection for both diesel and petrol engines from the build up of rust and scale, freezing and overheating.