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Engine Specific Info and Questions => IDI Engine => Topic started by: cube1980 on July 16, 2008, 08:19:29 pm

Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: cube1980 on July 16, 2008, 08:19:29 pm
Well I went to get a coolant system flush tonight and was wondering if I have the right antifreeze in it.   The stuff that was in it looked to be green and they put green stuff back in it. Am I ok with the green stuff. It's been driven with it  for 20,000 km??
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: zukgod1 on July 16, 2008, 09:16:58 pm
I'm using green with Water wetter in it.
Working fine.
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: jtanguay on July 16, 2008, 09:20:52 pm
what kind of motor?  theres some special vw stuff for some of the newer motors, but the green should do fine.  the 'special' coolant might last a bit longer (coolant turns acidic and starts to eat seals etc.. which is the main reason that it is flushed every 2 years)
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: 79rabbit4dr on July 17, 2008, 01:52:04 pm
I've got the same question. mine is a 81 n/a 1.6L. There was no coolant when I bought it so i just filled w/ regular pre-mixed 50/50 green anti-freeze. I hope I didn't eff everything up. Manual didn't say anything about special anti-freeze.  :oops:
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: zukgod1 on July 17, 2008, 02:15:10 pm
As jtanguay stated, it will probably be ok as your suppose to flush the green stuff every couple years anyway.
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: jtanguay on July 17, 2008, 02:32:57 pm
one coolant that looks promising is that new stuff that has the indicator right 'built in'.  it changes colour when it turns acidic enough.  that really makes it 'idiot proof'  :lol:  i've seen it at c-tire over here.  there must be a similar product down in the states though.
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: RabbitJockey on July 17, 2008, 02:52:01 pm
u can use what ever just gotta flush the system first.  i use green because its cheaper and it tastes better
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: Turbinepowered on July 17, 2008, 03:03:47 pm
Quote from: "Trev0rbr"
u can use what ever just gotta flush the system first.  i use green because its cheaper and it tastes better


I dunno, they've "idiot proofed" the green stuff we use at work. Says right on the bottle "Now tastes worse, to prevent swallowing!" :roll:
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: RabbitJockey on July 17, 2008, 03:14:04 pm
oooo thats why it tastes bad haha, everyone used to tell me not to taste it but if i did it tasted good, i had some drip in my mouth the one time and it was very bitter.
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: jtanguay on July 17, 2008, 03:18:28 pm
i dont think we humans are the problem.. its that animals just love the sweet taste... then about half hour later they turn up dead, or very very sick depending on how much they ingested.  :lol:
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: FWD.MOTION on July 17, 2008, 03:37:00 pm
i had rats in the garage one fall and i set taps all over but the damn things just took the peanutbutter and ran before getting snapped....

I thought about it a while and left little buckets of antifreeze around with a piece of wood leading to it....

turned out the morning after all those bastards drown from crawling into the bucket for that sweet taist/smell!

Engine coolent.......check
-rat trap................. check
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: Black Smokin' Diesel on July 17, 2008, 04:24:04 pm
I used the green stuff in all my VWs. They all ran well and temps were stable. Some people say it's bad for heater cores but VW heater cores already suck anyway...
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: vanagonturbo on July 17, 2008, 08:42:43 pm
The real question here is which is better. ethelyne glycol or propelyne glycol. sorry for the sp. I cant remember which off the top of my head as we use g11 or g12 antifreeze on all VWAG cars at the shop. One is bad for engines with aluminum heads and the other is not.
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: jimfoo on July 18, 2008, 07:27:16 am
Quote from: "jtanguay"
i dont think we humans are the problem.. its that animals just love the sweet taste... then about half hour later they turn up dead, or very very sick depending on how much they ingested.  :lol:

There was a woman here that killed her husband with the stuff.
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: jimfoo on July 18, 2008, 07:30:41 am
Quote from: "vanagonturbo"
The real question here is which is better. ethelyne glycol or propelyne glycol. sorry for the sp. I cant remember which off the top of my head as we use g11 or g12 antifreeze on all VWAG cars at the shop. One is bad for engines with aluminum heads and the other is not.
I don't think one is worse than the other as long as they have the proper anti-corrosion additives. I am running Evans, which is undiluted propylene glycol with other stuff, and since it has no water, it is completely non-corrosive to any metal. The water is what causes it to be corrosive.
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: Possum79 on July 19, 2008, 09:05:16 pm
I was told that if you have an aluminum block you cant use green stuff. You either buy the red crap from the dealer or the orange over the counter crap. I use the orange junk from kragen in my saturn because the dealer said dont use green.

Dono if it has any truth behind it.
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: burn_your_money on July 20, 2008, 06:33:14 am
On the topic of the green stuff tasting better, no matter how thirsty you are, do not drink the de-ionized water. It was 2am and I was using my buddies parents garage and was super thirsty so I figured I'd drink some, it's only water right? Worst decision ever
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: gldgti on July 21, 2008, 05:47:35 am
Quote from: "burn_your_money"
On the topic of the green stuff tasting better, no matter how thirsty you are, do not drink the de-ionized water. It was 2am and I was using my buddies parents garage and was super thirsty so I figured I'd drink some, it's only water right? Worst decision ever


what happenned?
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: zukgod1 on July 21, 2008, 08:35:27 am
Quote from: "gldgti"

what happenned?



X2 ?
Title: Can I use the green stuff?
Post by: jtanguay on July 21, 2008, 11:46:47 am
Quote
Ethylene glycol poisoning is considered a medical emergency. Despite being recognized as a poison for nearly 50 years, ethylene glycol remains readily available and continues to be fatally ingested. The most common sources of ethylene glycol are automotive antifreeze (generally available as a 95% concentration), engine coolants and hydraulic brake fluids.

In ethylene glycol poisoning, the clinical course is initially characterized by mild symptoms that may gradually develop to produce serious or even fatal toxicity. Ethylene glycol poisoning presents many challenges in making a definitive diagnosis. If treatment is initiated early, prognosis is excellent; however, a disturbing proportion of patients are admitted at a late stage to hospitals that are not capable of performing analysis which identifies ethylene glycol toxicity on a 24-hour basis. Therefore, rapid treatment is often prevented because of a delayed diagnosis, which may result in fatal consequences (Jacobsen 1986).

The lethal dose of ethylene glycol is usually 1.4-1.6 mL/kg (about 100 mL in an adult), but as little as 30 mL may be fatal (Walder 1994).


very good idea not to drink the green stuff!!!!!  however, distilled water is perfectly alright for our bodies, and better in some cases than the available sources.  :wink:

the orange stuff lasts about 5 years doesn't it???  but if you want to convert from green to that stuff you have to flush the system out real good.  there can't be ANY of the green left inside!  maybe sometime i'll switch to that stuff.