Coolant Question - Why is this car so picky?

[myfirstlincoln]

So I noticed my coolant was low and I also noticed that there was a puddle under my driver's side tire. I am assuming the degas bottle has finally formed a crack.

Anyway, I had very few options in regards to coolant (long story) at the time so I had to use Prestone DEX-COOL® 50/50 Prediluted Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant. I believe it was the orange stuff. On the back of the bottle it says "Meets GM6277M, Ford WSS-M97B44-D, and property and performance specification requirements of DaimlerChrysler MS-7170, MS-9769"

I topped off and used probably about liter of coolant. My new degas bottle is on the way from Tasca but I need my car this week. Can I do any serious damage if I drive the car for about a week (300 miles) with the "mixed coolant." At the end of the week, I will be installing the new degas bottle and flushing the system.

Thanks

 

[LS4me]

So I noticed my coolant was low and I also noticed that there was a puddle under my driver's side tire. I am assuming the degas bottle has finally formed a crack.

Anyway, I had very few options in regards to coolant (long story) at the time so I had to use Prestone DEX-COOL® 50/50 Prediluted Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant. I believe it was the orange stuff. On the back of the bottle it says "Meets GM6277M, Ford WSS-M97B44-D, and property and performance specification requirements of DaimlerChrysler MS-7170, MS-9769"

I topped off and used probably about liter of coolant. My new degas bottle is on the way from Tasca but I need my car this week. Can I do any serious damage if I drive the car for about a week (300 miles) with the "mixed coolant." At the end of the week, I will be installing the new degas bottle and flushing the system.

Thanks

Dex-Cool will KILL your engine! Also, from the OM.....

Do not add/mix an orange-colored, extended life coolant such
as Motorcraft Specialty Orange Engine Coolant, meeting Ford
specification WSS-M97B44-D, with the factory-filled coolant.
Mixing Motorcraft Specialty Orange Engine Coolant or any
orange-colored extended life product with your factory filled coolant
can result in degraded corrosion protection.

Engine coolant Motorcraft
Premium Gold
Engine Coolant
(yellow-colored)
VC-7–A (except
CA, OR and
NM), VC-7-B
(CA, OR and
NM)
WSS-M97B51–A1

 

[myfirstlincoln]

Oh, great. Although "degraded corrosion protection" doesn't sound like it will "KILL" my engine after a few days.

Regardless, I sucked the degas bottle dry (or sucked out as much as I could - which was quite a bit) with a wet/dry shop vac and hose and refilled with distilled water which I know isn't perfect, but better than Dex-cool and it shouldn't be cold enough here to cause any problems for the next few days.

 

[1LoudLS]

Oh, great. Although "degraded corrosion protection" doesn't sound like it will "KILL" my engine after a few days.

well its not so much about "degraded corrosion protection" as much as it is that mixing certian wrong coolant types turns into jello, and driving with jello in your motor could kill it (not to mention your heater core, radiator...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNzNXkdjSPw

 

[Telco]

No, you'll be fine if you are doing the work in a week. It takes time for the stuff to oxidize into orange Jell-O, and even more time for the acid it turns into to eat into the engine (and it WILL eat into the metal, eventually). The process by which it becomes orange Jell-O is when it is mixed with air and heated inside the cooling system. Just ensure that you do a full flush when you do the rest of the work because you don't want that crap in there long-term.

If you don't have a preference, I recommend you use the yellow stuff as it's an extended use version of the green stuff.

 

[myfirstlincoln]

Thank you Telco. As I said, I was able to suck most of it out and replace with distilled water. I will definitely do a complete flush by Friday of this week when I replace the coolant reservoir. I kinda figured it would take some time to wreak havoc on my cooling system but I figured I would be ok for about a week. However, I wasn't sure so I figured I better ask!

 

[Telco]

You're good for a month or two, and I'm from the GM world so I have great experience (and hatred) with the sludge.

 

[M4rk]

Pre-mixed Prestone Longlife is fine.