Bluestone Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Subaru labeled coolant is nearly $30 for a gallon jug at the stealership. Are there safe alternatives available? (Brand names, please) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 o.k. lets start with year, model, engine that should have been in the original post. For the 95-99's I use Advance's universal stuff - looks like Mountain Dew. Of course I'm pulling the engine and doing the heads or swapping engines, typically having the rad flushed and pressure tested. So I have most of the coolant out of the system. In the later model and 6 cylinder cars I'd probably pay up for the dealer stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluestone Posted August 16, 2009 Author Share Posted August 16, 2009 (edited) 2000 legacy GT wagon 2.5L - MT What's so special about Subaru's coolant that can't be found in any other brand. The stealership prices are just a big fat ripoff. I just hate being screwed out of my hard earned money by greedy scumbags, which is what most (all?) stealerships are, IMHO. Edited August 16, 2009 by Bluestone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 It's the additives that make it different - it's all based on glycol - we have run across similar problems with import equipment at work. The Isuzu engines that come to the US from Japan have a coolant that does not have a direct replacement here in the states. Anyway - if you flush out ALL the original coolant it can be replaced with something like Dexcool (which is the modern GM long-life coolant) that's available anywhere. It's really not rocket science - it's glycol with some additives. The color is meaningless as there is so much variation in the industry that it's impossible to tell anything about the stuff from it's color. What you are looking for is a long-life glycol mix that is not going to attack plastic, ferrous metals, or aluminium. Dexcool will suffice and as long as you do a thorough flush you won't have problems with additive interactions. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 I have both 98 & 99 OBWs, and have never used the stealership brand of coolant with no ill effects. IMHO, I don't know of any major brand of coolant that can't be used in a Subaru. I have read the coolant labels before purchase, and they say the product is safe to use in aluminum alloy engines. I don't think Prestone or Zerex would chance a class action law suit against themselves, if their product damaged engines. What is so special with a Subaru engine that it requires special coolant from a dealership? I am not aware of anything. To extend the life of antifreeze a few more years, in the Fall of each year, I add Prestone water pump lubricant and rust inhibitor to the coolant. Seems to work great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugs Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 The deal with Suby cooant is that is has "certain" properties that add in keeping seals, and other componants I.E. head gaskets from failing as bad as they used to. Anything after 2000 gets it. Anything before 2000 you can use "regualr coolant." But I always add the suby additive to any of my customers subies, that involved the taking out a mass of coolant. In my 96 I run regular with the additive. With the 85 EJ conversion same deal. And like I said earlier any of my 2000 and above customers I put the suby coolant in. And FWIT I prefer the Toyota long life coolant over Dex Cool I can get the Toyota long life at Carquest for about the sam price as DexCool. I can definitly tell the difference with the Toy and Suby coolant as compared to "regular" green coolant. It smells different, feels different, pours different, everything about it is different. As apossed to DexCool I really don't see much of a difference between it and the green stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentis Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Hey Mugs, what's this "subie additive" you speak of? What does it do and where do you get it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away they called it . . . stop leak! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Some good useful info about antifreeze. http://www.sancarlosradiator.com/antifreeze_coolant.htm And a link to an Endwrench article about Subaru cooling systems. They explain the difference about subaru antifreeze http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/CoolMay05EW.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away they called it . . . stop leak! anybody old enough to remember the old prestone anti-freeze commercials on TV, back when anti-freeze came in a metal can. they would use a small sharp tool to punch a hole in the side of the can and then showed how the leaking slowed until it stopped. i was so impressed i remember it 40 years later, and the product name too. that's good advertising. and now back to your regularly scheduled program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 anybody old enough to remember the old prestone anti-freeze commercials on TV, back when anti-freeze came in a metal can. they would use a small sharp tool to punch a hole in the side of the can and then showed how the leaking slowed until it stopped. So.... if it can plug a hole... wouldn't it plug up the heater core or something too?? Maybe the flow stopped because vacuum built up at the top of the can :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 So.... if it can plug a hole... wouldn't it plug up the heater core or something too?? Radiator stop leak is supposed to only harden when exposed to air, not while in liquid coolant. However, if a cooling system either isn't properly filled, or has coolant forced out due to an internal HG leak, it's possible for stop leak to harden and block small passages within the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 A recall should have been done on your car where this was added to the cooling system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 So.... if it can plug a hole... wouldn't it plug up the heater core or something too?? no, there's plenty of different dynamics involved. every day we work with products that work in their intended, designed, and engineered ways. and of course, there are risks depending on situations. "look at Coke products, they can eat away material, think of what it does to your body"....is everyone's body springing leaks? i know that's not a perfect analogy but the point remains the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentis Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Some good useful info about antifreeze. http://www.sancarlosradiator.com/antifreeze_coolant.htm And a link to an Endwrench article about Subaru cooling systems. They explain the difference about subaru antifreeze http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/CoolMay05EW.pdf So, according to the first article and the Zerex color chart, my 93 Legacy should be using the hybrid HOAT type of coolant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugs Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Hey Mugs, what's this "subie additive" you speak of? What does it do and where do you get it? You get it from the dealership. It is supposed to aid in keeping things sealed up and keep things soft in conjuntion with the suby coolant. It looks sort of like stop leak but I think greatly improved to where it does not stop radiator cooling and heater corre heating Thats all I can really tell you. I add it as "butt covereage" for me, to my customers cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluestone Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 Bar's Leaks, a stop leak additive that's been around for many decades uses ground up walnut shells( as I understand) as it's main component. I used it in a couple of Peugeots years ago. Peugeots were notorious for head gasket problems. The Bar's Leaks plugged up the heater cores of those two Peugeots. I've even used "AlumAseal" with disappointing results. The Subaru cooling system additive, however, is a far cry from Bar's Leaks ad AlumAseal. I've had it in my Subie's (2000 Legacy GT Wagon) cooling system for the last two coolant changes, about 60k miles, without any issues. My Subie's Head gaskets seem pretty tight so far, with no evidence of hot running, (knock on wood)even during hot summer days with the A/C on. Occasionally I need to add just a bit of coolant to the reservoir to keep it at the proper level. But the temp indicator always stays in the center of the gauge. So the Subaru cooling system additive appears to be working as intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentis Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Glad to hear it, Bluestone . Seems like a good option for some Subarus, but it also sounds like with the engine I have it's not necessary since the EJ22 2.2 doesn't seem to be prone to head gasket issues... (according to this thread). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 (edited) So, according to the first article and the Zerex color chart, my 93 Legacy should be using the hybrid HOAT type of coolant? Yeah, The Subaru stuff is just a HOAT antifreeze. You'd actually be fine to run the regular green stuff, (phosphate silicate, ethylene glycol based) Just be sure to change it every 2 years. Basically the only thing it doesn't have over the new "long life" stuff, is the long life. Edited August 21, 2009 by Fairtax4me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3828/is_200408/ai_n9453107/?tag=content;col1 and another good site is Valvoline oil..you can download the PDF for more info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.