Antifreeze colors

[jenandjon]

This might get a little windy but all these colors are a bit confusing. I would like to clear the water so to speak. I am partly color blind so that just adds to the confusion.

We have a small fleet of trucks and a bunch of equipment old and new. It seems like they all take a different antifreeze. We had yellow, purple and red. Accidentally bought a case of pink once. I had a Mack at the time so I called Mack. Their oil and coolant supplier had just been there and informed the shop that that all colored is the same. As long as it says EXTENDED LIFE. You can put red in purple and pink it don't matter but it MUST say EXTENDED LIFE. Over the past couple years I asked a couple different mechanics the same question expecting conflicting answers. They all backed up the story I got from Mack.

OK fine. So we bought a 55 gallon drum of red for the new stuff and a drum of green for the old. This has been working out for us very well for the past few years. Until now. We are out of green so I had the boss order another drum. We purchase lubricants and coolant through Cenex CO-OP. They can't get green anymore. Its yellow. But not extended life yellow. This yellow is compatible with green and the orange Dex-cool only. Are you confused yet? Isn't Dex Cool extended life? I thought it was.  Anyway so, now in our shop, yellow is the new green. The fun does not stop there. Not when you throw John Deere in the mix. We have 2 pieces of equipment under warranty. We must use the exact fluids that Deere says to use or risk not being covered by warranty. Guess what color the coolant is. Yellow. But not the new new yellow, its the old new extended life yellow. These 2 yellows are not compatible.

The moral of the story here is make darn shure you know exactly what coolant your vehicle has in it. Take a paint pen and write it down under the hood. Read your labels before purchasing coolant.  I have a feeling this "new yellow" will be popping up around stores before long if not already. Although I seriously doubt you will find any John Deere extend life yellow coolant in any vehicles. Thank goodness you can avoid that confusion. Just remember, extended life goes with extended life.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

I don't know the brands, but there was an issue of mixing 2 different types that reacted and made brown mud.  Our old Cummins takes the green and walmart still sells it.

 

[Scrap]

Also beware of the TRP oil in the coolant bottle...🤬 🤬  Stuff's a bad day waiting to happen.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

Skip all the color issues, diesel coolant is one of two type, extended life and SCA.  

As long as you use the correct type, the color is only a cosmetic brand identifier.

HHRV Resource Guide Diesel Coolant

[Moresmoke]

9 hours ago, jenandjon said:

 Although I seriously doubt you will find any John Deere extend life yellow coolant in any vehicles. 

Unless you come to my place. When anything here needs to have new coolant it gets filled with Deere Coolgard.

On the extended life, I wish it were that simple. There is extended life SCA, OAT, HOAT, and NOAT that I know of, probably more. Some can be mixed others shouldn’t be. Extended life SCA can be mixed with traditional green, it just shortens the life.

There are 2 reasons I use the Deere coolant: first it uses an additive that is moderately compatible with most other coolants. You can top off a traditional green with it and not cause problems.  If you are putting in a lot, fix the problem and start over. Second; the Deere dealer is 3 miles from home, it’s the closest place I can buy anything. Convenience is worth something.