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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Ethylene glycol vs. propylene glycol

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Ethylene glycol vs. propylene glycol -- page: 1 2     supereal 02-06-2010 @ 11:54 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Sierra works well in all of our older vehicles, but the new cars require a proprietary coolant if you want to maintain the warranty. Some are organic acid based that protects the common aluminum blocks and heads of newer engines. We just bought a case of Sierra, at about nine bucks a gallon. Be careful to read the labels on all antifreeze, as many are now sold as "prediluted", meaning you are buying expensive water! TomO 02-06-2010 @ 8:54 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7256 Joined: Oct 2009 Grant, it would be very hard to determine how many V-8 ers use propylene glycol antifreeze. It may be used in all cooling systems that call for regular antifreeze. Some of the newer cars have different requirements and it should not be used in them. The low foaming characteristic is what attracted me to Sierra as well as the feature that it is safer for animals. The cost is quite a bit higher than other brands. Tom JebNY 02-05-2010 @ 5:54 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 44 Joined: Nov 2009 I don't have any facts and figures, but I converted all my old stuff to propylene glycol about 7 or 8 years ago when I got two cats to live in the barn. I have used it just because most of my old stuff leaks some. I haven't converted my F1 yet since I just got it home in late November and it didn't leak so I decided to wait till Spring to flush and refill. I have had zero problems and all I did to convert was a quick water flush and refill. I buy what ever brand I can find, not everyone has it but it is out there. Jim... 1950 F1 Stake supereal 02-05-2010 @ 8:24 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Tom: I have been called lots of things, but never "guru"! I started to use poly back in my Model A days because it didn't foam as much in nonpressurized systems. In truth, any coolant that leaks into the oil will cause bearing failure if not caught immediately. We see engines at our shop with no surface let on the inserts when they try to run on water. I assume that the claims that Sierra is easier on the environment are true. It meets our "what could it hurt" test when we choose products. Old engines often have minor interior seepage. That is why we provide Barr's Leaks with each one we rebuild. Grant 02-05-2010 @ 4:17 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 537 Joined: Oct 2009 Going back to one of the questions in the original post, "How many members are using propylene glycol....?", it would appear that the majority probably are and possibly have been for quite some time. Is that correct ? Stroker 02-04-2010 @ 3:10 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Boy! I'd sure agree with Flathead4RD on the distilled water. I never mix anti-freeze with anything but! This is especially critical with engines that have an iron/aluminum mix (alloy heads/iron block). I'd sooner pour "ditch water" in my battery than I would in my radiator, as batteries are relatively speaking, cheaper than engines. Rainwater's good, "de-ionized water" is good, distilled is the best. I grew up in a warm climate, so we didn't use anti-freeze. We did, however, always add a emulsified lubricant such as Mac's #13 water pump lube to the distilled water. I now live in "Siberia", and use Sierra in everything. I've pulled aftermarket (Edebrock) heads off of my flatmotor after many years of service with the above precautions, and they look like new. flathead4rd 02-04-2010 @ 2:06 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 169 Joined: Oct 2009 Just draining and flushing the radiator is sufficient when changing over to Sierra. I use distilled water instead of tap water to avoid calcium and lime deposits. Also, You need a different hydrometer to check Sierra antifreze for it's freezing point protection. An ethylene Glycol tester won't work. I live in Michigan and find a 50/50 mix is sufficient for our 10 below (farenheit) temperatures. Billc 02-04-2010 @ 1:02 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 19 Joined: Jan 2010 I heard that you can't mix Sierra at all with ethylene glycol. How clean must the engine be? What is the result of mixing the two? Bill Grant 02-04-2010 @ 6:17 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 537 Joined: Oct 2009 Thanks again, gentlemen. There is a NAPA store in Port Huron, Michigan which is about 50 miles from our location. The first spring 2010 cross-border shopping trip will include several jugs of this Sierra antifreeze product, two gallons of Marvel Mystery Oil and several bags of 2-4D Weed and Feed for the lawn (the last two items are both illegal now here in Ontario due to overly-green idiots in government). flathead4rd 02-04-2010 @ 5:33 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 169 Joined: Oct 2009 I had a hard time finding Sierra antifreeze this year. Tried Murrays (now O'Reilly's) and Autozone. For some reason they both quit stocking it. Finally found it at NAPA.

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