fishbone Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Here is what Valvoline sent to me Thank you for your question. Zerex, offers an Asian Vehicle Coolant designed for all Asian applications including Subaru. The part number for this product is 675130 and can be found at most major auto parts retailers, such as, Napa and Carquest. I wonder what SOA has to say about this? It's the Zerex in the silver jug. Anyone care to ask them? The coolant is phosphate and silicate free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Look back at the first few of my posts in this thread for the formulation that Subaru requires of it's coolant. And if that dealer told me that they don't use Subaru coolant "except for warranty repair" the next action on my part would be to call Subaru and ask WTH is going on here. Some jackshaft dealership using non-Subaru fluids to service my vehicle and potentially compromising the integrity of my motor, well before it's time - so they can do the dealer-caused, "non-warranty" work on it ...I'd be pissed for sure. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2006Specb122 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 yeah listen to subietonic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 So it needs to have phosphate but not silicate. The coolant recommended by Valvoline has neither. I sent an e-mail to SOA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2006Specb122 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Long Life pikes peak... subaru will just tell you to use their stuff and you won't have to worry about it. Their stuff is super concentrated... and then I mix with distilled water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 That's exactly what they just did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Finally flushed the coolant this week-end. Yeah, it took a good half hour to drain from the radiator, I did not touch any other bolts as I was not sure where they were and they were not mentioned in the service manual. I took the overflow bottle out and gave it a good rinse. There was some dirt accumulated on the bottom. I am nervous about the radiator hose reaching all the way to the bottom and as such I might cut off an inch or so in order to prevent it from sucking up any bad crap (even though I don't think it has enough force to lift that stuff up). I screwed up with the top-off, not sure how or why but in any case upon first starting the car and idling the temp kept climbing and at 230*F I shut it off. Had a bunch of air into the system but I figured my way around and got her fixed. I hope 230*F wasn't too high. After all this was said and done, I can come out saying that I had a very fundamental misunderstanding about how the overflow tank works But now I know. I also now know that the fans will kick on at exactly 207*F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subawang Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Finally flushed the coolant this week-end. Yeah, it took a good half hour to drain from the radiator, I did not touch any other bolts as I was not sure where they were and they were not mentioned in the service manual. I took the overflow bottle out and gave it a good rinse. There was some dirt accumulated on the bottom. I am nervous about the radiator hose reaching all the way to the bottom and as such I might cut off an inch or so in order to prevent it from sucking up any bad crap (even though I don't think it has enough force to lift that stuff up). I screwed up with the top-off, not sure how or why but in any case upon first starting the car and idling the temp kept climbing and at 230*F I shut it off. Had a bunch of air into the system but I figured my way around and got her fixed. I hope 230*F wasn't too high. After all this was said and done, I can come out saying that I had a very fundamental misunderstanding about how the overflow tank works But now I know. I also now know that the fans will kick on at exactly 207*F Did you also monitor with a datalogger or AP? I was monitoring using my AP when I did my coolant flush and burp and didn't realize how much the fans can lower the temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I pretty much did all the monitoring via the AP since I didn't want to risk overheating the motor by a possible lag in the dash gauge. It's true, the fans make a great difference. I had shut off the engine and kept the key in the ON position for 2 minutes to keep the fans running and it shot down from 230 to a reasonable temp in a matter of seconds. For the next week or so I'll continue to monitor via AP just to make sure everything is in check. The last two days it's been 55-60*F outside and the temps have been anywhere between 178-190 while driving the car in the city. I'm looking to dillute the mixture a bit though, I think I have a tad too much antifreeze vs water even though my mixture was pretty much 50/50. Must be the left-over coolant from the block that does not drain. Using one of those plain-old cheapo coolant testing tools, the needle is between -35 and -45*F mark. Unless I am mistaken, it should be around the -35 mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Christ, I am so anal retentive sometimes ... It bothers me that I have too much coolant and not enough water so the refractometer shows -45*F instead of -35*F. What happened was that I had used some coolant previously from the jug so I kinda guessed how much water to add to it. Evidently I didn't add enough and I'm sure even though it's probably fine to have it at -45, in my head I'm thinking I have WAY too much coolant to the point that it is affecting how efficiently it sheds heat. I'll just turkey-baster some out of the fill reservoir and add distilled water. I'm glad I did this myself, learned something new and saved myself 80 bucks or so. Besides, I had the coolant already purchased so it was only a matter of spending 87 cents for a gallon of distilled water. Next coolant change will be when I do the timing belt and at that time I will be draining it from the block as well (there ARE bolts for this, right?) so that I can switch to the blue super long life. I figured that if I do the water pump at that time I'll have to drain the coolant so it would have been a waste to switch to the blue now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subawang Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Fishbone, will it really matter much if you have a "tad" too much coolant? I can see the problem with too much water (possibility of freezing), but what would be the problem with too much coolant? FWIW, when I changed my coolant, I mixed up a 50/50 mixture by eye and did not even think twice about trying to get it exact. I've been running this way for half a year or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Too much coolant will have a negative impact on how effective the cooling system is. It doesn't absorb/shed heat as good as water. If you were to run 100% straight coolant with no water, it would suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schwinn Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 +1 "Coolant" isn't actually a good coolant... it's best to call it antifreeze, because that's what it's good for, and not much else. It does help improve the boiling temperature a bit as well, but the pressure in the system is a far better control for boil-over. Water is the best "coolant" for the motor... unfortunately, it can corrode metals and leave behind deposits as well... that's the other benefit of "antifreeze"... the additive package prevents corrosion in the system. It is THIS additive package that gets "used up" over time, requiring the flush/fill process... otherwise, glycol + water don't "wear out" and will continue to do their job just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polo08816 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Make sure you use the correct grade/spec/whatever of coolant if you don't go with the OEM stuff. Otherwise it will end up corroding all the aluminium parts in the cooling system and you'll end up with clogs too, due to all that corroded aluminium floating around. Anyone know if AMSOIL's coolant meets these specs? http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/ant.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 SOA will say no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesuby Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Too much coolant will have a negative impact on how effective the cooling system is. It doesn't absorb/shed heat as good as water. If you were to run 100% straight coolant with no water, it would suck. I recall seeing a graph which showed freeze protection by percentages of "coolant" and water. I believe somewhere around 70 percent coolant will give the most protection against freezing (any more and the freezing temperature actually rises) but unless you live in a really cold place there's no ned to go over 50/50. The graph did not address the effectiveness of a mix for hot weather. To address lubrication and corrosion protection, you probably don't want to drop below 50/50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polo08816 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 SOA will say no. Let's say that you already no longer have warranty. What would you say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I would say that I'm not willing to gamble and just sticking to OEM. If you want to get a better coolant, then go to your dealer, have them flush your coolant and replace it with the new blue Super Long Life which you will not be touching for another 6 years/75K miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 $21 per gallon - shit that's outrageous! And is the Subaru branded coolant pre-mixed with the secret sauce? I picked up a gallon of OEM long life coolant today, for $25.61:eek: List price is $29.45:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polo08816 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I picked up a gallon of OEM long life coolant today, for $25.61:eek: List price is $29.45:eek: Amsoil is even more expensive. It's about $34/gallon. http://www.amsoil.com/catalog.aspx?GroupID=41 Maybe this has even more special sauce? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 ^Stick with OEM. It is cheaper and it is guaranteed to work. I see no reason to use aftermarket. Personally I think it is a waste to use the blue Super Long Life before 100K miles because at that interval you have to do the timing belt so you're ending up draining the coolant and, for good measure, replacing the water pump since you're already in there. So you're not getting the benefit of the Super Long Life. Personally I am switching to it AFTER I do my timing belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I had started a thread on draining the radiator from up top, but didn't get much of a response. Rather than drop the tray etc., just reach the drain plug by feel, and use a 3/8" drive socket with a phillips head screw tip. Granted, you need to know where the plug is located and have a good sense of working where you cannot see. You would need to remove the air intake which feeds the air filter box. That's what I did this time around, but with a stubby 1/4" drive ratchet. I prefer it to working under the car. But I still had to get underneath the car to open the access panel to the oil filter. I put a scrap piece of aluminum roof flashing under the radiator drain to direct the coolant through the open oil filter access panel, into a bucket. I drained 6.5 quarts total of the old coolant (including what was in the overflow tank) using this method. After refilling the radiator and capping it, I squeezed the lower hose a few times to burp the system, filled the turbo tank and capped it, filled the overflow tank, then ran the engine at 2000 rpm, with heater temp at max and heater fan at low speed, until operating temperature was reached. Encountered no problems with trapped air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I trust that if there is still any air trapped in the system it will cycle itself out with regular driving of the car and the coolant moving, yes? If I open the filler reservoir and squeeze the large top radiator hose when the car is cold, I can still get some burping which I can only assume is normal. Temps are at what they should be and I am basically just monitoring the overflow tank to make sure the level doesn't drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I trust that if there is still any air trapped in the system it will cycle itself out with regular driving of the car and the coolant moving, yes? .......... Did you do some driving with the heater set at max temperature, to help circulate coolant through the HVAC piping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Yep. But I'll do it again just to make sure. The goal is to get the thermostat to open and start circulating coolant, yet? Heater at max, blower at minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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