antifreeze

[vettes]

Hi All. I just bought my first bobcat. Its a 97 763 with 960hrs. I may have done a booboo. I topped up the rad with ethylene glycol back last tuesday when it was cold up here (the day I got it), but just read not to use that, that propylene glycol is to be used. I think it was 1/2 l or less, do i have to worry and drain the entire system? Thanks, Andy

 

[nobull1]

Supposedly the two don't mix and could cause you grief. Are you sure of the type that is now in the machine? The colour might help figuring it out. If it is two different types I would change the fluid (just a couple of gallons) and call it maintenance and have one less thing to have to do down the road.

 

[vettes]

Supposedly the two don't mix and could cause you grief. Are you sure of the type that is now in the machine? The colour might help figuring it out. If it is two different types I would change the fluid (just a couple of gallons) and call it maintenance and have one less thing to have to do down the road.

Thanks. I think the antifreeze that was in it was yellow, and i had put red/orange in. I guess its no big deal to change it anyway. Thanks! Andy

 

[jmatt20]

Thanks. I think the antifreeze that was in it was yellow, and i had put red/orange in. I guess its no big deal to change it anyway. Thanks! Andy

i had the same question about antifreeze in a car...couldn't remember which i used last time so i was worried about topping it off with the wrong kind.. i went to the car talk site (kpbs click and clack guys) the anti freezes won't cause any harm if mixed but they wont have the advertised antifreeze protection in the southwest where i am ,not a problem

 

[Iowa Dave]

i had the same question about antifreeze in a car...couldn't remember which i used last time so i was worried about topping it off with the wrong kind.. i went to the car talk site (kpbs click and clack guys) the anti freezes won't cause any harm if mixed but they wont have the advertised antifreeze protection in the southwest where i am ,not a problem

they told us either would work, BUT DO NOT MIX THEM. The prop glycol is available as Sierra brand at parts stores, cheaper than the Bobcat stuff at the dealer--but it is green so makes it hard to tell what is in machine and probably increases the chance of topping off w ethylene. They told us what the mixing would do--I forget exactly, but I seem to remember the mixture becomes slimy/thick and causes plugging of components. Changing coolant is CHEAP INSURANCE anyway, so I'd just do it, and write inside tailgate date and TYPE of coolant used.

 

[jmatt20]

they told us either would work, BUT DO NOT MIX THEM. The prop glycol is available as Sierra brand at parts stores, cheaper than the Bobcat stuff at the dealer--but it is green so makes it hard to tell what is in machine and probably increases the chance of topping off w ethylene. They told us what the mixing would do--I forget exactly, but I seem to remember the mixture becomes slimy/thick and causes plugging of components. Changing coolant is CHEAP INSURANCE anyway, so I'd just do it, and write inside tailgate date and TYPE of coolant used.

who is they?? if you go to car talk .com and search mixing anti freezes they had this exact question, they contacted the engineers at the society of automotive engineers and the answer was the new stuff has rust inhibitors that last 100000 miles while the old style only last 50000 miles . One is more environmentally friendly than the other but nothing extreme will happen . it could be that "they" are trying to sell antifreeze . i don't mix as a rule but i'm not worried about ruining my engine if i happen to top off with a different antifreeze between changes . marking the inside of the door is a good idea... i also mark all of my engines with the amount of oil needed for a change ,with 6 or 7 different vehicles it saves time looking it up....

 

[thetool]

who is they?? if you go to car talk .com and search mixing anti freezes they had this exact question, they contacted the engineers at the society of automotive engineers and the answer was the new stuff has rust inhibitors that last 100000 miles while the old style only last 50000 miles . One is more environmentally friendly than the other but nothing extreme will happen . it could be that "they" are trying to sell antifreeze . i don't mix as a rule but i'm not worried about ruining my engine if i happen to top off with a different antifreeze between changes . marking the inside of the door is a good idea... i also mark all of my engines with the amount of oil needed for a change ,with 6 or 7 different vehicles it saves time looking it up....

Hah-This reminds me of something I wanted to post a while back, but forgot about.
Bobcats, as we know, come out new filled with the purple propylene glycol, "non-toxic, environmentally-friendly" coolant. The big thing was that ethylene glycol, or green stuff is poisonous, and also sweet-tasting, which is a bad mix around children and animals. Okay.....
I went on Kubota's website and they do NOT recommend using anything other than ethylene glycol for their engine installations, for various given reasons, and that's available in the FAQ section on that site. And I found that interesting.
So from what I got from the website, is that the old school coolant (green, ethylene glycol) mixed properly, absorbs and gives heat more readily than the purple tree-hugger brand, and that designers have to take this into account when designing cooling systems.
I have seen a few Bobcats over the years, both loaders and mini-excavators, that seemed to be lemony over-heaters. Always the purple coolant, through the dealer.
My old pop has a nice T300, I'm gonna drain that shtuff out and put green in it, and I am going to recommend to all my customers that they let me change them over to green and peel that decal. Most customer-maintained machines anyway have been mixed. The purple stuff, keeping it that way, is just not practical.
I heard another guy a while back state that instead of requiring manufacurers to use this expenisve, non-toxic coolant, they could have simply added an embittering agent for a few cents per hundred gallons of poisonous but sweet ethylene glycol.
And that's a rant for the day.......=).

 

[Iowa Dave]

who is they?? if you go to car talk .com and search mixing anti freezes they had this exact question, they contacted the engineers at the society of automotive engineers and the answer was the new stuff has rust inhibitors that last 100000 miles while the old style only last 50000 miles . One is more environmentally friendly than the other but nothing extreme will happen . it could be that "they" are trying to sell antifreeze . i don't mix as a rule but i'm not worried about ruining my engine if i happen to top off with a different antifreeze between changes . marking the inside of the door is a good idea... i also mark all of my engines with the amount of oil needed for a change ,with 6 or 7 different vehicles it saves time looking it up....

Read the title of my post to answer the "they" reference . Do as you wish. I make a living with my machines and I want no avoidable problems

 

[Skiddy]

Read the title of my post to answer the "they" reference . Do as you wish. I make a living with my machines and I want no avoidable problems

The good ole yellow prestone is pretty tough to beat.

 

[siduramaxde]

The good ole yellow prestone is pretty tough to beat.

I own a 2008 Ford F450 and the radiator started leaking. Without thinking I just went to the shelf in the shed and grabbed the first antifreeze I saw. I popped the hood and dumped the green antifreeze (50/50) in the coolant tank. After about 100 miles the radiator stopped leaking. What I didn't know was that Ford uses some special antifreeze and I shouldn't have mixed in the green antifreeze. I have heard that mixing the two can cause them to "gel". I wonder if thats the reason my radiator stopped leaking? Don't really matter too much anymore because I got a new radiator but I will be sure to not mix them in the future.