What color antifreeze is pink?

I've decided to change my coolant sooner than later and I suspect that the coolant has probably never been changed since leaving the factory, but I'm surprised that it's pink. Isn't Havoline Dex-Cool pretty obviously orange or can it be pink as well?

I know this is a long shot since antifreeze color coding has got to be one of the most confusing things ever. All types of antifreeze seem to vary slightly, even the OATS. Also, Land Rover only recommends Dex-Cool for the Discovery II and freelander; not range rover or disco I or classics. Very weird.After researching what to use I've decided to stick with whatever is in there so I don't have to worry about flushing it completely. Even if the fluid was changed in my truck, I'm pretty sure they did it at a dealer. Do they use pink coolant?

 

I dont know whos coolant it pink. If you want to be sure then take it to the dealer and let them flush it.

 

If I were a working man right now I would justhave them do a fluid exchange. It's worth it not having the mess and having to get rid of the fluid somewhere. The exchangers probably do a good job too. I'm going with the cheaper, more labor intensive route for now.

 

I dont blame you. It is alot cheaper to do it yourself. I just dont know whos coolant is pink.
Did you Google it?

 

Yes I did. I actually founda nice chart somewhere breaking it down by manufacturer, type of coolant and color. IIRC the pink was a toyota brand coolant, some "other" OAT brand (not-dexcool and a european car manufacturer) and a fleet vehicle HD diesel brand. I should have saved it, it was a pretty nice chart. I seem to remember reading that Dex-cool can be mistaken for a red or pink color even though it's labeled as orange. I've never actually seen Dex-cool, so maybe this is what I have????

BTW, I found a nice way to check your coolant condition using a digital voltmeter. I don't know how accurate it is,but I think I might test it out sometime.

 

Ive heard about that voltmeter test elswhere too.
My D1 had green coolant in it when I bought it. I changed the radiator and heater hoses, flushed with water until it came out clear and then replaced with Peak Global Lifetime coolant.
If you flush the system with water until it comes out clear than you can replace with whatever coolant you want.

 

Just did a bunch of research on this because the question was bothering me a couple of weeks ago as well.The pinkantifreeze in the Land Roveris the same stuff used in Audi/VW cars and, as Mike says, is compatible with the orange Havoline and Prestone extended life coolants that meet the GM Dexcool specifications. They contain a newer kind of corrosion inhibitor based on organic acids instead of the older silicates. It is not compatible with other standard green, yellow or blue coolants.

The question that was bugging me is why we have to use Dexcool in the first place. We should be able to flush and fill with whatever we want, right? Turns out that's wrong because the metals in the cooling systemsof Dexcool-equipped cars have actually beensurface treatedwith a special chemical during manufacture. That means that if we switch from Dexcool to standard green coolants, damage will eventually occur though not right away.

One final thing, there is another pink antifreeze out there for Toyota vehicles. While it is also organic acid based, it is NOT compatible with the Dexcool coolants or our Rovers.

Here is a decent article on the subject if anyone is interested.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_...e/1272436.html

Dave

 

That's it, Audi/VW was the other pink coolant. Thanks geotrash, that's about all I need to know. This topic was bugging me too and I pretty much spent a day researching it an came to no good conclusions about why LR uses Dexcool and if I should bother switching. The only conclusion I came to is it may bebest not to mix them.

Spike, in the past I have just flushed the system out with the garden hose real good and replaced with whatever I want. This procedure was always bothered me because I don't know what sort of chemicals and minerals are coming out of the tap water and being left in the engine. I've decided to be **** this time and not do that.

I'm thinking I might drain as much as I can, replace with distilled water and a chemical flusher, run it, drain again and then add the coolant. Are coolant flushes a good idea or should I not even bother?

 

Glad to help.

You've hit on the right issue. Distilled water is the key. Tap water can contain high mineral content in solution, such as carbonates and oxides. These can precipitate out of solution on metallic componets over timeand create buildups in radiator tubes, water pump vanes, etc. making them less efficient and partially blocking coolant flow. Distilled water eliminates that possibility.

Dave

 

Man I thought I had it but after searching and reading posts I'm slightly confused...so I have these two bottles in the garage - which one is the best choice for my 99 Disco II?

http://www.valvoline.com/pages/produ...asp?product=10

http://www.valvoline.com/pages/produ...asp?product=11