In a message dated 6/1/02 7:48:27 AM Pacific Daylight Time, ben@KBMC.NET
writes:

<< I disagree strongly with all those who are saying Prestone is safe, etc.
 Folks, VW still today only uses phosphate-free coolant in their engines, and
 I think they're in a better position to know about the metallurgy of their
 heads than we are.  Changing head gaskets every few years is unnecessary.
 The phosphate-free stuff from the dealer is under $15 per gallon.  If you
 ask me, saving a dollar or two for Prestone is false economy.  Buy the blue,
 use the blue, love the blue.  122K miles on a head is NOT a good service
 life.  Read BenT's post about heads with 256K on them (with blue), and then
 let's talk again. >>

bmc,

It's actually 286K+ miles. I get my blue Autobahn from VW shows. Got 5
gallons last year at a fire sale price of $5 a gallon. Got a couple more this
year at the same price. It's amazing how cheap the stuff goes for at
aircooled VW events.

BenT