The "Phosphate Free" issue has to do with corrosion control, and in the
vanagon...........  avoidance of head pitting. which leads to head
gasket leaks - the very bane of Vanagon owners.

For my van I run GM's Phosphate Free orange biodegradable, 5 year
coolant mixed to a 50/50 ratio with distilled water. I also add a bottle
of Redline Water Wetter. I change the coolant out every two years,
religiously.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

Woody Halsey wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> One more round on coolant ...
>
> Has any one ever determined (and I remember lots of traffic on this
> topic five years ago when I was tuned in to the list for a while) what
> is simply the best choice for coolant for our engines? It seems clear
> that color no longer necessarily indicates anything. But do we really
> need "phosphate free" coolant? Do we really need to use distilled water?
> What about pre-mixed, add-no-water products?
>
> After having been re-sensitized to the issue, I asked my mechanic to
> flush and refill my system with something phosphate free. He claimed
> that no one in our area, including the dealer, knew what he was talking
> about. He put in "Peak Global Lifetime pre-mixed" coolant. It claims to
> be good for Mercedes and other European engines. FWIW it is yellow.
>
> What thinks The List?
>
> Also what do you know/think about Zerex G-05, a product my mechanic can
> get that claims to be "phosphate free?" (He had not read the flyer very
> carefully before he said there was nothing like it available.)
>
> Woody
> 83.5 V'gon
> Haverhill, MA
>
>
> PS If my neighbor's blue stuff is a) phosphate free and b) compatible
> with the yellow stuff now cooling my engine, I'll swing by and pick it
> up on my home from visiting my parents in Brookline some day.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of Dan Barrett
> Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 3:27 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: waterboxers in Mass.
>
> Volks,
>   I no longer run blue coolant, but I have three unopened jugs of it
> cluttering my apartment.  If anyone in the Boston area is interested,
> you're welcome to them for free.
>
>
> Best,
> d.
>
> 1990 GL -- "Mudskipper"
>
>
>