Scott, VW does have the blue coolant still.  VW also has a pink coolant.  I have bought the blue from my local VW dealer within the past year.  mcneely

---- Scott Daniel <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
> Thanks for posting that link.
> on their FAQ's the address shelf life at the top of the list.
>
> noteworthy ..in the next FAQ the talk about the need for phosphate free
> a-frz.And ..they say with Eruopean water ..yes..
> withour less hard water ...phosphate-free is not that important or even
> needed.
>   People that are concerned about that can use distilled water .
> Personally, I never have ..
> I've used mainly good a-frzin a 50-50 mix with tap water. And probably
> in as many at 5,000, or more, cars over the years, and vanagons.
>
> Lately ....noticiing what it says on a  bottle of Water Wetter ...
> I see that a weaker coolant mixture than 50-50 removes heat better
> ...and since 50-50 protects agaisnt freezing to 32 below zero F ...most
> of us don't need that much protection against freezing.
>
> I probably us 40 % coolant, the rest good clean tap water (West coast  )
> with water wetter added.
>
> and make sure the thing runs up to temp !
> If the temp gauge does not get up to the middle ....get a good new
> german thermostat in there.
>
> generally I regard Prestone Extended Life a-frz as one of the better ones.
>
> I have never found a reason to use the VW Blue, and very expensive, stuff..
> and it's not even blue anymore if you ask for some at a VW dealer. They
> sell a reddish 'mixes with anything ' coolant now I believe ..
> and they charge a lot for it too.
>
> As always ..I think Regular Care and Attention ..
> and keeping things working right is  far, far more important than the
> actual brand or type of products used.
>   It's not weakness of product used, oil , coolant or whateverthat is
> the real issue ..it's plain old abuse and neglect and poor workmanship
> that's the real issue in almost all cases.
>
> And in 25+ year old vanagons ..you never get all the old coolant out
> anyway ..
> so even once a year is not too often to change the coolant. It does
> deteriorte ...like most things do.
>
> scott
>
>
> On 10/13/2013 12:35 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> > ---- Alain Thibault <alainthibault@TELUS.NET> wrote:
> >> Crazy question...i have a brand new gallon (4liters) of never used coolant but it is about 12 years old. Is it still good to use?
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPad 2
> > Here is one manufacturer's answer:
> >
> > http://prestone.com/learn_more/frequently_asked_questions#faq-row-465
> >
> > I don't know if I would take all I see here for the gospel, but at least for Prestone coolant, I think you are safe.  Others may have different chemical additives, so you might want to check with them.
> >
> > --
> > David McNeely
> >
>

--
David McNeely