Cookie juice. Or the lack there-of~

[Normy]

Ladies and gentlemen [cough-!] I have to tell you that today I converted from Prestone Lo-Tox propylene glycol coolant to regular Prestone ethylene glycol.

In 2000, I changed out the coolant in my '85 S2 to Prestone Lo-Tox. This is a propylene glycol formula, which is almost non-toxic to animals. I did this because at the time, I had just bought this unmaintained car, and it was giving me coolant leaks from the radiator, the upper pipe, and the small rubber pipe that supplies the heater core. I had plenty of leaks, and since my elohssa brother was living in my house and leaching off me at the time, I was concerned about his two cats. Maggie and Neeve were beautiful animals, but they both would have been more than happy to retire to the garage and lick up some leaking ethylene if my bozo brother was stoned enough to leave the door open. Which was pretty common~

[I eventually kicked him out; I didn't speak to my parents for about 6 months as a result.]

So I decided to use this stuff I found at Wal-Mart one day: Prestone Lo-Tox. It is made from Propylene Glycol- a small difference in the sequence of the atoms and POW! Suddenly, a chemical which means sudden death if you drink it turns into a food additive.

Prestone Lo-Tox is not something you want to go around drinking. I won't kill your cat if she drinks it, but she won't die either. My '85 was such a basket case in 1999 that I felt this was the way to go.

Prestone also makes a point of telling people that this coolant additive is no where near as effective as ethylene glycol when it comes to corrosion prevention. You HAVE to change it out at 24 months intervals if you use it!

-Today, I converted back to regular ethylene glycol coolant.

Why? First of all, I couldn't find Prestone Lo-Tox. There is another brand of P-glycol called Sierra, but both have basically disappeared. I found it online, but online isn't going to help me if I have a leak tomorrow, and need to add 1/2 my coolant because some damn hose burst.

Second, I don't have any cats in the house anymore.

Third, If I take the 928 on a trip, and I have a maintenance issue, then it is far easier to top off the coolant if it is traditional ethylene glycol. What's more, my other car, a Ford Aerostar van, uses the cheapest anti-freeze I could find when I changed its radiator two years ago. Now I can use the same fluid in both cars.

-As to propylene glycol coolants? I've driven my 928 since 2000 with this stuff in my engine. When I changed the thermostat today, I looked at it and it looked new- there was no scum at all. The upper radiator hose had a small amount of scale, perhaps 1/32 of an inch thick, right around the outside of the curves . The system was amazingly clean! I wanted, and would have kept my "cookie juice" cooling system [propylene glycol is a food additive, often used in cookies], but I can't find Sierra or Prestone Lo-Tox!

I flushed the CRAP out of my system today! I drained the coolant [PG coolant can be poured into your toilet, it is so non-toxic], then hooked the hose to the reservoir. Then I inserted it into the upper radiator opening. I put the plugs back in place, filled it with plain tap water, and then tightened the clamp on the upper radiator hose. I ran it for 20 minutes, shut it off, let it cool for 3 hours, then drained it. THEN Istuck the hose into the open manifold, and then the radiator.I think I cleaned it out! Then I put the plugs back in, filed the block with 2 gallons of distilled water, and the radiator/ expansion tank with 1.5 gallons of Prestone. the aux tank is almost full- in the past, when I've done this, the radiator has taken a few days to burp out the air in the system. Since I was in there, I changed out the upper and lower hoses, along with the thermostat.


So long Lo-Tox!
N!