Replacement of Antifreeze / coolant to the manufacturers schedule is essential for corrosion protection and the longevity of the engine.Īs the service life of most OAT antifreeze / coolant is 5 years, replacement for most vehicles will be in the independent sector, this represents an opportunity to offer a premium service to the customer. A hydrometer will tell you if the freeze protection for the Antifreeze / coolant is in specification but it cannot measure the efficacy of the inhibitor package. The design of a modern engine relies on the high performance inhibitor package in an OAT based antifreeze / coolant to keep the system clear of scale sludge and gelling, while maintaining the PH balance of the solution. Tolerances are much finer & as little as 0.6mm of scale can reduce heat transfer by 40% often leading to overheating of the engine. In a modern engine the cooling system works incredibly hard it contains less fluid than a decade ago and works at higher pressures. While we wouldn’t fill an engine specified for synthetic oil with Mineral we don’t take Antifreeze / coolant as seriously? It will also reduce the efficacy of the inhibitor package significantly. Or is it Education, how many people are aware that by topping up red antifreeze / coolant with blue they will reduce the lifespan of the red from 5 years to 1-2 years. Is this due to price? It’s true that OAT Antifreeze / coolant is on average 15%-20% more expensive but with at least twice the lifespan, overall it works out excellent value to the consumer. Yet sales of Blue BS 6580 antifreeze / coolant are still 75-80 % of the independent aftermarket, with sales of OAT based Antifreeze / coolant 15-20%. Recently most HGV’s have also moved over to OAT. Most cars since 2,000 have specified Organic Acid Technology (OAT) based Antifreeze / coolant, commonly red in colour and with a 5 year life. BS 6580 is now a minimum quality standard for antifreeze / coolant that has been largely replaced by vehicle specific grades such as:Īudi TL774-D, Ford WSS-M97B44-D, ISUZU, Renault D, Jaguar WSS-M97B44-D, MB 325.3, SAAB 6901 599, Seat TL774-D, Skoda 61-0-0257, Vauxhall QL 130100 and Volkswagen TL774-D. Now the majority of modern engines are designed to use a specific grade of antifreeze / coolant and the one thing you can guarantee is that modern vehicles will not have BS6580 as the specified product. There was one grade of antifreeze / coolant, manufactured to BS6580 (1992) and it was Blue. Here is a statement about antfreeze from one of the UK's largest suppliers.Īntifreeze / coolant used to be simple, you tested the fluid with a hydrometer & if the reading showed too little Antifreeze / coolant you topped up or replaced the fluid. All makes - Antifreeze- Blue vs Orange/Red - Robin the Technician

Red vs orange coolant