j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

the Ford green and the Mazda FL-22 is literally the same thing, Mazda was using Ford engines at the time

Dak

Isn't that the truth. I had information overload last week when I was gonna change the fluid in a Ranger I had just gotten with a cracked radiator tank. It had orange, presumably Dexcool in it but who knows. After looking into why you could mix Prestone with anything now when traditionally you didn't mix green and orange I discovered I'm way behind on my antifreeze tech.

It may be ok but I can't comfortably recommend it anymore. Even though that's all that's been in mine for the 60,000mi since the rebuild. I didn't know then what I know now. Rockauto has Motocraft( Ford) Specialty green concentrate for 23.79 plus shipping. I haven't checked the local Ford dealer yet but I'm sure it costs more there.

Dak

That's what I've gathered. I just listed the FL-22 first as some people may prefer the Mazda branded product. I think I found the Ford Specialty Green concentrate on Rockauto for 23.79 so it appears my list is ordered by price. Highest to lowest.

DC5Daniel

iTrader: (10)

I choose specialty green over the Mazda for the sake of getting a concentrate vs pre-diluted, and it comes out cheaper.

wetminkey

Dexcool is designed to accommodate engines that have steel blocks and aluminum heads, not fully aluminum ones, like the Mazda. It was designed because of the two different metals used,...It's worked perfectly in our 2002 Trailblazer's Atlas six for over 245,000 miles,...
DO NOT MIX DIFFERENT COOLANTS,...it can cause a precipitate!
There are other, better coolants developed for all aluminum engines,...

dguy

iTrader: (8)

I'm not advocating dexcool but you do realize that a rotary is more than half cast iron, right? I don't think anyone has mentioned a SkyActiv or other all aluminum head/block combo (but I might be blind)

wetminkey

No, I did not realize that! I thought that the whole assembly was aluminum,...! My '88 car has 43,000 original miles on it, so I've not wrenched on it at all.
So what is steel and what is aluminum in the Wankel?
Or perhaps I should ask, what steel and what aluminum are exposed to coolant, since I would guess that the rotors are steel (but not exposed to coolant),...?
And I'm confused by your use of the terms 'head and block' when it concerns rotaries? What do you consider to be the 'head'?
Thanks, Todd.

Dak

The rear, center, and front housings are cast iron( steel). The rotor housings are aluminum. They form a sandwich of sorts in this order: Rear/rotor/center/rotor/front. The water pump housing is aluminum and the pump itself steel. All of the housings have coolant passages and are exposed to coolant.

He was referring to thinking that no one had mentioned any other engine type besides the rotary. So no mention of an engine with an aluminum block and head. No head on a rotary.

wetminkey

Cool! Thanks Dak! Yeah, I KNEW there was no head on a rotary,...! Just joking,...
But I did not know that the rear, center, and front housings were steel. I thought the whole assembly was aluminum,...
Good to know. My RX-7 only has 43,019 original miles on it, so it still has the green, glycol coolant. A coolant change may be a good thought,...
I've swapped my Fiat Spider to Organic Acid Technology coolant. It has a steel block and aluminum head. But I flushed the entire system , including the block, VERY carefully to remove any of the old coolant before adding the orange OAT coolant. I understand that engines have been seriously damaged due to a precipitate if the OAT orange and green glycol coolants are mixed. I think this is where Dexcool got it's horrible reputation.
Again, our 2002 Trailblazer LTZ, with nearly a quarter of a million miles on it is still going strong with the orange Dexcool coolant it was designed to have.
Thanks, again. I have a Chilton's, but no shop manual for this car, yet. Stupid, since I have a shop manual for my seven other, older cars,...time to invest. I need to contact faxonautoliterature.com
Todd.