Universal Antifreeze
Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 31
Seriously,
Any brand Dexcool will work perfectly fine mixed with the G12. It's about half the price. Still a bit more than any green crap out there, but it's easily accessible (most gas stations have it for less than $20 a gallon) and can be added/mixed as you like. The guy I work with says it's chemically the same as G12. Dexcool works.
Any brand Dexcool will work perfectly fine mixed with the G12. It's about half the price. Still a bit more than any green crap out there, but it's easily accessible (most gas stations have it for less than $20 a gallon) and can be added/mixed as you like. The guy I work with says it's chemically the same as G12. Dexcool works.
1st Gear
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 11
Oh dear...did I just screw up ?
I bought a used 2004 Audi A6 Avant on Monday and I noticed the coolant expansion tank level was at minimum. I topped it up to max level...but used my old Prestone green stuff in garage !!
After reading this thread could I be in for trouble on gelling etc ?? I live in Chicago which has cold, cold winters...
Thanks for anyone's thoughts...JB
I bought a used 2004 Audi A6 Avant on Monday and I noticed the coolant expansion tank level was at minimum. I topped it up to max level...but used my old Prestone green stuff in garage !!
After reading this thread could I be in for trouble on gelling etc ?? I live in Chicago which has cold, cold winters...
Thanks for anyone's thoughts...JB
Administrator
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,670
From: Binghamton, NY
JBRoberts, yes you did. Drain it and flush it THOROUGHLY, and do so immediately. Do NOT drive the car again until this is done. It may gel just sitting there, without heat in it, so you really need to do this now, before you have a problem. Don't wait and cost yourself dearly.
On the fill cap and/or a decal under the hood, plus in the manual, it says explicitly to use only G12 coolant - they are not kidding when they say this. There's a very real reason for it.
On the fill cap and/or a decal under the hood, plus in the manual, it says explicitly to use only G12 coolant - they are not kidding when they say this. There's a very real reason for it.
Thread Starter
|
1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 368
From: SW PA
NH,
Sorry you did not read my post. I posted 21 bucks, maybe it was 21.95 per gallon of full strength Audi fluid at the VW dealership 20 miles down the road. This stuff is 50/50, so 20 bucks for equivalent.
I can also buy 1.5 litre for 9 bucks, 27 bucks for 4 1/2 quarts.
When my engine was changed, I had to buy 2 gallons of VW fluid to refill, mebbe half a gal left over.
I could be mistaken, but seem to have read there are several fluids that can be used in these machines. Something like flourescent yellow and another color, in addition to the Audi red # such and such.
My specific question was as to the "Universal" "Can be mixed with", and list of Skoda, Seat, MB and several other foreign makes. I think Skoda and Seat are properties of VW/Audi, at least they are install options on the Audi disk I could install, if I could get it to install, at all, in English.
ImtheDevil,
From memory, reading the ingredients of the "Universal" and the old US stuff, ours does not contain phosphorus compounds.
I know Audi requires specific fluids for some of the systems, like PS fluid. I wouldn't dream of using anything but "Green Gold", though it's 15 bucks a litre. Partway through my first litre and have a fresh one for use in both my 90 100 and my 97 A6 I, too, am not looking to save money, though I would like to, when possible. VW is 20 miles away with kinda short hours. Parts store is close and open many hours. Universal is premix at within 10% of price.
Cheers,
George
Sorry you did not read my post. I posted 21 bucks, maybe it was 21.95 per gallon of full strength Audi fluid at the VW dealership 20 miles down the road. This stuff is 50/50, so 20 bucks for equivalent.
I can also buy 1.5 litre for 9 bucks, 27 bucks for 4 1/2 quarts.
When my engine was changed, I had to buy 2 gallons of VW fluid to refill, mebbe half a gal left over.
I could be mistaken, but seem to have read there are several fluids that can be used in these machines. Something like flourescent yellow and another color, in addition to the Audi red # such and such.
My specific question was as to the "Universal" "Can be mixed with", and list of Skoda, Seat, MB and several other foreign makes. I think Skoda and Seat are properties of VW/Audi, at least they are install options on the Audi disk I could install, if I could get it to install, at all, in English.
ImtheDevil,
From memory, reading the ingredients of the "Universal" and the old US stuff, ours does not contain phosphorus compounds.
I know Audi requires specific fluids for some of the systems, like PS fluid. I wouldn't dream of using anything but "Green Gold", though it's 15 bucks a litre. Partway through my first litre and have a fresh one for use in both my 90 100 and my 97 A6 I, too, am not looking to save money, though I would like to, when possible. VW is 20 miles away with kinda short hours. Parts store is close and open many hours. Universal is premix at within 10% of price.
Cheers,
George
3rd Gear
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,371
From: Newfields NH
I just put extra Audi AF on the shelf in the garage along with two tyes of Audi hydraulic oil, brake fluid, Audi AT fluid, and Mann oil filters. I almost forgot -- and a liter of Jim Beam so I can straighten out my attitude when I can't figure out what is wrong with my Audi.
The only thing I use the local parts store for is oil and parts for the non-audi vehicles.
The only thing I use the local parts store for is oil and parts for the non-audi vehicles.
Thread Starter
|
1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 368
From: SW PA
JB,
You have just been royally screwed by ImTheDevil.
220 bucks to do a flush and refill is outrageous.
Go elsewhere to learn if the stuff IS compliant. Know it alls, here, are simply snobs who will tell you you should drive a Yugo or a Ford. Children, I would imagine. Daddy bought their cars, for the most part.
Working people have worries about the cost of repairs. Thousands for timing belt, water pump, thermostat seems to be the norm for most of the posters, here.
Nother thread where I am looking for one ignition coil has people who MAY have bought one for 36 bucks, but all I can find is 450 bucks.
Some say go for it. Were I still working, that would equate to nearly a week's pay.
IF you young puppies think that AUDI WANTS their autos to bankrupt their clientel. you are sadly mistaken. They don't REALLY want you to spend so much on repairs that you answer the Consumer Reports surveys as to just how good your car is.
They really do like to have satisfied customers. Just as Ford and GM and everybody else does. That they are a bit more electronic, and a bit more complicated, tho a lot more sophisticated and pleasurable to own and drive, makes them, of course, a bit more expensive to own and maintain.
That some of you will pay exorbitant prices to have normal maintenance done is not the fault of the Company, it is the fault of the dealers, and your own, too. Hey, exotic foreign sportscar, jack the price up on them.
To Audi, it is just a machine they sent out into the world. BFD. To your local dealer, it is a path to riches, a gold mine.
Many of you buy into that. 'Specially youngsters who think they are at the forefront. Rich kids. I was driving these things before some of you were born. You are not very impressive. Show us how much gold jewelry you wear. That too will tell just how auto smart you are.
Rich, lily handed pussies.
Cheers,
George
You have just been royally screwed by ImTheDevil.
220 bucks to do a flush and refill is outrageous.
Go elsewhere to learn if the stuff IS compliant. Know it alls, here, are simply snobs who will tell you you should drive a Yugo or a Ford. Children, I would imagine. Daddy bought their cars, for the most part.
Working people have worries about the cost of repairs. Thousands for timing belt, water pump, thermostat seems to be the norm for most of the posters, here.
Nother thread where I am looking for one ignition coil has people who MAY have bought one for 36 bucks, but all I can find is 450 bucks.
Some say go for it. Were I still working, that would equate to nearly a week's pay.
IF you young puppies think that AUDI WANTS their autos to bankrupt their clientel. you are sadly mistaken. They don't REALLY want you to spend so much on repairs that you answer the Consumer Reports surveys as to just how good your car is.
They really do like to have satisfied customers. Just as Ford and GM and everybody else does. That they are a bit more electronic, and a bit more complicated, tho a lot more sophisticated and pleasurable to own and drive, makes them, of course, a bit more expensive to own and maintain.
That some of you will pay exorbitant prices to have normal maintenance done is not the fault of the Company, it is the fault of the dealers, and your own, too. Hey, exotic foreign sportscar, jack the price up on them.
To Audi, it is just a machine they sent out into the world. BFD. To your local dealer, it is a path to riches, a gold mine.
Many of you buy into that. 'Specially youngsters who think they are at the forefront. Rich kids. I was driving these things before some of you were born. You are not very impressive. Show us how much gold jewelry you wear. That too will tell just how auto smart you are.
Rich, lily handed pussies.
Cheers,
George
Administrator
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,670
From: Binghamton, NY
Do you have a bug up your ***? I didn't screw him over on anything. Let's look at it here:
Read the archived posts here - you'll see the advice. Use G12 only. I learned it by reading and talking with Audi people. I came to Audi from Japanese cars, so the German cars were new to me. Hence, I talked with those who have experience with them. They advised to use G12, just as it says in the manuals and on the fill cap. Pretty cut and dried there buddy. If other stuff works too, great. I don't see the cost of G12 as preventatively high, and if other coolants may mix with it, or may not, well I'm not gonna risk my engine on a chance to save $4-5.
$220 for a flush and fill is outrageous, I agree. But is it my fault that he paid that? Point out to me when exactly I told him to TAKE IT BACK IN TO HAVE IT FLUSHED AND FILLED. Or, when did I tell him to GO TO A DEALERSHIP WITHOUT CALLING AROUND TO GET OTHER QUOTES? Never for either statement. I said flush and fill. That means what it says - drain the old coolant, flush the system, and refill it. It's not difficult to do by any means. Spend $30 on new G12 and mix it with water. Done deal, a little time and effort but nowhere near $220. As you said a little later in your post, "That some of you will pay exorbitant prices to have normal maintenance done is not the fault of the Company, it is the fault of the dealers, and your own, too. Hey, exotic foreign sportscar, jack the price up on them." Agreed completely. Do it yourself. Which happens to be why I didn't tell him to go to a dealership or shop and pay to have it done. I told him to flush and fill it.
Care to explain the "rich kid yuppie" comments? Who are you referring to? Me? I'm 34 (not exactly a kid) and work for a living. I wipe my own *** every day, in the house that I bought. I'm sure that on this forum there are a couple of people that meet your description - with 62,000 registered users, there's bound to be a couple. I'm not one of them, and since you addressed your post to me at the outset, I'm assuming you're calling me out on this. Find out more before you do so. Maybe some of us "rich lily handed pussies" aren't as deserving of your accusations as you'd like to believe for whatever reason.
Go extinguish the fuse on your tampon, turn your panty liner sticky side down, and get off your ******* high horse.
Read the archived posts here - you'll see the advice. Use G12 only. I learned it by reading and talking with Audi people. I came to Audi from Japanese cars, so the German cars were new to me. Hence, I talked with those who have experience with them. They advised to use G12, just as it says in the manuals and on the fill cap. Pretty cut and dried there buddy. If other stuff works too, great. I don't see the cost of G12 as preventatively high, and if other coolants may mix with it, or may not, well I'm not gonna risk my engine on a chance to save $4-5.
$220 for a flush and fill is outrageous, I agree. But is it my fault that he paid that? Point out to me when exactly I told him to TAKE IT BACK IN TO HAVE IT FLUSHED AND FILLED. Or, when did I tell him to GO TO A DEALERSHIP WITHOUT CALLING AROUND TO GET OTHER QUOTES? Never for either statement. I said flush and fill. That means what it says - drain the old coolant, flush the system, and refill it. It's not difficult to do by any means. Spend $30 on new G12 and mix it with water. Done deal, a little time and effort but nowhere near $220. As you said a little later in your post, "That some of you will pay exorbitant prices to have normal maintenance done is not the fault of the Company, it is the fault of the dealers, and your own, too. Hey, exotic foreign sportscar, jack the price up on them." Agreed completely. Do it yourself. Which happens to be why I didn't tell him to go to a dealership or shop and pay to have it done. I told him to flush and fill it.
Care to explain the "rich kid yuppie" comments? Who are you referring to? Me? I'm 34 (not exactly a kid) and work for a living. I wipe my own *** every day, in the house that I bought. I'm sure that on this forum there are a couple of people that meet your description - with 62,000 registered users, there's bound to be a couple. I'm not one of them, and since you addressed your post to me at the outset, I'm assuming you're calling me out on this. Find out more before you do so. Maybe some of us "rich lily handed pussies" aren't as deserving of your accusations as you'd like to believe for whatever reason.
Go extinguish the fuse on your tampon, turn your panty liner sticky side down, and get off your ******* high horse.
Thread Starter
|
1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 368
From: SW PA
Im,
You have a point.
This is the part I refer to:
"JBRoberts, yes you did. Drain it and flush it THOROUGHLY, and do so immediately. Do NOT drive the car again until this is done. It may gel just sitting there, without heat in it, so you really need to do this now, before you have a problem. Don't wait and cost yourself dearly."
That IS fearmongering. Regardless your denial that you encourage such.
Too many here are less mechanically minded, and don't KNOW how to do such things, a fault with the American people, anymore, as well as autos are becoming so sophisticated that making your own repairs is getting to be near impossible.
Yes, you are a young puppy. I was twice your age 5 years ago. And you have come to Audi after a bunch of Japanese cars. Whole new ballgame.
"Rich, lily handed pussies"? Of course. Too many here seem to be "Tom Hanks" copies, "Money Pit", and the like. Money is no object!!!
If money was no object, people would not post here with problems that they are looking to have fixed. When they do, they get answers like yours to "immediately get that fluid changed, you will cook your engine even without running it".
THAT is fearmongering!
They are a bit more sophisticated than the typical American car, but they will NOT die if you have to make up some fluid levels on a long trip that you did not pack an emergency kit for.
Transmission, I will not speak for. Stupid method of checking the level. NO dipstick. Get a mech WITH VAGCOM to hot it up to spec, pull a plug and count the drips to see if it is full.
THAT is asinine. Also expensive. Audi techs don't come cheap, at least at dealerships. (Who does, whether Ford, GM or Chrysler or the Japanese and Koreans?)
I stand my ground, here.
Cheers,
George
You have a point.
This is the part I refer to:
"JBRoberts, yes you did. Drain it and flush it THOROUGHLY, and do so immediately. Do NOT drive the car again until this is done. It may gel just sitting there, without heat in it, so you really need to do this now, before you have a problem. Don't wait and cost yourself dearly."
That IS fearmongering. Regardless your denial that you encourage such.
Too many here are less mechanically minded, and don't KNOW how to do such things, a fault with the American people, anymore, as well as autos are becoming so sophisticated that making your own repairs is getting to be near impossible.
Yes, you are a young puppy. I was twice your age 5 years ago. And you have come to Audi after a bunch of Japanese cars. Whole new ballgame.
"Rich, lily handed pussies"? Of course. Too many here seem to be "Tom Hanks" copies, "Money Pit", and the like. Money is no object!!!
If money was no object, people would not post here with problems that they are looking to have fixed. When they do, they get answers like yours to "immediately get that fluid changed, you will cook your engine even without running it".
THAT is fearmongering!
They are a bit more sophisticated than the typical American car, but they will NOT die if you have to make up some fluid levels on a long trip that you did not pack an emergency kit for.
Transmission, I will not speak for. Stupid method of checking the level. NO dipstick. Get a mech WITH VAGCOM to hot it up to spec, pull a plug and count the drips to see if it is full.
THAT is asinine. Also expensive. Audi techs don't come cheap, at least at dealerships. (Who does, whether Ford, GM or Chrysler or the Japanese and Koreans?)
I stand my ground, here.
Cheers,
George