TR4/4A Latest , best coolant to use for TR4

[jimitro]

Just finished restoring my TR4, and getting ready for the road.
What is the coolant mix everyone is now recommending?
I live outside of Syracuse, NY, so you know the weather is never really hot too long!
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Spring is coming sooner this year in Upstate.
Cheers

 

[TR3driver]

I don't know that it's best or latest, but I use Prestone "any color" antifreeze. I've read stories that Dexcool doesn't agree with engines that have previously been run on conventional antifreeze (but possibly that doesn't apply if your engine was freshly rebuilt).

I regard 30% as about the minimum concentration for full corrosion protection; you may need to run more to get through the winter. Prestone recommends 50% minimum. Either way, remember it needs to be changed every few years even if the car is never driven.

Watch out for the "pre-mixed" stuff, unless you really want to pay $10/gallon for water. It's usually a lot cheaper to buy pure antifreeze plus purified/distilled water and mix it yourself.

 

[jimitro]

Thanks for your input. I didn't really know if the "yellow" or "green" coolant is better for the TR engines. Thought also about adding "Water Wetter" to it.

 

[TR3driver]

Water wetter is a waste of money IMO, if you are going to use antifreeze. The main advantage of WW is that it contains corrosion inhibitors so you can run more nearly straight water (which is a better coolant than a water/glycol mixture). But of course WW doesn't provide freeze protection, so you need antifreeze (unless you are going to drain it at the first frost or live where it never freezes).

I've experimented with WW several times in my TR3/A, when I was having cooling problems, and I could never tell that it made any difference at all in cooling performance. And once I solved the real problem (which twice now has turned out to be a radiator that flowed fine but didn't transfer heat worth a darn), there was no need for WW.

 

[Geo Hahn]

I agree with the above. I think it helps to stay with one color/brand of coolant (the FLAPS guys often claim all colors are compatible) as I like to be able to see that there is no contamination (e.g. oil & rust) and having some distinctive color makes that easy.

There are lots of ideas on how to improve cooling in these engines -- one thing I use is an overflow bottle (from later TRs). Very easy to add to the TR4 and (if it is the later 'no-neck' radiator) it makes up for the loss of that expansion area that was a hold-over from the TR3 radiator design.

 

[wingsandwheels]

I would stay with the typical 'green' old school coolant and a conservative change/flush interval. There are too many questions regarding newer generation coolants and cars: compatibility between coolants, the ability of newer coolants to protect the lead, copper and brass that is not typically found in new cars, dealing w/ air pockets found in less than perfectly sealed systems (Dexcool may not be great in this case), etc.

I'm going on 20+ years of NAPA conventional and one pellet of GM (the stuff you get from the dealer) stop leak changed every 3 years.

good luck, w