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Hi can anyone recommend a long life antifreeze ( preferably 10 year ) the one that is in now is Morris 2 year antifreeze my engine is a barrus shire 45 and would like to change it shortly thanks in advance 

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Its a big and complicated subject, with the long life (OAT) red antifreezes (also purple, yellow and green) having a range of chemistries. Have a look on the www if you are technical and brave.

There are reports of some reds hurting seals, and also reports of red and blue reacting to form a very bad sludge, though this is probably now all history.

I suggest aim for a low silicates version and fully flush out the old blue just to be safe. The John Deere "Coolguard" is probably the best as Deere did a lot of antifreeze research, but its not so easy to get. Does your engine manufacturer recommend an antifreeze?

10 years is probably a bit optimistic.

The Halfords stuff is probably a safe bet though its only a re branded Comma. I would probably not use the Ford or as this might be blended specifically for Ford and Ford do some unusual things sometimes.

............Dave

Edited by dmr
spellin/gramma corekton
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I had two Ford cars that had no issues over 10 years each on their red antifreeze. 

What strange things do Ford do, other than for Citroen/Peugeot engines to some of their cars? 

Most modern engines are cast aluminium blocks and heads, so there should be little difference between makes.  Seals are proprietary items purchase from suppliers, not usually made by the engine manufacturer (as are many othereasons parts).

No issues with my Beta 43 since putting red antifreeze in three years ago.

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I sometimes dream of having an engine watertight enough for me to need to worry about how frequently the antifreeze needs changing...

:)

The Skandia for example, was capable of leaking all the coolant out in about a day due to various cracked castings and the water jacket on the cylinder rusting through from the inside. 

  • Greenie 1
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Whilst the corrosion protection in antifreeze will degrade, its antifreezing properties won't change unless it gets diluted.  So top up with a ready-mixed coolant to maintain its strength.

As for its corrosion protection,  much of this comes down to how often you need to top up your coolant.  If you want to, you can add half a litre or so of central heating corrosion inhibitor, e.g. fernox, which will prolong the life.  The same of course applies to your heating system if you have a wet radiator system.

I've seen boats that have had little more than water in their engines for the best part of twenty years with no corrosion problems; I do wonder if the problems are rather over-egged by the antifreeze manufacturers... .

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1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I sometimes dream of having an engine watertight enough for me to need to worry about how frequently the antifreeze needs changing...

:)

Fully agree - be that car or boat!

Also ditto central heating!

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11 hours ago, cuthound said:

I used Ford Super Plus Premium Long Life antifreeze.

It is available neat,  for dilution to 50% strength by the user, or premixed with deionised water at a slightly higher price.

Another vote for Ford.

I'm not sure what unusual things Ford did but certainly not when I worked for them. Mind you, that was in the late 60s so you might say the Mk IV Zodiac was a bit unusual! 

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