OK, want to do a drain and refill with 50/50 distilled water and correct coolant.  Should I use good old green stuff low silicate, organic non-silicate coolant, or the exspensive Subaru Long life in my '03 GT with EJ253?  Looks like the new Blue stuff was in 2009 + Roos only?

Edited December 29, 201312 yr by shortlid

Subaru long life coolant is the normal green stuff, but it supposedly has a different formulation.

 

The "super coolant" is the blue stuff and it's not spec'd for use in your car.

 

Just use the normal green stuff from any auto supply store and save yourself the money. Working on Subarus most days at work, I've never seen the supposed gelling that the long life claims to protect against, even on the most neglected of cars.

 

I bought my wife an 03 Legacy, which was always dealer serviced and had the long life in it. When I did the t-belt job on it, I just used a 50/50 mix of the normal stuff.

The Subaru long life stuff I've been buying for the past couple years is blue-green color.

I've used both Subaru stuff and plain old green. Haven't noticed any ill effects from the plain green, but you HAVE to remember to change it every 2 years.

I believe there is a problem with the "any green" is OK.  The Subaru Long Life, which is green, is advertised as silicone and phosporus free.  However if you look at Peak Conventional Green, it specifically includes silicone and phosporus.   Some posters have said that the Peak Long Life in the blue bottle is the proper match for the Subaru Long Life [white bottle].

 

For the record, the following antifreezes are sold by Peak

 

Global Lifetime [OAT, P & S free, Gold bottle];

Long Life [P & S free, Blue bottle, no mention of OAT];

Conventional Green ["patented Aluminium Protection" containing S and P, Blue bottle];
Cool [Dex-Cool equivilent, Gray bottle].

 

By the way, I'm using the Peak Conventional Green in my two 90's subarus and the Subaru Long Life in my 02 subaru.  I have no idea if this is the proper thing to do.

The Subaru long life stuff I've been buying for the past couple years is blue-green color.

I've used both Subaru stuff and plain old green. Haven't noticed any ill effects from the plain green, but you HAVE to remember to change it every 2 years.

An easy way to stretch the plain old green antifreeze another 2 years is to add a container of water pump lubricant additive each Fall to the cooling system, after the first two years. The additive replaces the anti-rust property of the plain old green antifreeze, which wears out over time.  My dad, who owned a gas station, taught me this trick some 40+ years ago. Sure saves time, and beats the mess of changing antifreeze every 2 years.

Edited December 30, 201312 yr by Rooster2

The concern with the plain greem stuff is not so much with the anti-corrosive properties. It's that over time the additives that prevent corrosion and rust, and maintain freeze protection, will settle out of the coolant.

They drop to the bottom of the system and collect and solidify into hard chunky stuff that can then float around and clog the heater core and radiator. It can also wear the impeller of the water pump, kinda like sand blasting.

Ok so Peak Long life is the stuff to get.  Thanks