Coolant Question

Posted this down in the CR-V forum, but no replies. Getting ready to flush and fill my 97 CR-V. I was wondering if anyone knows if I can refill with regular ethelyn glycol type antifreeze (Prestone, etc), or is the original Honda antifreeze likely to cause a problem with this? I also own three VWs, with two different types of antifreeze, and regular ethelyn glycol can't be used in any of them. Thanks in advance.

Posted this down in the CR-V forum, but no replies. Getting ready to flush and fill my 97 CR-V. I was wondering if anyone knows if I can refill with regular ethelyn glycol type antifreeze (Prestone, etc), or is the original Honda antifreeze likely to cause a problem with this? I also own three VWs, with two different types of antifreeze, and regular ethelyn glycol can't be used in any of them. Thanks in advance.

Yes you can fill with glycal type antifreeze. There is also a long life antifreeze that can mix with any type of antifreeze. Its made by Peak,Prestone and a few othe brands

Yes your average coolant Prestone etc, etc... Is fine. Its usually the German and swedish cars that are a different with their aintifreeze. But I still know plenty of people who use regular anti-freeze in the VW's with no problem whatsoever.

It's required that OE oils and coolants must be mixable with "off the shelf" products to allow for emergency service. It may not be the best thing for your engine long-term, but you can add plain old 30W oil to $5 a quart synthetics and the same goes for coolants and water.

On the other hand, however, are the hydraulic oils (i.e., power steering, brake fluid, transmission fluid, differential/axle, etc.). These must be at certain specifications for viscosity and liquid type (petroleum vs. mineral vs. synthetic). Hence, it's critical that you know what products to be adding to your Honda according to the specifications given in your owner's manual.

So basically its your hydraulic oils that really need to be specific.

I personally prefer the OE honda coolant. You can buy the 50/50 mix for $5-8 a gallon. Most cars will need less than 2 gallons. Also remember do not let any tap water get into your cooling system, that means don't flush it with tap water. Just drain it like the service manual says to and refill it. You should be able to drain 99.9% of the coolant if you do it right and flushing is not needed. Be sure to drain the block, there is a bolt behind the exhaist manifold on teh B20's that you remove to drain the block, also you will need to replace the washer that is behind that bolt.