I went to Dealership & bought some coolant....>>

for my car. Later that night I went to add it & when I oppened it up discovered that it was purple. Of course you say.......but the freakin coolant in my 1999 I purchased recently is green . I did not add any of the $44/gal. coolant to my car as I read somewhere that mixing the Porsche & "off the shelf" coolant causes them to congeal (or something like that). What should I do......is the "off the shelf" coolant safe, harmful only if mixed, or is it actually going to cause damage even if is the only type in my system??? TIA - Cam

If it is in the black Porsche container then it is ok. Porsche has gone pink and pink is compatible with green.

Any brand name coolant is fine in your car if you are not mixing the different types. Your coolant should be changed every 3 years. I use Peak.

Yep, it is the black container.......maybe it was pink, not purple. Excellent news guys......Thank You very much! - Cam

MB is orange

they should all be green, for the ridiculous amount they charge for it.. even the dealers of high end cars talk about how all these $50 coolant bottles are just the same as the ones you buy in stores for $2.. just dyed a different color.. just another way for the dealers to make a buck off ya..

If you are worried do a flush of your coolant anyway.

Always good advice......

Pardon the N00b question but; Is that easy to do?

We have seen the coolant from our local dealer change from pink to green within the last 6 months. Same bottle. Their supplier for coolant must have changed, the formula i am positive is the same as the old pink stuff.

You could drain a quarter cup out into a pyrex measuring cup. Add a smaller amount of the new coolant to the measuring cup and heat to 180 degrees on your stove. If it gels, you'll know it isn't compatible. I just did this experiment with both Prestone Extended Life (added to the green coolant from my 996) and it did not gel. I also mixed VW/Audi pink coolant (again, added to the green coolant from the 996) with no gelling, but did not heat it up yet. This leads me to believe that either the coolant from my 996 is not the Porsche coolant or that the gelling process takes a long period of time. Obviously, not too reassuring if it is the latter. I still haven't added either to the car, since either the new coolant expansion tank I put in either is smaller than the one I took out, or I've got some air in the system still to bleed off. Still, a full flush would be safest (or just top up with a little deionized water).

I simply drain 2 gallons (1/3 of the total mxcture) of coolant out of the engine when I change the oil and then add a 50/50 mixture. Remove one screw on the back of the engine and 2 gallons will come out, nice and easy and neatly. This maintains my coolant in top shape and never requires flushing which is a pain in the *** on these cars.

So ture. I probably should have clarified that the coolant flush is a PITA and should be done by an indy or the dealer. Expect to pay for an hour or two of labor.

The answer to your question is that it's not clear, largely because I don't what secret mix of chemicals Porsche uses in their coolant product. I wouldn't be surprised if it's similar to the coolant in some of the other European makes. The issue is not so much the ethylene and/or propylene glycol but the additives to counteract corrosion. IIRC the US based coolants tend to use silicates for this while the EU based ones seem to favor silicate and phosphate free corrosion inhibitors. The problem with silicates is that they eventually wear out and stop being effective. The inhibitors are choosen on the type of metals used to counter act Galvanic action. Different metals form a battery, corroding one metal and building the other up. There are also other chemicals in there to lubricate the water pump, to reduce foaming and who knows what else. The different corrosion inhibitors may not be compatible and therefore mixing different style of anti-freeze may not be ok. You are unlikely to get jelling but the chemicals may react and create clumps that may clog small passages. For example you don't want to mix VWs blue G11 with red G12 coolant (eventhough they are both silicate and phosphate free). How the other chemicals such as the water pump lubricant reacts with seals and hoses is another mistery. I am unlikely to experiment different coolant types with my expensive 996 engine. Supposedly this site sells the OEM stuff for a lot less: http://www.alloemautoparts.com/ as discussed elsewhere. Whatever you do, use distilled water for mixing antifreese. Hardwater can clog your cooling system with Calcium deposits.

Yes, that's exactly what happend to me a few weeks ago!

I posted some info here. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7640

Isn't the coolant recommended for the life of the car?

Some companies try to market this stuff as a lifetime coolant, but is is only an extended life. Like oil, it has to be changed periodically due to contaminants. The is absolutely no benefit from using the more expensoive extended life coolants if you change your coolant every 3 - 4 years which is a good practice regardless of how long the protective properties of the coolant lasts. I use Peak that I pick up from Menards. Porsche just likes to keep people guessing so they have no alternative than to buy from them. Don't be a sucker. Changin your coolant will cost you about $30 plus your time.

During engine removal process, does the coolant get drained completely?

It is extended life. Why Porsche says lifetime is a mystery since no coolant company says lifetime. Marketing 101. Maybe because the lifetime of a 996/986 engine is not that great.....

Here is a great method I learned back in the Frat house...I always find it best to take about 1/2 cup of each of the antifreezes in question. Poor them into a brandy snifter...Then shoot them with a beer chaser. Now the tricky part is to make sure you belch with some force after each shot. If the burps taste the same, your ok to mix. If they taste vastly different, Don't do it!!! Thats just my method...

Let me know how that works out for you.