NO , from what I have heard when I asked that question I would not substitute another liquid.... If you were going to seek one I would look and see if the original has a military spec number... and look for something else which had a matching number...but I have been warned that all sorts of bad things will happen if you don't use the exact proper liquid.... but I hope someone ( like one of the people with Chemical backgrounds ) does have a substitute ...... I am just saying I don't think you can use anything available on a saturday night to fix your hypothetical problem.... sorry...but better to be safe than sorry on this one.... I have a 1981 td... so I have asked this same question every time I had to cough up $9 a liter ( the dealer wanted $16 a liter )... Greg