A six jug carton of Zerex G-05 coolant can be had for $86.95 at A**zon. That's a good deal, especially with no tax and free shipping. But since it would take me quite a while to go through 48 quarts (when mixed with water) of coolant, it made me wonder if the stuff has a shelf life. According to Valvoline tech support: five years.

Can anyone tell me why this would be....especially since, after installing it in the car, it's good for five years? What exactly happens to coolant sitting in my garage in an unopened jug?

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

CYA on the part of Valvoline?

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Perhaps. But let's assume that there's a scientific basis for the claim (i.e. that's it's neither legally nor financially motivated). What would it be?

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

I don't see why it would have a shelf life....you can run it in IN the car for 5 years without any real issues....

Also that amazon price is only about $1.50 cheaper than it is at Napa....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

$16.99 at Napa around here, plus tax....vs. 14.49 and no tax. Probably best, though, just to spend a few bucks more and buy as needed.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

I thought Amazon had started to charge tax based on your state rates?

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

why do you want to stock up so much coolant, best would be NAPA, orielly also carries it now.

You can also call Ford or Chrysler for it.

I buy it at 14 plus tax from NAPA, and a bottle of distilled from mallwart.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

I've never seen any tax....we order from them all the time.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

That was a special agreement between Amazon and the CA government. So we are the "lucky" ones to get special treatment.

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

Side reactions occur, air diffuses in through the plastic, additives fall out of solubility, etc. The chemistry is only so stable, and its ability to passivate metals degrades over time.

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

Frequently Asked Questions | Learn More | Prestone®

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

Prestone says their antifreeze in "undiluted" condition will last "many years." Overlooking the (no doubt deliberate) vagueness of "many years," it would also imply the diluted version, whether store-bought (the "50/50 ready to go" version) or homemade, will NOT last "many years."

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

That is your interpretation. You can read it anyway you like. I am only the messenger.

__________________
Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

Bring on the flame throwers. 2 coolant properties can be evaluated by a hydrometer and a multimeter. The hydometer can reveal freezing point from specific gravity .
The multimeter can be used with black to ground and red in the coolant.
If it pulls <0.5 volts it is unlikely to cause ionizing corrosion. before my last coolant change after 6 yrs/30,000 miles. SpGr reflected 10 below. and pulled 0.1 volts.

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1990 350 SDL
Currently: 180,000 miles
Factory rebuilt bottom end rods, bearings and head gasket @ 75,000 in 1997

I'm a chemist and I don't believe it would have any particular shelf life issues.

An open bottle _might_ have some biology issues.

Any biologists out there?

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1991 350SD (updated rods)
Biodiesel B100 when I can find it.
Dino when really cold outside