Are you wondering whether you should mix the remaining red and green antifreeze to save up a couple of bucks or to finish up the previous ones to restock again?
Whatever the reason might be there are some significant consequences of mixing different colored antifreeze which can defeat the very purpose of antifreeze.
Can You Mix Red and Green Antifreeze?
You should never mix red and green antifreeze. Red antifreeze and green antifreeze are very different and upon mixing can cause damaged engines, clogged water jackets, coagulated liquids in the cooling system, corrosion, rusting of metals, damaged radiator, and so on.
Table of Contents
Is it safe to mix red and green antifreeze?
It is not safe to mix red and green antifreeze as they are like night and day when it comes to their chemical components.
In addition, by mixing red and green antifreeze, you will end up making your car either slow. You will also be harming your car’s engine, water pump, radiator, hoses, and so on.
What happens if I mix red and green antifreeze?
First and foremost, red and green antifreeze should never be mixed. There will be some serious consequences of such mixing of red and green antifreeze.
Incompatible:
Red antifreeze is made with Organic Acid Technology which is compatible with new cars and has a longer life span. Green antifreeze is made with Inorganic Additive Technology which works best with old cars but has a shorter life span.
Consequently, due to distinctive characteristics, these two should not be mixed. Additionally, mixing red and green together will shorten the overall lifespan.
Overheating and Disruption in the Cooling System:
Due to the different chemical makeup of the two types of antifreeze, there will be significant disruption in the cooling system due to bad chemical reactions.
In addition, antifreeze prevents your car from cooling and overheating, however, mixing these two types of antifreeze can crack the engine in cold weather. It will also cause corrosion and rust in the radiator.
Damage to Car:
Mixing red and green antifreeze will cause damage to the different elements of the engine. This will cause problems to vehicles’ water hose, radiator, cooling system, head gasket, water jackets, and finally to radiator hoses.
Is it OK to mix different colors of antifreeze?
It is never ok to mix different colors of antifreeze as they are neither compatible nor meant to be mingled.
Moreover, if you mix different colors of antifreeze such as red, blue, green, pink, orange, and golden, this will thicken up the antifreeze.
Therefore, this will shorten the lifespan of the antifreeze and will cause overheating and damage to the system.
What colors does coolant come in? What do the different colors of antifreeze mean?
Antifreeze can come in so many colors which people may be unaware of nevertheless, there are varieties of antifreeze that have different significance from each other, however, all of the verities have one end which keeps your vehicles up and running.
Green Antifreeze:
Green color antifreeze has been in use for the longest time and it is perhaps the oldest one. Additionally, it is better to use it in an old-style car.
In addition, the technology it uses is Inorganic Additive Technology. One of the most important significances of this type of antifreeze is that it works very well against corrosion. Moreover, green antifreeze can last up to three years.
Yellow Antifreeze:
Yellow antifreeze is very well known and made specifically for certain types of vehicles. They use one kind of technology which is called Hybrid Organic Acid Technology.
It is highly useful to make your vehicles’ engine run smoothly and yellow antifreeze can last up to five years.
Orange Antifreeze:
This relatively new antifreeze is made out of Organic Acid Technology. Additionally, orange antifreeze has anti-corrosion additives.
In addition, orange antifreeze can work very well in modern cars, and this antifreeze helps to keep the engine rust-free.
Red Antifreeze:
Red antifreeze is made with Hybrid Organic Acid Technology and it is an advanced kind of antifreeze. Red antifreeze has more lifespan as it lasts longer than other types of antifreeze.
In addition, it is also sometimes called Dexcool. They work well with a variety of vehicles such as Asian and European vehicles.
Gold Antifreeze:
Gold antifreeze looks like oil’s. BMW, Mercedes, and Ford vehicles add gold antifreeze in their vehicles. However, it is mainly used for Ford cars.
5 reasons why you can/cannot mix different colors of antifreeze:
There are so many speculations regarding whether it is ideal to mix different colors of antifreeze. However, it should be noted that it is not ideal to mix different kinds of antifreeze as it can cause serious damage to your car and the reasons are as follows.
Reduction of Corrosion and Rust Protection:
Antifreeze reduces the corrosion and rust problem due to its anti-corrosion additive elements but mixing different colored antifreeze can leave you with an engine rusting problem.
Additionally, if you mix organic and traditional antifreeze, the rust inhibitors will not be compatible to mix and will lessen the effect.
Coagulated Antifreeze:
Antifreeze is there for curing your vehicles but if you mix any two colors of the antifreeze, it will thicken up the solution and will coagulate. Consequently, it will create a jelly-like texture which is not the ideal consistency of antifreeze for any car.
Damaged Engine:
Antifreeze is a chemical formula that is manufactured by the manufacturer with the right amount of chemicals.
On the other hand, if you mix different colored antifreeze, there can be a bad chemical reaction that can cause your car’s engine to be disrupted and destroyed in the long run.
In addition, it will also cause your engine to overheat which beats the purpose of any antifreeze.
Shorten the Lifespan:
Mixing two different types of antifreeze can disrupt your car’s cooling and heating system.
It will also cause broken hoses, disfigured water pumps, and clogged jackets, and all of these will shorten the lifespan of your antifreeze and engine.
Wastage of Money:
You may want to save some money by mixing different antifreeze however, it is doing worse than any good. It will cost more to do all the repairing and replacing of different parts.
In addition, in times of need, it is rather better to mix some amount of water rather than different colored antifreeze.
Are all antifreeze compatible? Does the color of the coolant matter?
All antifreeze is made up of different chemical makeup therefore, they are not in any way compatible rather their mixing will result in harm.
Additionally, different colors mark the difference between chemicals which also indicates the fact that different types of colored antifreeze are for different types of vehicles.
Can I mix pink and blue coolant?
It is not safe to mix pink and blue-colored coolants. In addition, it will cause your engine to overheat or freeze and will cause serious problems in the engine which can cause you to change different parts of the engine of your car.
Can you mix pink and green coolant?
Although you can mix some percentage of the pink and green coolant, it is advised not to as this will reduce the effectiveness of the different coolants used.
In addition, this is also because pink and green are not that compatible and can cause a chemical reaction and overheating of water pumps.
Can you mix yellow and green antifreeze?
You can not mix green and yellow antifreeze. By mixing green and yellow antifreeze together, it will make the concoction have a chemical reaction. Additionally, this can also cause overheating and will lead to engine damage.
Can you mix red and orange antifreeze?
You can not mix red and orange antifreeze as they will not react well. It will cause the chemical to thicken up and coagulate.
Consequently, this can stop the coolant flow of your car and will also clog the water jackets, heater passageways, and radiators.
What color is universal antifreeze?
The green color is the universal antifreeze. Green antifreeze is the oldest out of all antifreeze and also has different chemical makeup from others.
Green is the universal one because it was used in automobiles before and still is being used in old manufactured cars. It is made with inorganic technology which is an older one.
What is the difference between green and orange antifreeze?
Both green and orange antifreeze are for engine coolant. However, there is a difference between them.
Green antifreeze is made with Inorganic Additive Technology which is suitable for old manufactured cars because old cars have many metal and copper components in their cooling system which are prone to rust and corrosion.
On the other hand, orange antifreeze is made with Organic Acid Technologies. It is relatively new and is for newer cars because new cars have nylon and aluminum in the cooling system.
What is the difference between red and blue antifreeze?
Red and blue antifreeze are significantly different. Red antifreeze uses Organic Acid Technology whereas blue antifreeze uses phosphated HOAT.
In addition, another difference between red and blue antifreeze is that red antifreeze has more longevity than blue antifreeze. Blue antifreeze is made with inorganic technology which indicates that it is much older than red antifreeze.
Final Thoughts:
Mingling red and green antifreeze will cause the vehicles’ cooling system to be thinner and to decrease earlier and will cause coagulating of the antifreeze which can gum up the engine. If you do not want permanent or internal damage to your vehicles, you should never mix any kind of antifreeze.