Deere Cool-Gard II equivalent

[bmaverick]

I finally got around to draining what was in there and it sure looks to me like the old-school IAT inorganic ethylene glycol coolant. It's that classic radioactive green color. I need to pick up some filters at the dealer anyway so I'll ask what they show in the computer as the appropriate fill for it.

Do not use and long-life nor extended life coolant with that Yanmar engine.

You can use the Prestone for ALL VEHICLES and MAKES and MODELS. It is the closest thing you can find to the old school green for corrosion protection. The newer coolants have only 1/3 of the corrosion protection now. Prestone made their formula to span all the vintage, older and modern vehicles in one coolant with the old amount of corrosion protection. This should meet the Deere/Yanmar and other vintage imported Japan made tractors.

 

[beenthere]

Red RV antifreeze, as I understand, is just for the RV plumbing system and not recommended for coolant in internal combustion engines as it does not contain the protective additives.

 

[jyoutz]

Red RV antifreeze, as I understand, is just for the RV plumbing system and not recommended for coolant in internal combustion engines as it does not contain the protective additives.

It’s designed to winterize RV drains to keep them from freezing. I also use it to winterize my garden sprayers.

 

[ruffdog]

Red RV antifreeze, as I understand, is just for the RV plumbing system and not recommended for coolant in internal combustion engines as it does not contain the protective additives.

It’s designed to winterize RV drains to keep them from freezing. I also use it to winterize my garden sprayers.

Correct. If a person wants a propylene glycol coolant in a engine, they should use something like the purple Bobcat coolant.

 

[sixdogs]

It’s designed to winterize RV drains to keep them from freezing. I also use it to winterize my garden sprayers.

RV anti-freeze is the anti-freeze of choice around here for sprayer pumps.

 

[zuiko]

I ended up using the pink heavy duty universal coolant with the additive package specifically for diesels. It's sold under a bunch of brands (Fleet Charge, Durex, etc) and they all seem to be the same product. It claims that it is OK for all diesel engines. The CoolGuard II stuff was unbelievably expensive (6x the price of HD diesel engine stuff and almost 10x the price of the cheapest stuff) and they only had one bottle of premix left in stock anyway.

Out of curiosity I asked how much the 0W40 deere oil was and it was something like $18 for a single quart - yea I'll stick with the Rotella T6 5W40 I've been using since way before it was called T6. That stuff isn't all that cheap either - but it looks like a bargain next to the deere fluids.

 

[WinterDeere]

The CoolGuard II stuff was unbelievably expensive (6x the price of HD diesel engine stuff and almost 10x the price of the cheapest stuff) and they only had one bottle of premix left in stock anyway.

Most modern Deere service and owner’s manuals now list the flush/replace interval at 6 years when using Deere Coolgard II, but 2 years for all other coolant types. So, cost is higher, but usage is 3x less and convenience of not doing a drain/flush/refill every 2nd year is a huge bonus.

Out of curiosity I asked how much the 0W40 deere oil was and it was something like $18 for a single quart - yea I'll stick with the Rotella T6 5W40 I've been using since way before it was called T6. That stuff isn't all that cheap either - but it looks like a bargain next to the deere fluids.

Wow. You need to find a new dealer. Deere Plus-50 II in any weight runs around $7/quart, at our local Deere dealer, varying only a few pennies depending on jug size and weight.

I'm no oil expert, but I used to know a guy who was an engineer for an oil and lubricants company, actually I think it was Rotella. He said Deere ran very tight spec's on their oils, it was actually a problem for many of their suppliers, as it was difficult to guarantee they were always meeting all of the Deere spec's. This actually came up in a discussion regarding cars, not tractors, when another guy claimed he was running all Deere oils in his rally racing cars.

Deere doesn't make their fluids, but instead specifies their requirements, and many different manufacturers supply the products meeting those requirements. Just turned this up on Google: Who really makes John Deere and Case tractor oil? - FiltersforTractors.com

 

[zuiko]

The 0W40 is their synthetic (blend?) so it didn't really surprise me how much they wanted for it. It's about twice the cost of the (conventional?) other weights. I took a look at their info sheet on their oil and they don't even mention the word synthetic anywhere in the document so I guess they'd rather keep that a mystery. Maybe it was $16 a quart they wanted. Either way - still way too much and I'd much rather run a full synthetic than a conventional or blend. It's crazy how much they are making on their fluids. Makes the car dealer seem like a great value.

 

[WinterDeere]

The 0W40 is their synthetic (blend?) so it didn't really surprise me how much they wanted for it. It's about twice the cost of the (conventional?) other weights.

They have 0W-40 weight in both dino and synthetic. The dino juice runs about $7/quart, and the synthetic runs $10-$14/quart, depending on weight and whether you're buying in quart bottles or gallon bottles.

I have noticed their 0W-40 ($14) is more expensive than 15W-40 ($10), probably just because they process and handle it in much lower quantities.

I took a look at their info sheet on their oil and they don't even mention the word synthetic anywhere in the document so I guess they'd rather keep that a mystery.

Their synthetics are all clearly labeled as "Premium Synthetic", so there's no way you could be confused by that. If it doesn't say that on the bottle, then you're looking at dino oil. If your dealer is selling that for any more than $7/quart, you have a dealer problem, not a manufacturer problem.



Do note that the Plus-50 II is specially formulated for their diesel engines, different than the Turf-Gard formulated for gasoline engines. I can't imagine what they change in the formulation, but I'm not a petroleum engineer, and there must be some reason they go to all the trouble to make, stock, and track two different products at each weight. Point being, I know I can get Mobil 1 for $9 at WalMart, but I don't care so much about saving $2 - $5 (dep. on weight) per quart, that I'm inclined to deviate from manufacturer's recommended product without a more informed opinion on the consequences.

 

[bmaverick]

I ended up using the pink heavy duty universal coolant with the additive package specifically for diesels. It's sold under a bunch of brands (Fleet Charge, Durex, etc) and they all seem to be the same product. It claims that it is OK for all diesel engines. The CoolGuard II stuff was unbelievably expensive (6x the price of HD diesel engine stuff and almost 10x the price of the cheapest stuff) and they only had one bottle of premix left in stock anyway.

Out of curiosity I asked how much the 0W40 deere oil was and it was something like $18 for a single quart - yea I'll stick with the Rotella T6 5W40 I've been using since way before it was called T6. That stuff isn't all that cheap either - but it looks like a bargain next to the deere fluids.

Depending on the Deere/Yanmar machine series, the 50,55,56 Series and the 70 Series use 10W30 diesel for summer and 5W30 for winter. I've not looked into the 90 Series.

I too use the Rotella, but in the T4 diesel formulation.