EdT

Do Mitsubishi specify that we must use there own tranny, brake, steering fluids and coolants ?

I know my Civic, the tranny, power steering and coolant is propreitary or the warranty is void.

While on the subject of coolant, does the Lancer use non silcate based coolants ?, Prestone uses silicate and is bad for a majority of asian cars. I have seen on Hondas and Toyotas using the proper coolant their rads and cooling system are clean as a whistle even after 6 six years before changing.

urbanknight

iTrader: (14)

Not sure about voiding the warranty, but you want to use the same DOT rating for brake fluid. Tranny fluid depends. On some cars, tranny fluid and steering fluid are the same thing, on others you can screw ot up bad.

As for Prestone, I would like to know also, since I topped my car off with Prestone coolant and Savon distilled water. No problems with the radiator yet, but that was only about 5,000 miles ago.

EdT

As for Prestone, I would like to know also, since I topped my car off with Prestone coolant and Savon distilled water. No problems with the radiator yet, but that was only about 5,000 miles ago.

Well I emailed the tech support at Prestone and they said their regular Prestone(yellow bottle) contains silicate and phosphates which is a big no no for newer cars with with aluminium rads and water pumps. Silicates will start to cause premature water pump failure as soon as a day of driving and cavitational erosion of the rad and water pump in the long run, they suggest I switch to their Extended Life organic acid technology(OAT) coolant, might as well buy OEM stuff for about the same price. I would think the Lancer would also use a OAT based coolant.

There are currently 4 types of coolant technology on the market today and most mechanics know diddly squat about whats what and pour all the wrong stuff into your car.

1. Traditional silicate EG based: like Prestone yellow bottle which is good for all cars, but will cause premature wear on newer cars with aluminum rads and components.

2. OAT EG based: like most OEM coolant from Toyota and Honda uses and similar to Prestone Extended Life.

3. Dexcool EG based: developed by Texaco and GM and used on all GM cars from 1996 and up, has a history of causing sludge and blockage to the cooling system, especially on older water pump designs, but then again GM have had problems on their new designs(Jimmy, Blazer) also. I would not suggest you use this in your Lancers

4. PG based: less toxic than EG based coolants, but require you to totally empty your cooling sytem before switching over, like Prestone Low Tox. PG based coolant is the way of the future, provided they are not mixed with water and used straight with a non pressurized system such as Evans Cooling.

urbanknight

iTrader: (14)

It would have been nice if they put a disclaimer on their bottles. Of course, I'll have to check to see if they do or not before I make a true gripe but I guess it's time for a radiator flush!