Zerex G48 coolant - where to buy?

[repenttokyo]

I can't seem to find this coolant anywhere? Does anyone know of a website or a store that sells it?

Thanks!

[bfd]

I can't seem to find this coolant anywhere? Does anyone know of a website or a store that sells it?

Thanks!

Good Luck, its my understanding that Valvoline only makes Zerex G48 available to mfrs. However, there is one retail alternative to BMW/Mini coolant.

Check out SAAB "blue" coolant. Besides being blue, it comes in a similar white container and according to Vavoline Zerex G48 tech sheet is made up of the same stuff as BMW/Mini. At a cost of $12 or retail, its substantially cheaper than BMW too!

[Alexlind123]

I use phosphate free Pentosin coolant. Its is blue. A local Euro imports shop recommended it. From googling i found something that said pentosin is the maker of bmw coolant? Dont know if its true or not but it might be worth further investigation.

[repenttokyo]

Good Luck, its my understanding that Valvoline only makes Zerex G48 available to mfrs. However, there is one retail alternative to BMW/Mini coolant.

Check out SAAB "blue" coolant. Besides being blue, it comes in a similar white container and according to Vavoline Zerex G48 tech sheet is made up of the same stuff as BMW/Mini. At a cost of $12 or retail, its substantially cheaper than BMW too!


would I only be able to get this at a SAAB dealership? Or would it be available at say, Advance Auto or Napa? Thanks for the tip!

[John B.]

Or you could just buy the Zerex G-05 which is readily available at most auto parts stores. The search engine will give you LOTS of info on this subject.

[repenttokyo]

I searched this board and there is a lot of info about the coolant itself, but they didn't provide any information on where to buy G-05. I called or visited 6 major parts stores / chains in Montreal, and they don't stock Zerex. I called Napa and Advance Auto in Platsburgh, NY, which is the closest US city to me, and they don't stock G-05 either. I couldn't even find anyone selling it online. I am about to call Saab here in Montreal about the blue coolant - otherwise I am looking at 40 dollars a gallon for BMW coolant.

[632 Regal]

call a different bmw dealer, here in the US each dealer sets it's own prices which at times is a bit extreme. here it goes for 18-20 bux. you can also get it from BMAparts.com

[John B.]

I searched this board and there is a lot of info about the coolant itself, but they didn't provide any information on where to buy G-05. I called or visited 6 major parts stores / chains in Montreal, and they don't stock Zerex. I called Napa and Advance Auto in Platsburgh, NY, which is the closest US city to me, and they don't stock G-05 either. I couldn't even find anyone selling it online. I am about to call Saab here in Montreal about the blue coolant - otherwise I am looking at 40 dollars a gallon for BMW coolant.

I buy it at Autozone around here but if you have a local Saab dealer nearby go for it. If they charge $40 gallon for the BMW stuff up there expect to pay $24 for the Saab stuff as that's twice as much as in the states. It's an hours drive for me to any Euro dealer & the G-05 does the same damn thing without the blue dye.

[ryan roopnarine]

autozone stocks g-05, which IS NOT the same thing, but it's about 10-12$ per gallon. no one other than bmw or saab can provide you with g48. i strongly suspect that pentosin blue in the litre bottle is g48, but its pricing usually makes it more expensive than buying a whole gallon of bmw blue.

[repenttokyo]

i just called saab and they have no g05 or g48, they have "pink and green" ****ing useless waste of time talking to these people!

I guess I will have to pony up for the BMW coolant and then just order some from bma or bavauto for future use, and have it delivered to my US address. Thanks for all the help guys, it's really frustrating getting car parts in Canada sometimes.

Any chance I can mix g-05 with g48? autozone in plattsburgh has 1 gallon of it - 1.5 hour trip for me, but better than paying those bastards at the stealership.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

regularly...

So I just buy the BMW stuff

[bfd]

i just called saab and they have no g05 or g48, they have "pink and green" ****ing useless waste of time talking to these people!

I guess I will have to pony up for the BMW coolant and then just order some from bma or bavauto for future use, and have it delivered to my US address. Thanks for all the help guys, it's really frustrating getting car parts in Canada sometimes.

Any chance I can mix g-05 with g48? autozone in plattsburgh has 1 gallon of it - 1.5 hour trip for me, but better than paying those bastards at the stealership.

Interesting. The SAAB dealer in San Francisco had an orange and the blue. I wonder if SAAB Canada sources its coolant from Valvoline (makers of Zerex G48).

Its my understanding that in Europe, BMW gets its coolant from BASF who developed Gylsantin (G) 48.

Where in Canada are you located? If you're near the eastern part, you may want to contact the E34 website master, Bruno at www.racingking.net to see what kind of deal he can get. Good Luck!

[repenttokyo]

I am in Montreal, which is not too far from the racingking guys - I will contact them and see what they say. Thanks for all the help guys.

[Alexlind123]

I searched this board and there is a lot of info about the coolant itself, but they didn't provide any information on where to buy G-05. I called or visited 6 major parts stores / chains in Montreal, and they don't stock Zerex. I called Napa and Advance Auto in Platsburgh, NY, which is the closest US city to me, and they don't stock G-05 either. I couldn't even find anyone selling it online. I am about to call Saab here in Montreal about the blue coolant - otherwise I am looking at 40 dollars a gallon for BMW coolant.

Its $18 and something cents on bavauto.com

[BillionPa]

i got it for $12.00 a jug at the SAAB dealership here.

[BillionPa]

by the way, G48 is an upgraded version of G05

[Ross]

Ha! I thought I had sourced this a few months back.
Valvoline,the maker of Zerex, told me it's not available except under private label. We all know who that is.
Supposedly the G-05, which is also low silicate, is to be used, they claim to stand behind it's interchangeability although I never saw it in writing.
The stories of Saab blue being cheaper are false in my town.

[markus]

plus its already mixed too

[BillionPa]

lookie what i found!

http://www.performancechemicals.basf.com/ev-wcms-in/internet/en_GB/portal/show-content_ao/content/EV/EV3/products_markets/automotive_fluids/engine_coolants/approvals

[BillionPa]

and...

Glysantin G 05 Hybrid coolant, nitrite-containing
Glysantin G 30 OAT coolant
Glysantin G 33 OAT coolant with high reserve alkalinity
Glysantin G 34 OAT coolant
Glysantin G 48 Hybrid coolant, nitrite-free
Glysantin G 70 OAT coolant, phosphate-containing

so basically, G48 is nitrate free G05, and both are hybrid organic acid coolants that dont contain 2-ethylhexanoic acid

but wait, theres more!

G05 has a PH of about 6.5
G05 has reserve alkalinity of 17 ml
G05 has a boiling point of about 160C

G48 has a PH of about 7.2
G48 has reserve alkalinity of 14ml
G48 has a boiling point of about 165C

they both spec out temp wise as follows:
Antifreze/Water Frost protection temp
12% / 88% -5C
25% / 75% -12C
66% / 67% -18C
50% / 50% -38C
60% / 40% -62C

G05 is slightly acidic, while G48 is very slightly basic.

both provide 3 years protection, and meet ASTM D3306 and BS 6580:1992 standards.

both are free of amines and phosphates.

both contain silicates.

nitrate containing G05 is NOT BMW approved.

[John B.]

nitrate containing G05 is NOT BMW approved.


Do you think that might have something to do with the fact that it's readily available on the open market for half of what they charge for the G48? Do you really believe that little bit of nitrate is going to kill your engine. Did these cars come with G-48 from new? Did it even exist back then? I know my 535i has never used it & it's still running great with no cooling system problems.

[ryan roopnarine]

aha!

there's the rub!
somebody pinpointed the difference. if they made it nitrate free, that's as big a difference to me as the g05 having phosphates as pH controls (which it doesn't, of course). those pH differences are BIG stuff, only through good engineering are they able to keep the pH's that close on the g48 without the use of the common buffers like PO4s or NO3s. i have prestone all-makes in there right now, but once i reattach the heater core to my coolant system and replace all of my hoses, maybe take the rad out and reverse flush- i'll try to go blue again. the fords in my fleet that spring leaks will still get g-05, its still better than green. curious thing about g-05. around 1999/1998 or so, when our taurus was made, the antifreeze in it was an orange color, but was not dexcool--the dealership told us this, and not to put dexcool in it. the instruction manual said not to use green coolant in our car, and that you should only use gold or orange colored coolant, whatever color the car was equipped with. come to find out later that the orange was the first attempt at g-05--after the dealership replaced a transmission under warranty and flushed the car with green coolant :(

[ryan roopnarine]

original poster: if you can't find bmw coolant at a price you are willing to pay, and you only need a partial refill, just get some prestone all-makes antifreeze (IIRC, bill was the first one to suggest doing this) and use it until your next flush, then use das blau if you want. don't bother mixing the g-05, too much work for too little, since you'd have to go out of your way anyways.

[repenttokyo]

thanks for all the help guys - this forum is great. I managed to locate a dealer in the city who sold g48 for 25 canadian a gallon - which is a bearable price for me, roughly what I would pay to order from bavauto. It was difficult to find, but I am glad I have that source now.

Side note - while I was there the parts guy and I were talking, and he ended up telling me that they don't even use distilled water in their service department for mixing with the coolant!

[ryan roopnarine]

the dealership here in my town charges $24.98 plus tax USD, so you are getting a deal if you are getting it for $25 canadian.

[repenttokyo]

I'm pretty happy - it's way better than the $40 I was quoted elsewhere!

[clindahl]

What about flushing the whole system for Evans NPG+ coolant?

http://www.evanscooling.com/main25.htm