I just bought a 2002 Honda Civic LX to be my daily driver and was wondering what kind of antifreeze I needed to use. For what it’s worth, I have leftover bottles of the premixed 50/50 Supertech Extended Life antifreeze and was hoping to use that, but I’ve read that Honda has their own antifreeze and something about silicates being death for the water pump, but can’t find any trustworthy information regarding whether Supertech Extended contains silicates or not.
So, does anyone know if this kind of Supertech is safe for my car or what antifreeze should I buy if not this one?
Also, I was planning to use the synthetic Motorcraft 5w20 for the engine as I have plenty of that around for my Mustang which has this brand and oil weight recommended by Ford, so it’s pretty convenient to use it for both. Any reason I shouldn’t use Motorcraft oil in a Honda Civic, or will that be just fine for everyday driving?
Silicate-free antifreezes usually announce it pretty boldly on the front of the bottle. For what it’s worth, Honda recommends its own “Type 2” coolant for the 2002 Civic. Any high-grade 5W20 oil should do.
“Always use a premium-grade 5W-20 detergent oil displaying the API Certification Seal.” and
“Always use Honda All Season Antifreeze/Coolant Type 2. This coolant is pre-mixed with 50 percent antifreeze and 50 percent water. It does not require any additional mixing. If it is not available, you may use another major-brand non-silicate coolant as a temporary replacement.”
I’d post the PDF link here, but better if you just google it …
Many car manufacturers say to only use their brand of various fluids. Most of the time that’s overdoing it, and other brands of standard products will work just fine. Sometimes, however, it does make a difference and using a substitute will cause problems. That’s very often the case with later model automatic transmission fluid, and it’s the case with Honda/Acura power steering fluid. Whether it’s the case with Honda antifreeze I don’t know. Zerex (Valvoline) indicates OAT type antifreeze (e.g. Dex-Cool) is appropriate.
This cracks me up. I challenge you to even find a non-detergent motor oil, or one without an API seal (other than the ancient relic SAE 30 that’s still sold, but not intended to be used in engines).
It is highly likely that in the past 14 years, the previous owners of your (and millions of other) Honda was using fluids that he bought at WalMart or on weekly special at Autozone… Still running fine. Those that are not still running, died for reasons unrelated to choice of fluids.,
Change your oil at least every 5-6000 miles, make sure it is always well above Add on the dipstick, make sure the overflow bottle of coolant is always half full. The cheap stuff meets industry minimum specs.
I think it was Willy48 who explain some time ago that today’s engines are so precisely measured that we really do need a specific weight motor oil for proper lubrication … 50 years ago not so much and we could run SAE 30 (SB) …
So I checked my bottle of vegetable oil and it didn’t have the API seal on it … I know this is eye-roll shit but laundry detergent has warnings on the bottle about drinking it … I guess there really are people stupid enough and lawyers ready to sue for them …
SAE 30 is commonly used in lawn mowers. I use the briggs brand.
I also use SAE 30 in my boat, and it’s very common for boats. Got the valvoline brand this last yr. I can use 5w-30, but it warns of it burning more oil than if I use straight SAE 30. I’ve been told as long as you let everything get up to temp before cruising, the 5w isn’t needed.
The 5W measure is for cold starting. This especially applies to cars where the engine and gearbox share the oil. Use 30W and it will really struggle to turn over on a frosty morning.
The “W” stands for “winter” (cold temp rating), not for “weight” as is often supposed. I don’t know of anyone who makes 30W oil – what I can find is 30.