Where to get aftermarket Mazda FL22 coolant?

Junk Sifter on 12/04/2021 - 00:00

My car's manual says to only use FL22 coolant which Mazda wants around $40/L (it's only available premixed) so I'm looking for a cheaper solution.

As far as I can tell, FL22 is the same specification as Ford WSS-M97B55-A: Phosphated Organic Acid (P-OAT) free of silicates and borates.

Found this: https://www.penriteoil.com.au/forums/topic/14/Coolant%20&%20…

But the Green is phosphate free with silicates, while the Blue contains neither phosphates or silicates. This seems to be the case with all of the aftermarket coolants in Australia from Valvoline, Castrol, Nulon or Penrite, even though their product selectors claim at least one of their products are compatible.

Even this product: http://www.ravenol.com.au/product.php?code=1410122 claims it meets FL22 specifications but says it's phosphate free? What am I missing?

Please help, surely there has to be an alternative to a $300 coolant change…

Automotive Mazda

Comments

  • SF3 on 12/04/2021 - 00:12

    $177.70 5L https://www.catch.com.au/product/genuine-mazda-fl22-coolant-… googled in about 5secs… 🤔

  • MS Paint on 12/04/2021 - 00:22

    Which model Mazda / engine variant?

    How old / how many km's?

    • Junk Sifter on 12/04/2021 - 00:26

      2012 GH Mazda6 L5 2.5L 150k kms

      Coming up to 10 years which is when the manual specifies coolant change.

      • MS Paint on 12/04/2021 - 00:39
        +18

        As a 10 year old car and way out of warranty I would just perform a complete flush and refill with either a Nulon or Pentrite coolant that states f22 compatibility.

        I wouldn't bother getting too hellbent on silicates etc. But that's just me.

  • pantsparty on 12/04/2021 - 06:59
    +2

    https://www.penriteoil.com.au/forums/topic/14/Coolant%20&%20…

    Based on that I would just use the green as they recommend but here are the links for both:

    https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/penrite-penrite-green-oe…

    https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/penrite-penrite-blue-oem…

    Alternatively this actually states FL22 compatibility within the product details:

    https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/nulon-nulon-green-premiu…

    In summary no, do not buy it directly from Mazda. It’s massively overpriced.

    • Junk Sifter on 12/04/2021 - 14:59

      I'm a bit sus of Nulon's product selector.

      It picks their red coolant for an FG Falcon XR6 even though their green is supposed to be certified for factory fill.

  • JIMB0 on 12/04/2021 - 09:02
    +1

    Have you tried a Ford dealership?

  • ECE on 12/04/2021 - 15:02

    Zoom zoom 😷

  • Junk Sifter on 12/04/2021 - 23:01

    So I looked into why manufacturers specify silicate and phosphate contents in coolants. Sources:
    https://www.mechanic.com.au/news/engine-coolant-issues-here-…
    https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/841/coolant-fundam…
    https://natrad.com.au/info-advice/choose-right-coolant-car/ in conjunction with https://natrad.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Chiron-Cool…

    Turns out it's all to do with the quality of water that is mixed with the coolant concentrate. I'm going to use demineralised water anyway so it should minimise any impact. However, many Japanese manufacturers spec silicate free to protect water pump seals.

    Silicates bond to the surface of the water pump seal and act as an abrasive, causing considerable seal erosion and coolant leakage. In actual tests, the silicated coolant caused early leakage. This leakage increased dramatically until a substantial portion of the coolant had been lost.

    Sourced from this Honda/Acura TSB: https://www.ducati.ms/attachments/honda_coolant-jpg.1127/

    Phosphates create a layer of corrosion inhibitor over metal that insulates them from coolant, but a lot of coolants in the Australian market are phosphate free in order to be compatible with European vehicles.

    For future reference should this question get asked again, if strictly adhering to FL22 specification there are only two aftermarket products that I could find in the Australian market:
    Adrad Phosphate-based Organic Acid Technology coolant: https://www.adradperformance.com.au/products/AFABJK5B
    Liquid Intelligence 105 Blue Coolant: http://liquidintelligence.com.au/products/coolant-australia-…

    Available in the US market but can't find import:
    Mazda Extended Life Coolant 0000-77-508E-20
    Motorcraft Specialty Green Engine Coolant VC-10-A2

    It's possible to import Valvoline Zerex Asian Vehicle coolant on eBay but it'll still end up costing about $150 for my car.

    Personally, I reckon either Penrite or Nulon blue coolant so that I can at least meet the silicate free criterion. And find out how much the RAVENOL HJC stuff is.

    • MS Paint on 14/04/2021 - 06:54
      +1

      Nice constructive conclusion. Good one OP. 👍

  • TanjuS90 on 14/12/2021 - 19:37
    +1

    Hey mate. I just put in Penrite Blue coolant as it contains no borate, silicate and phosphate as the manual says not to use.
    I contacted Penrite and they told me that the Penrite green is the one to use, which is odd as it contains borate.
    Even Nulons website says to use the green which also contains borate but does say FL22 compliant.
    My advice, grab the Penrite Blue, it ticks all the boxes.

    • Junk Sifter on 18/12/2021 - 22:55

      Glad we both reached the same conclusion.

      For anyone else who's still confused about FL22, it's really just Mazda's name for phosphated organic acid technology (P-OAT) coolant. The only ones I found in Australia:

      • Burson sell their own house brand long life blue concentrate
      • Adrad Blue coolant that I previously mentioned
      • PRIXMAX JNK BLUE from eBay

      These three share an identical bottle design so I suspect they are all manufactured by the same company, which I speculate to be Chiron Chemicals.

      RAVENOL HJC is only available from [Imparts[(http://www.imparts.com.au/). When I called them about 6 months ago they only had a handful of 1.5L bottles in stock across Australia for $19 each, as they specialise in Euro cars that don't use FL22.

      • placard on 07/08/2022 - 10:25

        I'm needing to do the same for a 2013 Mazda 3 BL. Weirdly the current coolant appears a dull orange, whereas FL22 is apparently green? So to that end it appears I don't have FL22 in it (previous owner must have flushed it)? On looking at the radiator expansion bottle again, I realise 'FL22" is actually moulded into the plastic, not the cap, so it does need to meet FL22 requirements.

        Which coolant did you end up going with?

  • placard on 05/08/2022 - 14:36

    I am soon to change the coolant in a 2013 BL Mazda 3 2.0L engine.

    I've been looking into this same problem. The manual actually states that FL22 coolant is only required if the coolant cap displays "FL22". If it doesn't, then other coolant is fine as long as it is ethylene-glycol based and free from alcohol, methanol, borate and silicates. The manual doesn't mention anything about Nitrates.

    I'm also planning to flush out what's there with radiator flush/demineralised water. I'll buy a concentrate and refill with demineralised water too.

    My radiator cap doesn't have "FL22" printed on it, so I don't see why I would be forced to use FL22 or equivalent, but I just want to find one free from the above, as noted in the manual.

    I think the current coolant colour is red. Not sure if that's original or not, but I bought the car in 2018 used, so doubt the original owner had flushed it in that short time. Perhaps it's original coolant - can anyone confirm what colour FL22 from Mazda is?

    • terrywang on 11/08/2022 - 12:02

      2011 GH Mazda6 Hatch, FL-22 on the radiator cap, coolant colour is green.

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