FAQ: Dexcool / Coolant / Antifreeze Types

im sorry to tell you he is full of SHIT, tell him to drain it and put what came in it. if the green stuff is that much better it would have came from factory.

im sorry but it pisses me off when this asshole mechanic's try to feed people a line of shit

palermocorey90 wrote:

im sorry to tell you he is full of SHIT, tell him to drain it and put what came in it. if the green stuff is that much better it would have came from factory.

im sorry but it pisses me off when this asshole mechanic's try to feed people a line of shit

i've read that green is where its at for cooling! if you have Aluminum LIM gaskets of course

there is also available now some that are compatible with both colors. i wonder if he used that one?

Either way, you should be using the Dexron-approved stuff. Dexcool, or something.

You could also use that Prestone mix with anything coolant if you are worried about dexcool.

98riv wrote:

You could also use that Prestone mix with anything coolant if you are worried about dexcool.

otherwise dexcool...

Stick with Dex Cool, there is a reason why GM recommends it and for once its not because its a dealer only item and because they license it. Its because they realized their mistakes with regular anti-freeze and put additives in it so your radiator doesnt rust from the inside out. Just make sure you mix it with distilled water and not tap water, or you maybe defeating the whole purpose of using dex-cool

My 95 PA with the NA SeriesII engine has a split upper hose so I am planning on replacing the upper/lower hoses and thermostat and flush/fill.

It has the red looking antifreeze in it now. I assume it is Dexcool but there are no decals under the hood like most vehicles that came with Dexcool.

In the owners manual it says: Use a coolant that meets GM Spec. 1825M.
It also says that with a complete flush and refill. Use GM Engine Coolant Supplement(sealer).

Thanks for any info.

I googled this topic several times but could not nail down an answer.




Bert

I don't know but my '94 Regal had DexCool in it if that's any help.

I've run DexCool in all my cars since 10 years ago. No problems with it, ever.

get some universal from napa or someplace

Bert: Yeah, it's Dexcool.

Albertj

Today my radiator plastic reservoirs on each side of the core cracked and started leaking. i flushed my system a couple times and then took out the radiator. im waiting on a new one to come in at oreillys. my question is i want to change from the green coolant to the orange extended life coolant. Anybody done this. i know you can not mix the green and orange and i wonder if i should flush the system again with water when i put the new radiator on. i still had a light green color come out of the block when i took the hoses off and removed the old radiator.

Just put the green back in. I would not change over if your system has always had green, save yourself the aggravation and keep using green, it's less expensive and there is a lot of controversy about the orange stuff causing premature intake gasket leaks on the 3800 engine.

I've ran Dexcool in all my Cadillacs with no issues and I think its a great coolant. As Rick said, there is TONS of controversy and even court hearings related to Dexcool. Stick with the green.

My vote is that both coolants do a fine job, but no matter which coolant you run drain your radiator once a year and refill, and you'll never have a coolant related problem. No need for a flush either.

ok all is well. i stuck with green and installed the new radiator. all is running fine. Thanks!

The saga of my van:
'96 Chevy G30 van, 350 V8. I was recently having trouble with the van almost stalling when I left a stop. It would stumble, then if it didn't stall it would recover and then drive fine until the next stop. It only has a few sensors, TPS, MAP... that's it! So I figured it was the TPS. Put in a new one, no different. Played around with it for a while and realized that if I can get it past the stumble/stalling point and keep it running, a big cloud of black comes out the tailpipe. I watched the fuel injectors and throttle body and realized it was pouring fuel in when I moved the gas. MAP seemed unlikely, and after some fiddling with vacuum lines I decided to leave that one alone... So I decided to go after the temp sender - WOW. What a difference. It cured my 'rich', almost stalling condition, plus it lowered the idle and returned shift points to normal, something which had been bothering me for years, but I had never figured out. I just figured the idle was set too high, ever since I got the van - nope! It has needed a TCS since before I have been driving it. I can't wait to see how my gas milage has to improve! It's been a consistent 11 for two years now, whether towing or not...

I noticed that the old sensor is coated in red. Another loss for DexCool.

I wonder if the problem is the mineral content of some tap water.

When I buy DexCool to top o\ff or change coolant I use either distilled water (buy it a gallon at a time from WalMart or local grocery) or condensate from a dehumidifier for the mix. I go ahead and pour 1/2 of DexCool into an empty bottle then top both bottles off with 1/2 gal each of condensate water. So I just don't have deposit problems.

Maybe the consistent problem with DexCool is not the coolant but the variability in mineral content of tap water?!? Only way to really find out would be to take that temp sender and scrape the red off and use a mass spectrometer to figure out what it (the red stuff) is.

I bet it's mineral deposits.

Albertj

albertj wrote:

I wonder if the problem is the mineral content of some tap water.

When I buy DexCool to top o\ff or change coolant I use either distilled water (buy it a gallon at a time from WalMart or local grocery) or condensate from a dehumidifier for the mix. I go ahead and pour 1/2 of DexCool into an empty bottle then top both bottles off with 1/2 gal each of condensate water. So I just don't have deposit problems.

Maybe the consistent problem with DexCool is not the coolant but the variability in mineral content of tap water?!? Only way to really find out would be to take that temp sender and scrape the red off and use a mass spectrometer to figure out what it (the red stuff) is.

I bet it's mineral deposits.

Albertj

I'm pretty sure what was in my van may never have been changed, which certainly could have been part of the problem. I always use distilled water with my coolant now. Years ago I didn't, but I have become wiser as I got older

Where do you get distilled water at?

any drugstore carries it, CVS, walgreens, brooks, etc. near the bottled water. It's usually on the bottom shelf and dusty... but cheap too.

I get it by the gallon at the grocery store or Wal-Mart.

What do you guys do with your old fluid?

I do the politically incorrect thing to do. I live in a heavily wooded area and have my own little spot for coolant.
Hell, It wasn't THAT long ago that is was considered OK to let it go down the drain in the street.

I think Autozone reclaims both coolant and oil, but not mixed together.