2001 Buick LeSabre - 50k miles... Stay with the Dexcool?

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Hi Guys....

I realize this question has been posted before... But.... seeing there are so many "new" formulations on the market, I was wondering if I should stay with the Orange Dexcool or switch to something else?

The plastic coolant "elbows" finally broke and I've got coolant everywhere. (Common problem on these 3800 series.) I purchased new "metal" elbows and will tackling this job very soon. I figured this might be a good time to investigate another coolant formulation. I don't want this post to call-out all the Dexcool haters, but perhaps those who have made a switch to something else.

The car is in excellent shape and I'd like to keep her going for years to come. With so many different coolant/antifreeze options on the market, it's got me wondering if DexCool is still the best choice.

Thank you!
 
Well, GM certainly thinks Dexcool is the bee's knees. If this was my car, given it's age and value, I would probably do a full flush and fill with 50/50 Walmart universal coolant, then plan on a drain and fill every 2-3 years. If I didn't feel like doing the flush, I'd just refill with Dexcool and call it good.
 
I'm going to do a full flush. And yeah... GM did some very good things with this car... and then again... a few dumb things too!
 
Hi Guys....

I realize this question has been posted before... But.... seeing there are so many "new" formulations on the market, I was wondering if I should stay with the Orange Dexcool or switch to something else?

The plastic coolant "elbows" finally broke and I've got coolant everywhere. (Common problem on these 3800 series.) I purchased new "metal" elbows and will tackling this job very soon. I figured this might be a good time to investigate another coolant formulation. I don't want this post to call-out all the Dexcool haters, but perhaps those who have made a switch to something else.

The car is in excellent shape and I'd like to keep her going for years to come. With so many different coolant/antifreeze options on the market, it's got me wondering if DexCool is still the best choice.

Thank you!
I've always used Dexcool in these cars with a simple drain and fill every 3 years or so, and have never had a problem. My '03 Park Ave has 300k kms on it (186k miles), with no coolant issues. I make sure coolant is kept at or very near the top mark on the overflow bottle. I've had four GM cars and two GM trucks over the years that specced Dexcool, with no issues to report.
 
I've always used Dexcool in these cars with a simple drain and fill every 3 years or so, and have never had a problem. My '03 Park Ave has 300k kms on it (186k miles), with no coolant issues. I make sure coolant is kept at or very near the top mark on the overflow bottle. I've had four GM cars and two GM trucks over the years that specced Dexcool, with no issues to report.

Thanks for your input on this! I noticed the overflow tank (bottle) isn't sealed to the air. Did I read somewhere here about keeping Dexcool "sealed" from the air?
 
Use Zerex G-05...

It’s Dexcool minus the plastic eating 2-EHA...

 
A few years ago , we purchased a 2006 Lacrosse 3.8l . I replaced the plastic coolant elbows with metal elbows . I had dropped the lower radiator hose to drain the system .

Re-attached the hose and added 1 gallon of Zerex or Prestone pink Dexcool from Walmart . No problems to date .
 
Hi Guys....

I realize this question has been posted before... But.... seeing there are so many "new" formulations on the market, I was wondering if I should stay with the Orange Dexcool or switch to something else?

The plastic coolant "elbows" finally broke and I've got coolant everywhere. (Common problem on these 3800 series.) I purchased new "metal" elbows and will tackling this job very soon. I figured this might be a good time to investigate another coolant formulation. I don't want this post to call-out all the Dexcool haters, but perhaps those who have made a switch to something else.

The car is in excellent shape and I'd like to keep her going for years to come. With so many different coolant/antifreeze options on the market, it's got me wondering if DexCool is still the best choice.

Thank you!
There is nothing wrong with Dexcool in a properly maintained cooling system and wouldn't hesitate at all putting fresh Dexcool back in there. It's worked for 19 years, right?
If you purchased Dorman metal elbows, do yourself a favor and peel out those o-rings, which are junk and put the AC/Delco ones on those new elbows. You will never have to deal with those again.
 
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Hi Guys....

I realize this question has been posted before... But.... seeing there are so many "new" formulations on the market, I was wondering if I should stay with the Orange Dexcool or switch to something else?

The plastic coolant "elbows" finally broke and I've got coolant everywhere. (Common problem on these 3800 series.) I purchased new "metal" elbows and will tackling this job very soon. I figured this might be a good time to investigate another coolant formulation. I don't want this post to call-out all the Dexcool haters, but perhaps those who have made a switch to something else.

The car is in excellent shape and I'd like to keep her going for years to come. With so many different coolant/antifreeze options on the market, it's got me wondering if DexCool is still the best choice.

Thank you!

The simple answer to this one is if it has the original intake gaskets then switch out the dexcool, if it has the latest aluminum frame ones then stick with the dexcool. The plastic gaskets are the problem.
+1 on using GM O rings on the aluminum elbows, if you find corrosion clean it and use Hylomar M to the surface the O ring sits on to prevent leaks.
 
There is nothing wrong with Dexcool in a properly maintained cooling system and wouldn't hesitate at all putting fresh Dexcool back in there. It's worked for 19 years, right?
If you purchased Dorman metal elbows, do yourself a favor and peel out those o-rings, which are junk and put the AC/Delco ones on those new elbows. You will never have to deal with those again.
Too late , now . Nor going to mess with unless it starts leaking .
 
There is nothing wrong with Dexcool in a properly maintained cooling system and wouldn't hesitate at all putting fresh Dexcool back in there. It's worked for 19 years, right?
If you purchased Dorman metal elbows, do yourself a favor and peel out those o-rings, which are junk and put the AC/Delco ones on those new elbows. You will never have to deal with those again.

You must be psychic... :) I was wondering about those! (I tend to overgeneralize but do this because I don't want to do this over and over again.) I've also read the green AC O-rings are good too. Thanks for the tip!
 
The simple answer to this one is if it has the original intake gaskets then switch out the dexcool, if it has the latest aluminum frame ones then stick with the dexcool. The plastic gaskets are the problem.
+1 on using GM O rings on the aluminum elbows, if you find corrosion clean it and use Hylomar M to the surface the O ring sits on to prevent leaks.

Good points, thank you! Yes, all original. As a poster said above... G-05 is not supposed to have the plastic eating 2-EHA. (I've used G-05 in my Miata for years BTW...)
Assuming the intake gasket is still intact, the question now is.... Do I switch or is the DexCool a gamble?? Yes, it's been in there for 19 years... but??? If the compostion is chewing away at the gaskets...?? Am I buying time or just delaying the inevitable?
 
Good points, thank you! Yes, all original. As a poster said above... G-05 is not supposed to have the plastic eating 2-EHA. (I've used G-05 in my Miata for years BTW...)
Assuming the intake gasket is still intact, the question now is.... Do I switch or is the DexCool a gamble?? Yes, it's been in there for 19 years... but??? If the compostion is chewing away at the gaskets...?? Am I buying time or just delaying the inevitable?
Personally I’d just use the Dexcool, but if you’re that worried about it, I guess just throw whatever universal coolant you want into it (assuming you do a full flush). Either way you’re not going to have issue because of the coolant, if you do have some it’ll be because it’s a 19 year old car (and a very reliable 19 year old car, that’s probably the best drive train GM has built).
 
Personally I’d just use the Dexcool, but if you’re that worried about it, I guess just throw whatever universal coolant you want into it (assuming you do a full flush). Either way you’re not going to have issue because of the coolant, if you do have some it’ll be because it’s a 19 year old car (and a very reliable 19 year old car, that’s probably the best drive train GM has built).
Best drive train? The 3.8 is great once you get the common engineering issues with it taken care of. The 4T65E transmission, well that is a different story.
 
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