Can i go to the old green stuff?

[Rock_Hudstone]

Well, the problem is GM doesn't advise owners to flush the dex-cool every year. On the contrary, there is decal right next to the radiator cap stating Dex-cool is good for 100,000 miles.

In my mothers 1999 Monte Carlo the Dex-cool turned to a red muck rather quickly at 55,000 miles. Cost $700 replace the eroded intake manifold gasket, plus a new radiator.

Our mechanic said he'd seen many such dex-cool disasters.

On the other hand, my girlfriends 1995 Olds Cutlass with the same 3.1 engine but green coolant, (last year for green coolant at GM), is pushing 160,000 miles with no cooling system problems.

 

[JustinH]

I change it every two years.

I flushed the dexcool out of my saturn at 30k miles.

Rinsed with pure water.

Then drained the system, and refilled with 50/50 distilled and supertech long life coolant.

Its not the green stuff (its yellow), and it works great for me in several cars.

The key is to flush out the old stuff first.

 

[gmctodd]

Can someone tell me why the AF in my 05 GMC 2500HD 6.0L is PINK and not ORANGE like every DEXCool AF I have come accross (even the GM stuff at the dealer).

Thank You,

Todd

 

[Cutehumor]

I see many posts about going to the old green stuff. isn't the old green coolant being phased out?

 

[Jaymus]

So...

When I go to flush my coolant before this winter gets here, what kind should I put in my 1986 F-150 302? Of course, I wouldn't use Dex-Cool, but what kind should I be putting in there?

 

[artificialist]

Old fashioned green would probably be the right thing to do.

That in mind, I have read several people that have used G-05 in regular green applications with good results.

 

[Jaymus]

Originally Posted By: ron350
Don’t forget that the old “Green” antifreeze and Dex are both over 80% identical.
Both are mostly Ethylene Glycol and Diethylene Glycol but the last 10% to 15% is the anti corrosion chemicals (corrosion inhibitor package).
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...true#Post611138


This kind of scared me away from the old green stuff. I just want what's best for my truck. Don't feel like replacing gaskets over antifreeze. Is it what's best to go for in my truck?

What kind of green stuff. Like, some Havoline brand at the Family Dollar store (LOL), or does Peak make some? I had a hose leaking (someone had put a clamp on it bad), and it leaked green antifreeze. I went to Autozone, and I ended up getting some green kind that is 'compatible with everything'. I didn't mess up there, did I?

Makes me want to flush it even more. Now that I think about it, the stuff may have been yellow that I bought... hmm.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: Jaymus
When I go to flush my coolant before this winter gets here, what kind should I put in my 1986 F-150 302? Of course, I wouldn't use Dex-Cool, but what kind should I be putting in there?

My personal favorite for years has been the "tried and true
green Texaco antifreeze coolant:
http://doitbest.com/Antifreeze+and+Antif...-sku-572231.dib

Here is an article I found by accident.

Essentially the same old story, i.e. although Dex-cool is not the "cause" of the problem per se if exposed to less than ideal operating conditions, even something as simple a faulty radiator cap, it can turn into the red muck.

http://www.imcool.com/articles/antifreeze-coolant/dexcool-macs2001.php

 

[Jaymus]

Cool, that's what they have at our Family Dollar. It's $7.50 there per gallon. Well, it was. Probably isn't anymore. That's what I meant when I said Havoline, I don't know why I said Havoline. BTW, our Family Dollar doesn't even sell Havoline oil anymore, it's Chevron now. That's another subject, though.

 

[Loobed]

Originally Posted By: gmctodd
Can someone tell me why the AF in my 05 GMC 2500HD 6.0L is PINK and not ORANGE like every DEXCool AF I have come accross (even the GM stuff at the dealer).

Thank You,

Todd


Don't know, May just be a different batch of coolant die or it's not mixed right.

 

[Steelers]

If you decide to stay with the dex-cool be sure to service it regularly and often. Most problems seem to arise when people push the service intervals out to the recommended 5/50 mark. A simple drain/fill with dex-cool every 15K-30K (depending on how quick you put miles on the truck) should keep you out of trouble.

 

[jsharp]

If you need to change it every 2 or 3 years, why not just use the old green stuff? It'll last that long without problems or risk...

 

[brianl703]

It's getting awfully hard to find the "green stuff", most everything including store brands (except Pep Boys Proline) seems to be a Dexclone.

 

[Tempest]

I've gone to using the Prestone Low Tox which does not appear to be a long life coolant. Safer for your engine and animals as well.

 

[jsharp]

We've got the LowTox in 2 vehicles now and it's working fine so far. That might be a good choice for people who want to dump the DexCool and have trouble finding the old green stuff. The LowTox seems to be readily available.

 

[99TA]

I'm using the Prestone Low Tox also in my 99 LS1 firebird for two years now without any troubles.