Dex Cool vs. Regular

[Greg L]

Someone told me that if I used DexCool for my 1996 GMC 5.7 Engine, it will mess up the gaskets.

So I bought some Prestone to replace it with, and this kind says its for 'All Vehicles - No Matter What Color'.


Did I get the right stuff? I will be doing a flush this weekend.


GL

 

[jldcol]

Preston has a website, check there for the manu/vehicle chart and see if ok. Drain old coolant into something clean, and then pour sample into a clean clear glass container. After allowing things to settle, see what if anything falls to bottom. If clean may not need flushing, just drain and refill.

 

[jstutz]

I can tell you this is very common. I have had the IMG go out on all three of my chevys and have read about it alot. If i remember correctly, it has something to do with the breakdown of the fluid as it gets old. somehow it reacts with the gasket. To be safe i would just add a 2 year flush to your scheduled maintenance. It is getting very hard to find regular antifreeze but i read somewhere that extended and dexcool is the same. i would not take that as gospel as i have not seen any real data showing the coorelation between the two.

 

[bullwinkle]

Prestone All Makes All Models is a Dexcool clone, should work fine (hopefully better than standard Dexcool).

 

[Donald]

Why risk anything, go with a G-05. Its compatible with the old green or Dexcool if you did not get all the old stuff flushed.

 

[cparksjr]

I think GO5 is the way to go. It is an upgrade to Dexoool (in my view) and it has a low silicate package which helps protect.