Dexcool, Deathcool?

Pablo · Sep 12, 2003

It ate my Nissens 3 row, copper/brass radiator (but I still want choices) in the 245Ti.

Suddenly the coolant level in the wife's 850 with Dexcool looks suspiciously low. CRAP!!

Now I know the Toyota Tom Irwin feeling. Oh what a feeling. My gut is burning. I have a complete tension neck/headache and can't sleep. What an idiot I am. I'm ordering some Amsoil coolant.

I don't care WHAT you use in your car, but the 1.99 GREEN/YELLOW store brand urine has to be better than DEATHCOOL. What's orange and kills your car??? Nope, not FRAM. DEATHCOOL the TRUE orange kiss of death.

That sh#t should be OFF the market. AH CRAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

Dan4510 · Sep 12, 2003

Pablo,

Doesnt seem like you are very upset by this.

Dan

Steve S · Sep 12, 2003

Radiators are not very good anymore. On the Nissan forklifts I used to work on thr radiators only lasted a couple of year max, the metal was paper thin and the soldering flanges were narrow. Also Toyota and Clark radiators must have been made by the same venders. The radiator in my Toyota truck lasted 10 years using the orange stuff since it came out,I bought a new one at 1 800 radiator ? the have a web site .and in my 1988 camry lasted 12 years but the plastic tank cracked .

[ September 13, 2003, 10:08 AM: Message edited by: Steve S ]

MarkC · Sep 12, 2003

If you want extended life coolant, why not use Prestone 5/150. It has the (so-called) advantages of Dex-Cool, but not the associated problems. I've been using it since my first coolant flush and fill in my Cherokee's 4.0 in 1997, and no problems at all. Of course, I do change it every spring....

Mike_dup1 · Sep 12, 2003

What year is the vehicle. Dex-Cool is not always backward compatiable. For instance its not recommended for my 1992 Chevy PU but it was for my 1995 Buick Park Ave but then not some other 1995 Buicks.

sbc350gearhead · Sep 12, 2003

I thought toyota extended life coolant was different from dexcool?

Pablo · Sep 12, 2003

The vehicle with leaky radiator is a 1985 Volvo.

Nissens is a Danish aftermarket radiator manufacturer.

The version of Dexcool IS Prestone Orange 5/150.

I change about every two years or so.

I have used it for about 8 years in various cars.

Steve S · Sep 13, 2003

Nissen, Nissan

Chris142 · Sep 13, 2003

I work at a radiator shop. I see many plugged up cooling systems where Dexcool is used. I also see lots or corrosion in aluminum parts.

There is a large lawsuit in the making comcerning the Dexcool.

We flush it all out and put in the regular green stuff.

cousincletus · Sep 13, 2003

Thanx for the info. Have a 2002 Cavalier that uses Dexcool and I think I'll flush and use the green stuff after the warranty runs out. Have heard too much bad news about this antifreeze to have any confidence in it. If you drain and refill the green stuff every year, you just don't have any problems. Not worth it going extended intervals on antifreeze, IMO.

Christopher R. Wise · Sep 13, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Pablo:
The vehicle with leaky radiator is a 1985 Volvo.

Nissens is a Danish aftermarket radiator manufacturer.

The version of Dexcool IS Prestone Orange 5/150.

I change about every two years or so.

I have used it for about 8 years in various cars.

Why do you use the LongLife coolant if you change it often???

Personally, I would stay away from the Amsoil coolant which is a Propylene Glycol , I won't go into details but the old ethylene glycol coolants is much better in heat absorbsion, among a few other things.

How about the real stuff, since you like Volvo's I might be able to hook you up with REAL Volvo coolant and not pay the $20 gal

CRW

Amkeer · Sep 13, 2003

Go with the toyota red and distilled water. The coolant is about ten bucks and get yourself 6 gallons of distilled to flush the system and add to the coolant.

Daily Drives
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, Impulse Red, Peppy 2.7 Liter 4 Banger, Running Mobil1 Synthetics SS 5W-30.
ODO 4700 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner, Evergreen, 3.0 V6, Running Mobil1 Synthetic SS 10W-30.
ODO 81700 Miles.

Pablo · Sep 16, 2003

I've calmed a bit.

Maybe the wife's 850 is fine.

Christopher, thanks for the offer, I may take you up on that! I just need to get the rad fixed, but I just sold my Toyota PU (via the Echo) and don't have a spare car...I have the t-stat out now (it was an 82°C unit) for coolest running - so far if it's leaking, it's very slow. Just takes longer to warm up.

I thought the Dexcool was good juice and I didn't think I would have issues if I changed it often.

What so bad about prop. glycol? - lots of truckers use in now. Is it that bad at heat absorption? What else is so bad? I like the low toxicity part.

Ray H · Sep 17, 2003

Maybe I'm blowin' smoke, but it seems G.M. is partially to blame with these DexCool "failures" in the 3.1, 3.4, and 3.8 V-6 engines because of the mickey-mouse intake manifild gaskets they were using. My wife's 2000 I-4 Cavalier came with DexCool and we haven't had problem one with it. The only cooling system service I've performed on that car is to frequently check the overflow tank and top up as required. (only three times in as many years) G.M. has indicated that air introduction into the cooling system is trouble, and, to me at least, their argument makes sense. I used DexCool in a '96 Accord without trouble, too. I do believe that any brand antifreexe/coolant concentrate will benefit with just a complete flush with distilled/de-ionized water and then a refill with the desired concentration diluted with distilled/de-ionized water as Amkeer indicated. All of this is on the assumption that there's no evidence of corrosion buildup when the old coolant is first drained. Otherwise a chemical flush would be indicated. I also keep coming back to the lack of phosphates and silicates in DexCool, too.

MarkC, that Prestone 5/150,000 IS "DexCool" for all practical purposes since its corrosion inhibitor is the "OAT" carboxylate, too, from an email I got back form Prestone several months ago.

MarkC · Sep 18, 2003

Ray, I talked with Prestone also a couple of months ago. They seemed to be telling me that they had made some 'adjustments' to their product that made it different from The original DexCool, and that now GM specifies it, rather than the original. I don't know if I misunderstood them or what. I do know that my Jeep has had Prestone 5/150 in it since about 10k miles in 1997, and I have never seen anything weird. No sediment, no damage toanything, no leaking, nothing. What I put in stays there until I drain it out, and it comes out looking about the way it looked when I put it in. Water seems fine, heater blows quite warm, no evidence of any cooling system issues at all. Of course.....I change the stuff out every year, except the last time it went 2 years. Maybe problems with this stuff are dependent on the engine it's used in. If I saw anything I didn't like, I'd switch in a second, but it seems like my 4.0 likes about anything I put in it.

[ September 18, 2003, 03:27 PM: Message edited by: MarkC ]

mormit · Sep 18, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Chris142:
There is a large lawsuit in the making comcerning the Dexcool.

There's a large lawsuite in the making for everything.

Chris R Wise: Is the real Volvo coolant worth it? 20 bucks a gallon, ouch. I'm comming up on two years for my S40 so I was planning to change the original coolant later this fall. Wondering if regular green stuff from Autozone was just as good.

I've been using cheap green coolant in my 85 240, changing it every 3-4years. Still on the original radiator. I know the white blocks are more finicky so I'm going to every two year changes on the S40.

Christopher R. Wise · Sep 18, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by mormit:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris142:
There is a large lawsuit in the making comcerning the Dexcool.

Click to expand...

There's a large lawsuite in the making for everything.

Chris R Wise: Is the real Volvo coolant worth it? 20 bucks a gallon, ouch. I'm comming up on two years for my S40 so I was planning to change the original coolant later this fall. Wondering if regular green stuff from Autozone was just as good.

I've been using cheap green coolant in my 85 240, changing it every 3-4years. Still on the original radiator. I know the white blocks are more finicky so I'm going to every two year changes on the S40.

The only differance that I know of is the volvo stuff is Phosphate(?) Free. But since you change it offen, I can't see any reason not to use regular stuff. Since I work at a dealer I only use the Volvo stuff, So I am not sure how the regular stuff would hold up. I know it will work in the Red engine, but in the white motor not sure. I have seen V70XC and S80 at about 100K, still using the original coolant.

CRW

Pablo · Sep 19, 2003

See separate post on the (hopeful) end to this saga.

Dexcool, Deathcool?

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