G-05 is going in my Buick Century

[901Memphis]

2002 Buick Century, originally equipped with dex cool, three years ago before I owned it presumably converted to conventional green by the mechanic who replaced the intake gaskets.

It now has the tell tell 3.1 sludge which seems confined to the radiator cap and coolant overflow tank. I it from a bad flush when dex cool was changed or just the cars tendencies? I may never know. I have a brand new coolant tank in hand and two gallons of Zerex g-05 ready to go this weekend. New oem radiator cap should be here tomorrow. Will be using some Prestone super radiator flush with lots of Distilled water. Might have no access to a garden hose so no back flushing.

I hear the petcock is hard to get to, but I found it by using my cell phone camera and reaching around the splash guard, just don't know if I will be able to loosen it.

Thought on using g-05 in a GM?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Hopefully you are aware that Dex is just fine unless aerated.

I know folks that have used G-05 in almost everything. It doesn't seem to hurt anything, but the whole Dex scare is hooey.

 

[901Memphis]

Yes I know it's fine, I debated heavily about it but the system seems to have issues with air from the design of the overflow tank and it's already got green in there so I figured going from green to G-05 was a small leap.

 

[440Magnum]

G-05 after green is probably safer than going back to Dex after "green" IAT coolant- I superstitiously claim simply because G-05 already has silicates, so any silicate residue from the IAT isn't a totally foreign animal as it would be in Dex.

But its a 3.1. I'd be a *little* worried about the lower intake gasket in it regardless of coolant. Unlike the v8s, I think I recall that the problem on the 3.1 is less related to coolant than just plain old engine design.

Oil analysis for no other reason than to check for traces of coolant might be worth the $30 in this case.

 

[spasm3]

I need to change coolant in the avalanche, i plan to flush it out really well and i'm going to put G-05 in rather that dexcool.

 

[chad8]

It never was the Dex. Lawsuits proved that it was the intake gaskets flawed design and the plastic intake 3 part design on the 3.1 3.4 and 3.8 .

Super flush does nothing for sludge. it is basically a rust remover.
Use B-g flush for sludge.

http://bgfleming.com/products/bg/cool.aspx

 

[901Memphis]

I think by replacing the reservoir I am getting rid of most of the contamination. I don't see it down the neck of the radiator even just on the cap directly. I am just going to use the super flush for now since I have it, it was free from another job leftovers. I have two of them I wonder if more is better with this product?

 

[901Memphis]

I may have been wrong about the extent of the contamination, but its hard to tell without draining the radiator and looking further down the neck. Whats a thread without pics?


Pics of the dirty radiator cap, dirty overflow tank, and the new tank too.

 

[901Memphis]

The job is done. New tank is in place, new G-05 is in the system and i am tired.

I was right about the contamination being confined to the overflow tank and the cap area, after i wiped off the inside neck of the radiator i found none of that material in my drains of the radiator.

I had no trouble getting the petcock open, didn't have to fool with the hoses. I used a couple of extensions and a 3/4" socket and kept it on the petcock the whole time. It stayed planted the entire job and nothing broke.

The coolant that drained out didn't look too bad at all, some light contamination maybe hard to tell, but it was way better than i have seen come out of my Taurus.

More pics!

Pics are of the first drain of the old green coolant, the pic of the engine bay with the new rez installed, and the filler neck after i wiped it down with a shop rag.

 

[Oldasco]

Instead of going to the expense of buying a new overflow tank, I just flushed my old one out. What worked for my '98 Cavalier's gunked up tank was removing it from car, dumping used coffee grounds from morning coffee pot into it with a couple of capfuls of Purple Power Degreaser and filling it up with water. I then shook it for a few minutes and the coffee grounds were the abrasive that rubbed the built up sludge loose inside the tank with the soap/degreaser. Rinsed it out with water good, put back in car, and was good to go!

 

[440Magnum]

Given the 3.1's history for mixing its own internal fluids, I'd still spend for an oil analysis. That SURE does look like oil contamination more than any corrosion process to me. If it is putting coolant in the oil the end result is usually plugged cam bearing oil galleries, a tight if not outright seized cam bearings, and a snapped hollow tubular camshaft...

 

[901Memphis]

The engine did have leaky gaskets and that was previously repaired in 2010. I have a feeling that the mechanic who replaced the gaskets didn't flush the engine enough, so what i was seeing is hopefully leftovers. I have never seen any contamination directly in the oil, but I will probably send this sample in for uoa when it's time for the oil change. I only have 4k miles and 4 months on this PP.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Oldasco
Instead of going to the expense of buying a new overflow tank, I just flushed my old one out. What worked for my '98 Cavalier's gunked up tank was removing it from car, dumping used coffee grounds from morning coffee pot into it with a couple of capfuls of Purple Power Degreaser and filling it up with water. I then shook it for a few minutes and the coffee grounds were the abrasive that rubbed the built up sludge loose inside the tank with the soap/degreaser. Rinsed it out with water good, put back in car, and was good to go!


Does the kind of coffee matter? I usually like Folgers, sometimes decaf.

 

[901Memphis]

I probably would have flushed out the old tank, but I didn't have access to a garden hose or a utility sink since I live in an apartment. Technically we aren't supposed to do car maintenance at all which is why I did it at night.

I am glad I have a new tank now I think it will be easier to spot the contamination now. It's starting to build up around the radiator cap and filler neck already, but I will have to see how bad it gets. I think the new radiator cap is going to make a difference, it seems like the filler neck was never full with the old cap but now every time I checked it with the new cap it's so full it almost spills. Those caps really are critical.

 

[crazyoildude]

lawsuits proved someone had a better Lawyer...As an engine rebuilder i dont like dex cool

 

[901Memphis]

From all the reading I've done I'm going to probably use g-05 on all my used vehicles except my Taurus which has Prestone all makes all models in it. I don't think the rest of the car is going to out live the cooling system on the bull, so I'll keep what's in it there to failure.