Has the DexCool "problem" been resolved?

[JHZR2]

I did preemptively change the intake manifold gasket on my 4.3... But guess I didn't get the memo on sludge and cleanliness. Owned the truck since new in 1998. Not a huge fan of 2-eha, but seems to be fine where designed for. And vehicles not designed for it, think a little maintenance and upkeep makes it a non-issue.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by FordCapriDriver

There is no problem using Dexcool in any GM car that specs it ( anymore ) the problems with gaskets were solved a long time ago, they simply made the gaskets they were using resistant to the 2-Eha Dexcool uses. While most manufacturers have now switched to OAT / HOAT formulas, the formulas vary. GM and Ford use OAT coolant with 2-Eha. VW uses a Silicated "Si-OAT" with no 2-Eha Chrysler uses a OAT with no 2-Eha. And Asian manufacturers use Phosphated "P-OAT" coolant without 2-Eha. So personally i wouldn't have a problem putting Dexcool in a Ford which has Ford's current Orange OAT coolant, but i would not put it in a VW, Chrysler or any Asian car, as their factory coolant do not use 2-Eha. 2-Eha does very nasty things in cooling systems not designed for it, swell rubber seals, hoses, gaskets, eating away at soldered radiators...

This is an interesting point for discussion. Daimler-Benz forever specified G-05, and the original cooling systems in my early 1980s vehicles make the case for its use. But G-05 is no more on their approval list. G-48, BMW blue is. It lists 2-EHA as an ingredient, specifically the sodium salt (believe older fed forulations used a potassium salt, not certain though). So naturally I'm hesitant to use G-48 in those same 30+ year old cooling systems that G-05 has protected so well. My thought is that G-40, which Daimler now specifies, might be a better move if it can be assured to have no eha. G-05 is likely still the best, especially when available at Napa for $12.99 for a full strength gallon at Napa on sale, currently. But how G-40 plays in the G-05/48 comparability game is a question I have currently.

 

[FCD]

Originally Posted by JHZR2

Originally Posted by FordCapriDriver

There is no problem using Dexcool in any GM car that specs it ( anymore ) the problems with gaskets were solved a long time ago, they simply made the gaskets they were using resistant to the 2-Eha Dexcool uses. While most manufacturers have now switched to OAT / HOAT formulas, the formulas vary. GM and Ford use OAT coolant with 2-Eha. VW uses a Silicated "Si-OAT" with no 2-Eha Chrysler uses a OAT with no 2-Eha. And Asian manufacturers use Phosphated "P-OAT" coolant without 2-Eha. So personally i wouldn't have a problem putting Dexcool in a Ford which has Ford's current Orange OAT coolant, but i would not put it in a VW, Chrysler or any Asian car, as their factory coolant do not use 2-Eha. 2-Eha does very nasty things in cooling systems not designed for it, swell rubber seals, hoses, gaskets, eating away at soldered radiators...

This is an interesting point for discussion. Daimler-Benz forever specified G-05, and the original cooling systems in my early 1980s vehicles make the case for its use. But G-05 is no more on their approval list. G-48, BMW blue is. It lists 2-EHA as an ingredient, specifically the sodium salt (believe older fed forulations used a potassium salt, not certain though). So naturally I'm hesitant to use G-48 in those same 30+ year old cooling systems that G-05 has protected so well. My thought is that G-40, which Daimler now specifies, might be a better move if it can be assured to have no eha. G-05 is likely still the best, especially when available at Napa for $12.99 for a full strength gallon at Napa on sale, currently. But how G-40 plays in the G-05/48 comparability game is a question I have currently.

I've been investigating VW's current G13 coolant, and what happens is that the factory genuine VW G13 does not have 2-Eha However some aftermarket G13 coolant do have it, like Motul's for example, and this is the same case with G11, G12, G12+, G12++ and G48. The Zerex G40 that is sold in the US is a non-2Eha formula ( i've looked in the TDS and SDS ). An unrelated but interesting thing too is that it seems that the current formula of Zerex Original Green is actually Glysantin G64 , which they call a PSi-OAT ( Phosphate + Silicate + OAT ) Right now i am running Febi Bilstein G12++ Si-OAT coolant , ( No 2-Eha ) in both my Fords, neither have shown any sign of complaint since i switched them over to it in early October, as expected. It even seems to have somehow "healed" the aluminium core of the radiator of one of them, which was pitted due to me using a low quality brand of conventional green ( here in Spain it's typically Phosphate and Borate, no silicate ) .

 

[ad244]

IM tired of all the dexcool hate

 

[metroplex]

Almost all of the Fords made after 2010 are running Dex-Cool.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by metroplex

Almost all of the Fords made after 2010 are running Dex-Cool.

So that overpriced Motorcraft orange is just Dexcool ?

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by das_peikko

That whole thing is a wives tale. The Dexcool never ate the gaskets. The gaskets failed because they did not have the necessary steel reinforcement.

This thread is the first I heard of this … and now have 3 GM's and many before these …

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted by 4WD

Originally Posted by das_peikko

That whole thing is a wives tale. The Dexcool never ate the gaskets. The gaskets failed because they did not have the necessary steel reinforcement.

This thread is the first I heard of this … and now have 3 GM's and many before these …

He didn't mention the steel reinforcement the last time: https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru.../re-anyone-have-a-2018-camry#Post4605858

 

[metroplex]

Originally Posted by 4WD

Originally Posted by metroplex

Almost all of the Fords made after 2010 are running Dex-Cool.

So that overpriced Motorcraft orange is just Dexcool ?

Yes. If you grab a bottle of Prestone Dex-Cool, you will find it meets both the GM and Ford specifications for the 5-year anti-freeze. Ford used to use a yellow 5-year anti-freeze but phased that out for the majority of their 2010-up vehicles with a few exceptions (legacy systems). There are a lot of AR people that still insist on buying Motorcraft orange though. I am not have remembered correctly but the way I understood the failure of early GM cooling systems was due to the HOAT formulation of Dex-Cool washing away and leaving the exposed metal surfaces of the radiator, accelerating corrosion. The fix was to keep all the metal surfaces submerged in Dex-Cool. So if you notice almost all vehicles made after the 2000s used polymer degas bottles/reservoirs with entirely sealed systems. The original GM vehicles using Dex-Cool still had catch bottles with the metal radiator caps attached directly to radiators (ala 1980s cooling systems).