How many of you here use xtend'd coolants to limit

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: ps49556n
I tend to flush and fill the cooling systems sooner than later IE: every year or two years...flushing the cooling system is one of my favorite types of maintenance to perform so I look forward to it.

Back in December I ended up performing this service on my wrangler during a MAJOR snowstorm... didn't plan it this way...decided to perform a Prestone Super Cleaner which entails pouring the bottle of fluid into the radiator and driving regularly for 3-6 hours. Due to my schedule, the driving 3-6 hours took place over a week. When the blizzard hit I was at probably 4.5 hours of driving with he super cleaner in and I was at the point where I didn't feel comfortable leaving it in any longer especially with the snow. Long story short...only flush a cooling system in warm weather!!!


I think I did the same thing ..sorta. I thought it was some HD cooling system cleaner (probably Prestone - whatever AA has). I must have gotten interrupted in mid process. All it had in it was the cleaner and water. That was either in the Spring or early Summer. Around Sept I figured I should give the system a good once over (my daughter had used it a good bit) and discovered a very clean rad with clear water in it

It was MONTHS with tap water and the cleaner in there.

Quote:
The rad man deals with other peoples' cars, generally neglected. Dexcool is problematic when the cooling system is neglected. If you plan on neglecting your car, then definitely do not use Dexcool, or its kin.


Chris repairs cooling systems. They may or may not have been neglected. If anyone should know what he can get away with ..with the added incentive that he would NEVER want to bring his work home ..so to speak, it would be him. That's not laziness since he would be doing more PM on his own stuff than would be sensibly warranted. Something gave him that personal fear factor. I'd like to think it's wisdom.

This is not to say that anyone hear is unwise in the use of Dexcool. You're aware of the liabilities of not paying attention to the system and have absolutely no confidence in the stuff beyond your personal OCD factor to assure that the system integrity is maintained.

 

[dmk]

I've got a 99' VW Passat 1.8T with 155,000 mi. and original coolant. It's the G12 life long coolant that isn't the same as the other ones I believe.
The reason I've still kept it in there is that's it's similar to diesel rig coolant that is good for many years and over 600,000 miles.

And also have the original transmission fluid in there as well. It's the ZF 5 speed tiptronic.

 

[Dan55]

G12 is basically dexcool and I agree in a vw that coolant holds up over time. Glad to see the transmission fluid held up, I guess it's really a lifetime fluid after all !

 

[Gary Allan]

Perhaps I should have titled this "who changes their long life coolant early". Again, my first corrosion related issue with any cooling system was with my 92 3.0 Mitsubishi in my Caravan @ over around 15 years of age. That was external leakage at the heads. Other than hose/rad failures (plastic tank gasket seal leak), no cooling system problem at all. I may have purposely changed the coolant once in that time. The OEM lower hose was still on it.

That is, if I had done the same 5 year routine that most LL's spec, I might not have had that issue at all. The status of the vehicle changed from primary to semi-retirement after it was paid for and a new vehicle purchased.

 

[Bfrost]

Quote:
I went 100K, 7 years on the wife's Saturn 00 L100 w/eco-tec. Time and mileage just kinda snuck up on me. I also got the flush and fill on the transmission at the same time. Car now has 161K, still gets 32mpg and uses no oil between 4k oci. Wife drives 53 miles daily for work. Best car hands down I have ever owned. I ran valvoline dura-blend for the first 80k switched to valvoline max-life until 148k, and switched to pennzoil high mileage for the last three changes and i highly recomend AC delco oil filters and fram air filters for the eco-tec.

Brian

 

[Ridds]

Don't like dexcool. I've changed too many 3.1L and 3.4L intake manifold gaskets.

 

[ZZman]

I can't do it. I am stuck in the 50,000 mile limit which would be 3-4 years for me.

 

[Colt45ws]

Changing coolant is one of my least favorite things to do because of the difficulty of disposal. I still have not found any place to get rid of the coolant I drained from my Vic in early '09.

 

[MrHorspwer]

I've never hit the mileage limit on an extended drain coolant. Every DexCool vehicle I've changed had it done after 5 years.

Quote:
This is not to say that anyone hear is unwise in the use of Dexcool. You're aware of the liabilities of not paying attention to the system and have absolutely no confidence in the stuff beyond your personal OCD factor to assure that the system integrity is maintained.


Great quote. I am personally very confident in DexCool's abilities in my particular vehicles, none of which have a 3.1/3.4L or 4.3L. You can bet that if I did own a 3.1/3.4L or 4.3L, I would be keeping a very close eye on the coolant.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
So, what's your justification for using the long life coolants??


Because finding classic green here is akin to a wild goose chase.

 

[Spykem4e]

I always use long life coolant. Only Dexcool and never had any problem.

On my buick regal, 3.8l, I sold the car with 260 000 kms after 4 years of use and change the coolant once (240 000 kms).

On my current car, 2005 CTS, I changed the coolant at 200 000 kms.

 

[Bruce T]

I can't stand to wait over 2 years to change coolant. It's a critical fluid. The best engine and oil in the world won't survive without a properly functioning cooling system. You can charge me with overkill and waste, but not with neglect.

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
I've never hit the mileage limit on an extended drain coolant. Every DexCool vehicle I've changed had it done after 5 years.

Quote:
This is not to say that anyone hear is unwise in the use of Dexcool. You're aware of the liabilities of not paying attention to the system and have absolutely no confidence in the stuff beyond your personal OCD factor to assure that the system integrity is maintained.


Great quote. I am personally very confident in DexCool's abilities in my particular vehicles, none of which have a 3.1/3.4L or 4.3L. You can bet that if I did own a 3.1/3.4L or 4.3L, I would be keeping a very close eye on the coolant.


Well, I wasn't thinking necessarily of the 3.1/3.4 LIM issue. That just more or less brought the vulnerability of Dexcool to light in another way. If the system loses air tight integrity, the "long" part of its life tanks. That tends to mean you have to be more aware of loosening clamps ..most repairs mean a whole new coolant charge.

Meanwhile a conventional ..or even a PG/EG blend with manage just fine without issues.