I have seen other threads about this, so sorry if this is a repeated question, but I saw where the Dexcool caused problems... Should my dad use Prestone or Peak coolant instead?
Lesabre 98 coolant - don't use Dexcool?
- Thread starter Triton_330
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Honestly it probably won't make a difference. Just make sure you thoroughly rinse out the system so that whatever kind you do use is the only coolant in there.
FWIW I changed the coolant in our old 97 LeSabre over to green.
FWIW I changed the coolant in our old 97 LeSabre over to green.
i own an engine shop and we do everything oem when rebuilding but when it comes to dex cool we go green or sometimes yellow
Since the 98 doesn't have a pressurized reservoir it might be a good idea to go with another coolant, since dexcool mainly has problems with air in the system and that can happen if you run low.
Have the intake gaskets ever been replaced?
Zerex G-05 is in my 02 Buick after the gaskets were updated.
Have the intake gaskets ever been replaced?
Zerex G-05 is in my 02 Buick after the gaskets were updated.
The 2000 Buick Lesabre limited my family inherited from our grandfather had dexcool and it hadn't been changed in 12 years.When I switched it to prestone green it ran much cleaner and. A little bit cooler but the heat stopped working
Originally Posted By: Triton_330
I have seen other threads about this, so sorry if this is a repeated question, but I saw where the Dexcool caused problems... Should my dad use Prestone or Peak coolant instead?
It's not the Dex, it's the GASKETS!
If they haven't been replaced they will likely leak no matter what coolant is selected.
If replaced with current products they have no problems with Dex at all.
I have seen other threads about this, so sorry if this is a repeated question, but I saw where the Dexcool caused problems... Should my dad use Prestone or Peak coolant instead?
It's not the Dex, it's the GASKETS!
If they haven't been replaced they will likely leak no matter what coolant is selected.
If replaced with current products they have no problems with Dex at all.
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2025
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Triton_330
I have seen other threads about this, so sorry if this is a repeated question, but I saw where the Dexcool caused problems... Should my dad use Prestone or Peak coolant instead?
It's not the Dex, it's the GASKETS!
If they haven't been replaced they will likely leak no matter what coolant is selected.
If replaced with current products they have no problems with Dex at all.
Hello Steve! Fancy meeting you in here...
To the OP. If you want to change the coolant, you must get all the old DEX-Cool out.
It does not play well with other stuff. If you are going to change the coolant, you might as well do the intake gasket, Water pump and hoses while you are in there. All easy stuff. If you get the Fel-pro problem solver gasket you will be fine leaving the Dex in there. Just make sure you change your radiator cap from time to time.
Originally Posted By: Triton_330
I have seen other threads about this, so sorry if this is a repeated question, but I saw where the Dexcool caused problems... Should my dad use Prestone or Peak coolant instead?
It's not the Dex, it's the GASKETS!
If they haven't been replaced they will likely leak no matter what coolant is selected.
If replaced with current products they have no problems with Dex at all.
Hello Steve! Fancy meeting you in here...
To the OP. If you want to change the coolant, you must get all the old DEX-Cool out.
It does not play well with other stuff. If you are going to change the coolant, you might as well do the intake gasket, Water pump and hoses while you are in there. All easy stuff. If you get the Fel-pro problem solver gasket you will be fine leaving the Dex in there. Just make sure you change your radiator cap from time to time.
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2025
Originally Posted By: jrtribology
The 2000 Buick Lesabre limited my family inherited from our grandfather had dexcool and it hadn't been changed in 12 years.When I switched it to prestone green it ran much cleaner and. A little bit cooler but the heat stopped working
I would guess you didn't get all the old Dex out and you ended up clogging your heater core. Pull the hoses to the heater core and flush it out.
The 2000 Buick Lesabre limited my family inherited from our grandfather had dexcool and it hadn't been changed in 12 years.When I switched it to prestone green it ran much cleaner and. A little bit cooler but the heat stopped working
I would guess you didn't get all the old Dex out and you ended up clogging your heater core. Pull the hoses to the heater core and flush it out.
I had the intake gaskets replaced on our '98 century last June (car only had 24K when we got it). They flushed and filled with Dex-cool. From what I've read, the gasket issue was more of an issue with the gasket material rather than the properties of Dex-cool. They replaced with Fel-pro gaskets so I have no problem with Dex-cool in the system.
I completely replaced my son's Dex in his 03 Monte Carlo, 2 years ago with Prestone AMAM and it has been perfectly fine since then... His coolant system is very clean. I usually do a radiator drain and fill every other year. He will be due this Spring.
Uh oh...
Originally Posted By: mount
Honestly it probably won't make a difference. Just make sure you thoroughly rinse out the system so that whatever kind you do use is the only coolant in there.
FWIW I changed the coolant in our old 97 LeSabre over to green.
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
To the OP. If you want to change the coolant, you must get all the old DEX-Cool out.
It does not play well with other stuff.
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
I would guess you didn't get all the old Dex out and you ended up clogging your heater core. Pull the hoses to the heater core and flush it out.
Uh... Well, guys... I think my dad just added Prestone because the reservoir barely registered anything (when we bought it, it had JUST been traded in and the dealer had not had time to do any servicing (oil, coolant, etc.) at all.
So, I have no idea if the previous owner used Dex or not... it was just really low and worried us so we just bought some Prestone at Walmart because it was on sale...
Questions:
1. IF it was not Dex in it, if it was any other brand, could it still cause problems (say, if it had Peak or something)?
2. IF it was Dex, and we added Prestone, how soon will problems occur (or do you think that since the level was so low, maybe it won't do much harm)?
Originally Posted By: mount
Honestly it probably won't make a difference. Just make sure you thoroughly rinse out the system so that whatever kind you do use is the only coolant in there.
FWIW I changed the coolant in our old 97 LeSabre over to green.
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
To the OP. If you want to change the coolant, you must get all the old DEX-Cool out.
It does not play well with other stuff.
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
I would guess you didn't get all the old Dex out and you ended up clogging your heater core. Pull the hoses to the heater core and flush it out.
Uh... Well, guys... I think my dad just added Prestone because the reservoir barely registered anything (when we bought it, it had JUST been traded in and the dealer had not had time to do any servicing (oil, coolant, etc.) at all.
So, I have no idea if the previous owner used Dex or not... it was just really low and worried us so we just bought some Prestone at Walmart because it was on sale...
Questions:
1. IF it was not Dex in it, if it was any other brand, could it still cause problems (say, if it had Peak or something)?
2. IF it was Dex, and we added Prestone, how soon will problems occur (or do you think that since the level was so low, maybe it won't do much harm)?
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2025
Just flush it completely and start from scratch.
Originally Posted By: jrtribology
The 2000 Buick Lesabre limited my family inherited from our grandfather had dexcool and it hadn't been changed in 12 years.When I switched it to prestone green it ran much cleaner and. A little bit cooler but the heat stopped working
Probably because it required manual bleeding via that little 7mm bolt on the thermostat housing. My Buick requires a good bleeding even if I just do one drain and fill.
Also to the OP, no harm done, mixed coolant is better than nothing but flush it out with Distilled water and start from scratch. The Prestone all makes all models yellow/green stuff is actually compatible with dex cool since they are both 2EH based, so it's an OK choice for topping off but if you want dex cool get the Prestone dex cool since I believe it has a stronger additive pack than All makes all models. You can pick just about anything if you get all the old stuff out. G05 or Peak Global are popular. Conventional green is a easy to find choice at auto parts stores since most all of their house brands are blended by the same company but Zerex G05 is superior to conventional green In every way as far as I know and it's pretty much universal with a flush.
The 2000 Buick Lesabre limited my family inherited from our grandfather had dexcool and it hadn't been changed in 12 years.When I switched it to prestone green it ran much cleaner and. A little bit cooler but the heat stopped working
Probably because it required manual bleeding via that little 7mm bolt on the thermostat housing. My Buick requires a good bleeding even if I just do one drain and fill.
Also to the OP, no harm done, mixed coolant is better than nothing but flush it out with Distilled water and start from scratch. The Prestone all makes all models yellow/green stuff is actually compatible with dex cool since they are both 2EH based, so it's an OK choice for topping off but if you want dex cool get the Prestone dex cool since I believe it has a stronger additive pack than All makes all models. You can pick just about anything if you get all the old stuff out. G05 or Peak Global are popular. Conventional green is a easy to find choice at auto parts stores since most all of their house brands are blended by the same company but Zerex G05 is superior to conventional green In every way as far as I know and it's pretty much universal with a flush.
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Also to the OP, no harm done, mixed coolant is better than nothing but flush it out with Distilled water and start from scratch. The Prestone all makes all models yellow/green stuff is actually compatible with dex cool since they are both 2EH based, so it's an OK choice for topping off but if you want dex cool get the Prestone dex cool since I believe it has a stronger additive pack than All makes all models. You can pick just about anything if you get all the old stuff out. G05 or Peak Global are popular. Conventional green is a easy to find choice at auto parts stores since most all of their house brands are blended by the same company but Zerex G05 is superior to conventional green In every way as far as I know and it's pretty much universal with a flush.
I'm gonna be totally honest with you... With that statement [that I bold-ed from you], (sorry guys, but) the coolant isn't going to be flushed then.
WAIT! Don't think it's ME here doing the decision making though --- this is my father's vehicle, so hold back the dogs... If it were my truck, I wouldn't mix two types of coolants, as I am fully aware that coolants are not like oils (ergo, you CAN top off/mix, say, Kendall oil with PYB; MC with Valvoline; Castrol with Peak, etc. - but it should just seem obvious to not mix a golden coolant with a green coolant). I'd have put solely either some Motorcraft or Peak coolant in my truck [if I were in such the situation with my truck], but wouldn't mix them.
Anyway, understandably (because, I also follow this rule of thumb [sometimes]), my dad would say "Well if it ain't broke don't fix it" --- So, seeing as the Prestone we added is compatible... Frankly, he doesn't give a d*mn (that he may have added non-dex to [possibly] a Dexcool filled reservoir; to him it needed coolant and he put some in, why waste money flushing...) As long as his engine still runs and gets him to work [which is ~45 miles to his work, so about 90 miles a day per commute], he could care less that he mixed coolants. He's pretty hard on his cars (even though he only goes 55 to 60mph)... There are plenty of things that he hasn't done that I would have done or vice versa with his vehicles that I would have to mine. Nevertheless, his car's have never failed him due to any [should I so call] neglect, but of the one's that did fail him, it was because of a manufacturers defect (i.e. His last vehicle, the 99 Escort, had a weak valve head and [censored] timing belt/chain from the factory, and though he went through three engines - 1st had 150k, second didn't last long because the shop guys who put it in messed it up, third engine took the vehicle all the way to 260k - I would say that for what the car was given in terms of service [or lack thereof] from him, I was surprised to see it finally be put to rest with that many miles, though, the tranny started slipping around 230k).
Sorry if this may irk anyone, but he does what he does, haha. If I ain't home (ergo, I'm in college) to help him do something with his car, it's a flip of a coin whether he decides to take it to our local shop (not the same one that messed up his 2nd Escort engine) or whether he does it himself. For example, sometimes he takes his car to the shop for an oil change (bulk Valvoline if you should so wonder), sometimes he may do it himself, but when I am home and it's time to change I offer to do it for him. Me doing it for him saves him money and time. And because I'm a gearhead, I just freaking love changing oil haha
. Of the time's I've changed it for him, usually he just tells me to go to Walmart and pickup whatever's cheapest. Seemingly, I do like this, because not only his car and my truck do I change the oil in, but also my mom has two vehicles, plus the Camaro we have. So I have changed the oil in 5 different vehicles multiple times (yay) lol.
Also to the OP, no harm done, mixed coolant is better than nothing but flush it out with Distilled water and start from scratch. The Prestone all makes all models yellow/green stuff is actually compatible with dex cool since they are both 2EH based, so it's an OK choice for topping off but if you want dex cool get the Prestone dex cool since I believe it has a stronger additive pack than All makes all models. You can pick just about anything if you get all the old stuff out. G05 or Peak Global are popular. Conventional green is a easy to find choice at auto parts stores since most all of their house brands are blended by the same company but Zerex G05 is superior to conventional green In every way as far as I know and it's pretty much universal with a flush.
I'm gonna be totally honest with you... With that statement [that I bold-ed from you], (sorry guys, but) the coolant isn't going to be flushed then.
WAIT! Don't think it's ME here doing the decision making though --- this is my father's vehicle, so hold back the dogs... If it were my truck, I wouldn't mix two types of coolants, as I am fully aware that coolants are not like oils (ergo, you CAN top off/mix, say, Kendall oil with PYB; MC with Valvoline; Castrol with Peak, etc. - but it should just seem obvious to not mix a golden coolant with a green coolant). I'd have put solely either some Motorcraft or Peak coolant in my truck [if I were in such the situation with my truck], but wouldn't mix them.
Anyway, understandably (because, I also follow this rule of thumb [sometimes]), my dad would say "Well if it ain't broke don't fix it" --- So, seeing as the Prestone we added is compatible... Frankly, he doesn't give a d*mn (that he may have added non-dex to [possibly] a Dexcool filled reservoir; to him it needed coolant and he put some in, why waste money flushing...) As long as his engine still runs and gets him to work [which is ~45 miles to his work, so about 90 miles a day per commute], he could care less that he mixed coolants. He's pretty hard on his cars (even though he only goes 55 to 60mph)... There are plenty of things that he hasn't done that I would have done or vice versa with his vehicles that I would have to mine. Nevertheless, his car's have never failed him due to any [should I so call] neglect, but of the one's that did fail him, it was because of a manufacturers defect (i.e. His last vehicle, the 99 Escort, had a weak valve head and [censored] timing belt/chain from the factory, and though he went through three engines - 1st had 150k, second didn't last long because the shop guys who put it in messed it up, third engine took the vehicle all the way to 260k - I would say that for what the car was given in terms of service [or lack thereof] from him, I was surprised to see it finally be put to rest with that many miles, though, the tranny started slipping around 230k).
Sorry if this may irk anyone, but he does what he does, haha. If I ain't home (ergo, I'm in college) to help him do something with his car, it's a flip of a coin whether he decides to take it to our local shop (not the same one that messed up his 2nd Escort engine) or whether he does it himself. For example, sometimes he takes his car to the shop for an oil change (bulk Valvoline if you should so wonder), sometimes he may do it himself, but when I am home and it's time to change I offer to do it for him. Me doing it for him saves him money and time. And because I'm a gearhead, I just freaking love changing oil haha
As long as your sure he added all makes all models and not some old stock of Prestone he had in the garage that was older conventional green like they used to make And your sure it was orange dex cool in there before that then he's okay. If it was Prestone and purchased within the past few years that's about all you can find is the AMAM stuff.
I believe someone here asked Prestone about the difference between all makes all models and dexcool recently and Prestone replied they are very similar but dex cool follows Gm specific formula and they are compatible.
I believe someone here asked Prestone about the difference between all makes all models and dexcool recently and Prestone replied they are very similar but dex cool follows Gm specific formula and they are compatible.
Yah we just bought the Prestone so it'd ought to be be all makes all models.
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