Never use Dex Cool!

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Shelby

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I haven't seen it up on this site so I will post some threads that show the many prpblems with GM's dex cool. This product shouldn't be on the market. If you have a GM then you have to back flush it well because Dex Cool and other anti freezes don't work well either.
http://www.northwestclassicautomall.com/articles.ihtml?pid=49&step=2
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/gm_dexcool.html
http://www.geocities.com/b_gillie/dexcool_problems
http://www.noln.net/features/feature3.html
http://forums.automotive.com/commun...on/gm-ruling-on-bad-faulty-coolant/index.html

Do a search millions on dex cool complaints.
 
I've seen these complaints to. I don't believe that DexCool is all that bad as long as it gets changed more often than the extended recommendation that GM gives it. In a properly pressurized system with a slightly overfilled reservior and it being changed out every 2 years it seems to be fine for most people. Most of these conditions of the sludge are from the defoamer that wears out prematurely from lack of sufficient pressure and then the defoamer deposits that black oily stuff where air is present. I've seen a little bit forming on a 1999 Grand Am but after changing both the coolant cap and coolant every 2 years since it has been going without any additional sludge forming. The 'gasket corrisive' argument seems to be null as well because there are people who change the coolant out with the green on 3.4L GM engines within the first few thousand miles of purchase who still get a failed gasket.

I personally would use a propylene glycol coolant in an engine common to leaking and for engines not common to leaking I would probably stick with using G-05. Although I'd trust Dexcool, it just seems that the incompatibilities of Dexcool and other coolants make me want to stay away. The defaomer issue bothers me a bit too.
 
No issues with DexCool. Nearly all problems with DexCool can be traced to a leak (regardless of size) in the cooling system. Bad caps are one of the major causes.

I have DexCool type antifreeze in my Saturn without issues...

Makes me wonder why VW has been using DexCool type coolants without issues either...
wink.gif
 
Maybe I'm one of the few, but DexCool works well for me. I was an early adopter of the stuff, using it on my 91 Mercury LTS (Mazda high performance DOHC engine) for about 100,000 miles before I replaced the car. I then installed it in my 98 Ford Contour SVT when it was a year old and have used it ever since. The car is now 9 years old and has nearly 220,000 miles on it.

DexCool doesn't get the "green snot of death" fallout that the old conventional green coolant would get, so hoses last longer, radiators don't clog up, waterpumps last longer and so on and so on and so on.

Now the most amazing thing of all is that DexCool's OAT chemistry for the additive package has been nearly replicated by nearly everyone else. It is nearly the same as Prestone's "all makes all models" and even G05 is OAT based with a very low dose of silicate.

Anyway, DexCool works for me and I'm not likely to change to something else on that car after all this time. My wife's 03 Ford Escape came with G05 and I see no reason to change it to something else either. The old conventional "green snot of death" -- never again.
 
Shelby, you are soooo late to the party on this one! It's NOT dexcool, it's radiator caps on many 4.3L and generally with low/no silicate extended life antifreezes, you can't run them low and allow air into the cooling system.

I'd rather use Dexcool or other long life/low silicate antifreeze and not blow water pumps every 100,000 miles and have scale all over my cooling system, but thats just me.
 
I could post a 1000 links and many of you guys would say the same. There are literally no problems with the green coolants if you change them every couple years, but the Dex problems are very well documented. They are documented even at early stages. I have a GM but will never even purchase another one until they stop using Dex. I posted this because the problems are talked about in every forum I visit except this one, just just for those interested educate yourself beforing using Dex Cool. I'm glad you all are having no issues with your own cars, but did you even click the links or do you just not care?
 
I read two of your links, and one of them agrees with what Drew said. Which is that it isnt really the dex-cool which is at fault, its the cooling system design itself.

"Although GM service bulletins acknowledge that 'sludging' can occur with Dex-Cool if air pockets are present within the cooling system, GM did not develop an airtight cooling system in its vehicles," the Illinois suit alleges, further stating that, "GM has never agreed to inspect or monitor the engine cooling systems, repair vehicles not in warranty, recall vehicles, replace Dex-Cool, change the maintenance schedule to include inspection of the engine coolant system or inform plaintiffs...of the defective and hazardous conditions of their engine coolant system."

http://www.noln.net/features/feature3.html
 
Even if the cooling system was perfectly air tight it would be impossible to change without introducing a lot of air when it was time to change the coolant. Even backflushes introduce air throughout the whole system. I've recently changed my coolant and I have added new coolant and water everyday for 5 days, there was also garling sounds coming the heater core when the water coolant mixure was going through it, so I had to also burp the system. It is unreasonable to expect that a cooling system will not have air introduced to it, and I'm sure there is still air trapped in there that I could never get out.

This is not my GM (which I have 2 of), but my Ford. I want to change the Dex out of my Chevy's but that is a quagmire too. If you change it you void your warranty and it can cause more problems by mixing Dex with green. So bottom line if you have Dex in your car you pretty much have to stick with it, but IMO it would be nice to see GM accept responibilty for themselves, and also change to something else.
 
I used Prestone's iteration of DexCool in my 92 Hyundai for 9 years. Changed it out every other winter, even had a mild seep from the radiator between the rubber that clamps between halves of the core (the orange deposit was the clue I needed a radiator at 150K). The radiator, thermostat and hoses were like new inside. Replaced the radiator, replaced the DexCool, and drove the car another 135K with no cooling system problems. I believe RayH has had ST DexCool in a Hyundai Sonata for at least two years, also, without trouble.

Shelby, I don't know if you got burned by a leak and the DexCool went bad or what, but there are far more here that keep their systems tight and right and use DexCool without trouble for many years. DexCool is not the demon here, poor maintenance (leading to the accompanying ignorance of a problem) is. Folks that raise the hood every fillup, check the oil, peek the puke tank don't have these problems. I'm no shill for DexCool, but rather for sound maintenance practices. 6 years in Naval Air will do that for a fella, I guess.
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We all want cars to be plug-and-play, but at some point, you're playing plug-and-pray, and unfortunately, when you talk cooling systems, plug-and-pray doesn't get it.
nono.gif
 
quote:
Originally posted by Big Jim:
Maybe I'm one of the few, but DexCool works well for me. I was an early adopter of the stuff, using it on my 91 Mercury LTS (Mazda high performance DOHC engine) for about 100,000 miles before I replaced the car. I then installed it in my 98 Ford Contour SVT when it was a year old and have used it ever since. The car is now 9 years old and has nearly 220,000 miles on it.

DexCool doesn't get the "green snot of death" fallout that the old conventional green coolant would get, so hoses last longer, radiators don't clog up, waterpumps last longer and so on and so on and so on.

Now the most amazing thing of all is that DexCool's OAT chemistry for the additive package has been nearly replicated by nearly everyone else. It is nearly the same as Prestone's "all makes all models" and even G05 is OAT based with a very low dose of silicate.

Anyway, DexCool works for me and I'm not likely to change to something else on that car after all this time. My wife's 03 Ford Escape came with G05 and I see no reason to change it to something else either. The old conventional "green snot of death" -- never again.
Click to expand...
My 2003 Ford E-250 had a factory fill of Ford Gold/Yellow (G-05??) and it formed the YELLOW/GREEN snot of death within 1-3 years.
 
"the YELLOW/GREEN snot of death"

We ate that for chow at boot camp mess hall.

Looked terrible but when you're hungry it slides right down.

That was 1974.

It should be evacuated any day now.
 
The 2003 E-250 came from the factory with whatever factory fill G-05 they used (it was yellow). Again, it came from the factory. The odometer was less than 10 miles when we took delivery of the factory ordered van.
smile.gif


I ALWAYS use bottled distilled water and I ALWAYS see green slime in my cooling system (t-stat, t-stat housing, hoses, degas bottle, etc...) it gets to the point that chunks will break off and flow around at times.

The G-05 wasn't any better since it just made a lot of yellowish slime that turned slightly brown (not a head-gasket leak) over time.

I bought the Prestone 5 year EL thinking that since its compatible with all coolants and basically replaced their 2-year green, that it should be fine. I read on BITOG that its actually a Dex-Cool clone!

The 03 E-250 has 2-year Prestone green and its due for a change this year. I have 2 gallons of Prestone 5 year EL and 2 gallons of distilled water ready to go (it needs 4 gallons with just a radiator drain).

The 00 Vic has 5-year Prestone EL that was changed this year.

The 81 T-bird has 5-year SuperTech "green", and I suppose that is also a DexCool clone?
 
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