Time to change the coolant- which one?

[The Critic]

Coolant is slightly low...(intermittent low coolant light) on the 96 Saturn. The coolant was possibly overheated last week when the serpentine belt tensioner failed and the engine was driven for 10-15 mi with a failed water pump.

Last coolant service (not sure of how it was done) was 2 years and 19,000 miles ago.

Coolant smells worse than dirty socks, and there's quite a bit of crap on the cap and filler neck area.

Coolant appears "unclear" in the yellowish tank, but when a piece of paper is dipped into it, it appears pink.

I'm unsure of what coolant was used at the last service, but I'm guessing it was Dex-Cool.

Ironically, factory fill coolant for this vehicle is a phosphate-free, but not silicate-free "green" antifreeze.

First service was done after 5 yrs (I know, way too long) with Genuine Saturn coolant, and that coolant was run for another 4-yrs, before the mystery (presumably Dex-Cool) fluid was installed.

Now, I'm wondering what fluid I should put in.

I can get the Prestone All Makes/Models, for $8.XX at Walmart, or I can spit out the extra $2 for the Zerex G-05, which I'm not even sure if I can find.

Of course, I first plan to drain/fill the system with water (twice), then add Prestone Super Radiator Cleaner, drive the car for 400 miles, then drain/fill twice with water before running a 60/40 mix with the new coolant.

Any suggestions on which coolant to run ???

Thanks.

 

[MC5W20]

Run the new one made by Peak. It is called "Lifetime". I would change the mix to 50/50. good luck with your plan.

 

[The Critic]

quote:

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Originally posted by MC5W20:
Run the new one made by Peak. It is called "Lifetime". I would change the mix to 50/50. good luck with your plan.

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Thanks. What's the advantage of the Peak's Global EL Lifetime fluid over the Prestone All Makes/Models, aside from the additional $2/gal. (Note: I've only seen the Peak Lifetime at Walgreen's, and I'm not exactly comfortable buying auto parts from Walgreen's, due to the time the product may've been sitting on the shelf.

)

 

[Smoky14]

I just did the Peak Global LT and so far I like it. Strange to buy it at Walgreens but since it is new on the market it can;'t be too old.

 

[Matt_S]

The fluid comes from the same bottling plant, no matter who sells it. If you have to buy it at Walgreens, so what? I used Peak Global on my wife's former Honda for a while. This was before it was "lifetime", but I had good luck with it. Personally, though, if it's got Dexcool in it now, I'd replace it with Dexcool. You won't have compatibility issues that way. Also, after the cleaning, don't limit yourself to 2 drain-and-fills. If it needs more than that for the water to come out clear, do more. Distilled water is the best thing to use, too, although I have yet to see proof that tap water is all that bad.

 

[kanling]

96 was the year saturn converted from conventional to Dex Cool. My understanding is that there should be a green or orange dot on the overflow cap to indicate what it came with from the factory in that model year.

Not that it makes much difference on what your choice is now.

 

[The Critic]

Saturn did switch to DexCool in 96, but only in the later build models. Mine was an early build 96, so it still used the "green" phosphate-free, Genuine Saturn coolant.

I've pretty much decided on using the Dex-Clone, Prestone All Makes/Models fluid at a 57% concentration of coolant to water, respectively.

My main concern is whether to use the system cleaner or not. Right now, the fluid appears pink when dipped into with a piece of paper, but I did not actually extract some fluid out, and place it in a clear container to check transperancy or cloudiness. Look into the container, it appears to be of a dark red (not transparent), but the container is of a yellow color, so I dunno...

There is also a good amount of buildup on the cap, and a trace around the filler neck area, but no visible buildup in the coolant itself.

What may be important to note is that the system was run TWICE on silicated coolant, that was run for TWICE the recommended interval. Thus, would I need to use the Prestone Super Radiator Cleaner given the possibility that some of the silicates may've fallen out of suspension and is causing lots of buildup that I'm unaware of?

Ray?

Thanks.

 

[Ray H]

You'll know when you drain the current fill. If it's otherwise clear but for the marker dye tinting) rather than turbid (cloudy), or scale-laden, you won't have to go through the trouble of a chemical flush. I'm still a big fan of distilled water flushing if you're changing chemistries, though - especially if the old coolant is about spent. On a Saturn, that shouldn't be more than six drain-refill-idle-until-the-cooling-fan-runs-twice cycles. Four or five gallons of distilled water should handle it. Additionally, you might want to demount the pressurized burp tank and clean it. Chipped ice, a little dishwashing detergent and water makes a good cleaning agent to loosen stuck crud. (Once you're satisfied it's as clean as you'll get it, a rinse or two with straight distilled water will be a good finish-up.) I'm not sure I'd continue to trust the old cap, either. The thermostat may be marginal from your descripion of recent events, too.

[ March 28, 2006, 04:57 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]

 

[The Critic]

I've talked to a few other people (thanks HondaMan and others) regarding this subject; of all the people I've talked to, it was pretty much agreed upon that a chemical flush is NOT the best way to go and may have long-term effects on an older system like mine, as I would rather not expose any leaks after a chemical flush.

I plan to drain the radiator (removes 6 qts) and the engine block (holds 1 qt), and refill with water. I'll run the system with the heater on high until the cooling fan turns on. I'll repeat this process once more. If time permits, I'll repeat this a third time, if not, two should be fine ? Then I'll add 1 gal Prestone All Makes/Models and top-off with water. Perhaps replace the thermostat, hoses, and engine coolant temperature sensor.

Thanks.

 

[eljefino]

Your latest plan sounds great particularly with the thermostat and ECTS changeouts. As we both know a saturn holds 7 quarts. I would actually hold on to one pint of the new 100% antifreeze and not add that, for a better 50/50 ratio. Also you might still have 1-2% antifreeze density in your "water" in the block.

50/50 is good enough for cali winter, and will cool a smidgen better than 57/43.

 

[labman]

I would seriously look at Prestone Low Tox if you have little kids or pets. If the neighbors let theirs run loose, E.G. poisoning is their problem. I have used in in my truck for years and used it in my 92 Grand Am. When I decide the factory fill Dex Cool in my 02 Cavalier time has come, I will be changing over to Low tox too. The package says meets ASTM D-3306 for corrosion protection. It says nothing about silicates, but does say safe for aluminum.

 

[The Critic]

Well, just did the flush today.

Drained the block and radiator, stuff came out bright red. Smelled awful; people from the other side of the shop came over to see what was going on. One guy asked..."Wow...is that ATF?"

Guy who drained it with me (buddy) said, you probably have rust...

Lo and behold, we closed both plugs and filled the reservoir with water. Ran the engine for about 5-7 mins and drained it. Fluid came out bright orange. Fluid at that time was probably 150F or thereabouts...it was steaming but wasn't boiling hot.

Closed up both plugs, poured out 1pt of coolant from the 1 gallon Prestone All Makes/Models jug, then poured the rest (3.5 qts) into the reservoir. Spilled some too along the way...so I added another 4oz for good measure. Topped off with water. Let the thing run cap off for 7-10 mins to bleed the system. Will have to open the cap again tomorrow morning to equalize pressure.

Not really sure what to do at this point.

Its very possible that the system was rusted up quite badly. I really don’t want to use a chemical flush as that’ll probably expose more leaks. More than likely, I’ll flush again in 6 months at my next oil change…it only costs $9.

Suggestions?

Thanks.

PS- This is the past coolant schedule. (slight correction) Factory coolant (Genuine Saturn "green" coolant, HOAT and phosphate-free) has a recommended interval of 3yr/36K.

11/95-7/00= Factory fill
7/00-2/04= Genuine Saturn coolant installed by the dealer
2/04-3/30/06= DexCool installed by independent mechanic.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

quote:

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Originally posted by Michael Wan:
[QB] Saturn did switch to DexCool in 96, but only in the later build models. Mine was an early build 96, so it still used the "green" phosphate-free, Genuine Saturn coolant.

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Then use G-05 which is the same formulation and has no phosphates. I bet there are many 96 Saturn owners out there that wish they were in your boat instead of the Dex-Cool one.