Originally Posted By: George7941
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
If Dexcool is so great-then why doesn't EVERY manufacturer use it?? The only OEM who uses anything close is Caterpillar, NOBODY else uses it, the ones who did (such as Ford) RAN away from it!! Can't wait for the "60 years" evidence of Dexcool effects!
When we refer to Dexcool we are really referring to OAT 2eha based coolants, since it is the use of 2eha that is the source of all this controversy. It is the reason why Peak Global is often cited as a replacement for Dexcool since PG is OAT and non- 2eha. That being the case, let us consider the above mentioned Cat ELC. It is a OAT 2eha based coolant and when the engineering department of the world's largest earth-moving machinery manufacturer chooses a 2eha coolant, it surely counts for something. Rotella ELC ,Delo ELC etc are also 2eha based.
I have a question for you, Onion. At the Detroit Diesel shop where you work you must run into some Cat engines on trucks that come in. Do you see their cooling systems sludged up? If not, then could it be due to the fact that expensive heavy trucks see more maintenance than cars in general and sludge forms in neglected cooling systems?
Yes, I see heavy truck engines with 2eha coolant fairly often: Rotella, Delo, Cat ELC... even some trucks with genuine Dexcool. I've seen far fewer problems with 2eha coolant in heavy trucks than in automotive applications (though it DOES happen)- and I suspect that this is for two reasons: Dexcool is MUCH more common is automotive applications, and trucks are (usually) regularly maintained by people who (hopefully) know what they're doing.
I have seen several sludged dexcool/2eha cooling systems in heavy trucks- the same sticky/muddy nasty $hit that you'll find in automotive applications. Never seen ANY other coolant do that. And to add insult to injury, when dexcool/2eha coolant sours in a heavy diesel application, you can also get some particularly nasty cavitation in the liners and engine block. $$$$.
I'll also add that G05 is used in ALL John Deere diesel engines and lots of Mercedes/MTU diesels. I've never seen a SINGLE comparable case of sludge in any of these cooling systems.
And sludge isn't the only issue in question- Dexcool's compatibility issues with certain gasket materials are well-established. I worked at a Cummins dealership in the mid/late 90's, and we did a lot of work on Ryder fleet trucks. At one point, they switched their ENTIRE fleet over to Dexcool. Within weeks, the head gaskets began leaking on multiple Cummins N14 engines (dexcool seemed to have this particular effect on ONLY the N14 engines- at least in the short-term). I replaced DOZENS of N14 head gaskets, all covered under Dexcool warranty. The odd thing was that they had us refill the cooling systems with Dexcool immediately after the repair. Supposedly, something in the formula had been changed to address the problem. And it must have worked (at least in the short-term), as I don't recall any come-backs.
So, you see- I my passionate hatred of Dexcool goes WAY back. It's based on years of BITTER experience in addressing a variety of failure modes- not JUST the oft-cited sludge.
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
If Dexcool is so great-then why doesn't EVERY manufacturer use it?? The only OEM who uses anything close is Caterpillar, NOBODY else uses it, the ones who did (such as Ford) RAN away from it!! Can't wait for the "60 years" evidence of Dexcool effects!
I'll throw your question right back to you! If G-05 is so great, why doesn't EVERYONE use it?
Well, that's pretty high standard- if 'everyone' used the same coolant, then we wouldn't be having this debate.
But GO5 is used by multiple manufacturers. Ford, Chrysler, Mercedes, and John Deere come to mind immediately- there are likely others.
