Which Synthetic for 3800 Series II?

[ItsuMitsubishi]

I used plain ol' dino 10w30 with a little left over redline mixed in for my uncle's 3800. The entire thing is iron, and when I drained the oil, it had sparkles in it. It has a very slight knock at hot idle, worn bearing sounds like. I didn't like the idea of all that particulate in the engine and added a few strong neodymium magnets the size of a pinky finger nail to the entrance face of the oil filter (in between the holes of course). I'm expecting to see some automatic transmission-like fuzz on it next time. I dunno of you use the short or long filter, Striker, but I can recommend the long one!

From my experience the 4T60-E just likes your basic Dexron III, no additives. Definitely no Lucas! Your version is pretty much bug free. Straight Dexron and you're good to go! A very reliable drivetrain you've got there!

 

[Striker]

I see your from Ontario as well. Hamilton area here. Does GM make a longer version of the filter? I work at a dealership so I can get this stuff at cost+ 10%.

As for the transmission, I'll take your word for it as far as the no additives are concerned, but I don't know much about this whole drivetrain being solid. If you look on all the impala forums, the trannies are junk, supposedly.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Striker
I'm debating on which synthetic to run with? It was either Castrol Syntec or Penzoil Platinum. The motor calls for 10W30.

Why not PC Supreme Synthetic 5w30 or 10w30?

 

[Striker]

Originally Posted By: scurvy
Originally Posted By: Striker
I'm debating on which synthetic to run with? It was either Castrol Syntec or Penzoil Platinum. The motor calls for 10W30.

Why not PC Supreme Synthetic 5w30 or 10w30?


Never really heard of it to be quite honest? I don't know anything about it.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Striker
Never really heard of it to be quite honest? I don't know anything about it.

PC's oils are very, very good. I've considered 'importing' a couple cases of PC Duron 5w40 the next time I pass through.

 

[BobFout]

Originally Posted By: scurvy
Originally Posted By: Striker
Never really heard of it to be quite honest? I don't know anything about it.

PC's oils are very, very good. I've considered 'importing' a couple cases of PC Duron 5w40 the next time I pass through.


Ayup, I've been salivating over their 0w40.

 

[PhillyJoe]

Originally Posted By: Striker
I see your from Ontario as well. Hamilton area here. Does GM make a longer version of the filter? I work at a dealership so I can get this stuff at cost+ 10%.



The PF52 is the longer version of the PF47 for that engine.

 

[3putter]

Why would you possibly change from Dex Cool? Makes no sense ...use what the cooling system was designed for. Why would you want to put something in that will corrode the aluminum??

 

[Striker]

Originally Posted By: PhillyJoe
Originally Posted By: Striker
I see your from Ontario as well. Hamilton area here. Does GM make a longer version of the filter? I work at a dealership so I can get this stuff at cost+ 10%.



The PF52 is the longer version of the PF47 for that engine.


Ok perfect. That is a GM piece ?

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: 3putter
Why would you possibly change from Dex Cool?

Because it has a history of turning into sludge on its own?
Because there are other coolants that won't eat away intake manifold gaskets and hydrolock your engine?
Because of the class action lawsuit that GM lost due to Dex-Cool, yet many stealerships still say there is no problem?

Don't take my word for it, though. These guys see it all the time. There's plenty more pictures here on BITOG and most GM forums as well.

My now-wife/GF-at-the-time bought a 1996 Bonneville from a coworker for $1500 about 8 years ago. Dang thing ran like a top right up until the Dex-Cool finally ate through the intake manifolds and it hydrolocked. Anybody choosing to run it is doing so with blinders on, IMO.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I learned from this experience. Can you learn from others' experiences?

 

[PhillyJoe]

AC Delco PF52.

The problem with dex-cool is if it mixes with air it can be a problem. In a pressurized system it shouldn't be a problem.
I just changed out my daughter's '03 Grand Am antifreeze 2 weeks ago. Seven year old dex-cool and it looked as clean as the day it went in. Refilled with prestone all makes after flushing and running the car several times.

 

[JimPghPA]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I had an `87 3800 (looked much different than the series II) and I always ran GTX 20W50 in it. I sold it with just a lil over 300,000 miles. Still ran perfect and didn`t use or leak a single drop of oil. I`m not telling you to go out and use only a 50 weight,but I`d definitely just use a good dino. No need for an expensive synth oil.


20W-50 dino probably would be a great oil for a vehicle in South Texas USA, but I would not try it in winter in Ontario,Canada where the OP lives.

Some quote cold cranking for 20W-50 of 4F (-15C). I would expect winter in Ontario to get down to -20 F or colder, and would not want to start any engine with any 20W-50 that cold.

 

[Striker]

I would definitely be interested in removing the dexcool from the system. Is it ok of I run water thru the system just to clear it all out and than add some regular stuff?

I'm going to do this when I do the intake manifold gaskets.

 

[Striker]

TTT-Any more advice on the way dexcool can be safely removed from the entire system?

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Striker
I would definitely be interested in removing the dexcool from the system. Is it ok of I run water thru the system just to clear it all out and than add some regular stuff?


That would be your best bet. Run water through it a few times (ensuring it gets through the heater core) and when it comes out clear, you're good to go.

 

[Merkava_4]

I just got through refilling my 3800 with Dex-Cool last night because I had to change the heater core. I've never had any problems with Dex-Cool and I like it for the color. It was easy to spot the leaks on the heater core.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: scurvy

Because it has a history of turning into sludge on its own?
Because there are other coolants that won't eat away intake manifold gaskets and hydrolock your engine?
Because of the class action lawsuit that GM lost due to Dex-Cool, yet many stealerships still say there is no problem?

Don't take my word for it, though. These guys see it all the time. There's plenty more pictures here on BITOG and most GM forums as well.

My now-wife/GF-at-the-time bought a 1996 Bonneville from a coworker for $1500 about 8 years ago. Dang thing ran like a top right up until the Dex-Cool finally ate through the intake manifolds and it hydrolocked. Anybody choosing to run it is doing so with blinders on, IMO.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I learned from this experience. Can you learn from others' experiences?


People who've had problems with Dex-Cool eating their gaskets have had the same fill of coolant in their engines for several years. If you don't keep the coolant changed often enough, acids will build up in the coolant and it's the acids that eat away the gaskets. My 3800 is acid free because I drain and fill the coolant twice a year.

 

[saberz]

I'd do it once a year or once every 2 years. I luckily had a coolant leak through the res, so I replaced almost a whole gallon of the stuff

. I'll wait till next year to do a full on drain/fill.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Striker
I would definitely be interested in removing the dexcool from the system. Is it ok of I run water thru the system just to clear it all out and than add some regular stuff?

Exactly right. It make take several drain & fills with water to get all the old coolant out, depending on how well the block drains. Refill with G-05 or Peak Global Lifetime and rest easy knowing the Rust-Kool debacle is well behind you. You may also want to mark the overflow container to keep anyone else from trying to top up your coolant with more of the OCOD (orange coolant of death).

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
People who've had problems with Dex-Cool eating their gaskets have had the same fill of coolant in their engines for several years. If you don't keep the coolant changed often enough, acids will build up in the coolant and it's the acids that eat away the gaskets. My 3800 is acid free because I drain and fill the coolant twice a year.

You're only fueling the fire. Dex-Cool was supposed to be maintenance-free for 5 years or 100k - 150k miles!

Changing your coolant TEN TIMES as often as the manufacturer recommends in order to keep it 'acid free'? That's akin to changing your oil every 500 miles in order to 'keep the engine clean'.

Sorry, had GM not used wet manifolds and drastically changing the formula after giving a gasket supplier the coolant specs this wouldn't be an issue. Plenty of other OAT/HOAT coolants are out there that work better for longer and don't require changing coolant 10x more often than recommended to prevent catastrophic engine failure. All the VWs I've seen that have used G11 or G12/G12+/G12++ have been pristine inside even after 300k miles (never flushed, only refilled after WP & TB changes at 100k miles), same for the regular green changed every 3 - 5 years in domestics and imports using G-05, ditto for Toyota's red coolant, Volvo's blue coolant in my 850, etc...

To quote San Carlos Radiator (who provided the pictures of GM coolant stickers):

'There are lots of coolants out there. Lots of inhibitors out there. Lots of cars out there. Only certain cars have thick, gooey, sticky, gritty, muddy corrosive gel fouling their cooling system, causing overheating and leaking. Call it what you want. We call it Dex-cool.'

 

[Striker]

I'm still on the fence about the dexcool eating thru the lower intake manifold gaskets. I haven't done any deep research but on all the impala forums nowhere does it state that dex cool itself was the route of the problem for the gaskets taking a [censored]?