GM Dex-Cool, 134K miles, 04 Chevy Tahoe

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This was the other 2004 coolant sample that I submitted. According to the little prestone tester, this fluid was in better shape than the diesel pickup (5 of 5 balls floating). Obviously there is a lot missing from the hand held tests.

Will be replacing the fluid this weekend with either Valvoline Maxlife or Amsoil coolant.

04Tahoe_Coolant_031912.JPG
 
the balls tell you antifreeze concentration.. nothing about actual condition..

usually with those style testers 1 is weak 2-- is kinda week

3-4 good.. 5= too much antifreeze not enough water.



I'd say the coolant is worn out and needs replaced asap.
 
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I'd also suggest sticking with distilled (cheap at WM) water or reverse osmosis filtered water to get the minerals out. Wonder how the concentration got so high? Topping off with straight Dex only?
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Why change coolant?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Dexcool in a properly set up and maintained system.


Dexcool is suppose to be changed every 5 years or 150k miles.


P.S. Where did the copper come from?
 
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well it sure didn't come out of an all aluminum and plastic radiator!

We run dex in factory filled fleet vehicles to component failure, and it's almost always more than 150k miles.

Never a problem. EVER.

Dex used to have issues but it flat out does not anymore. Even Ford is using it now.
 
Went back with the Amsoil antifreeze (& Wally distilled water) in this one. Cost was $8 higher and it's supposed to last for 7yrs or 250k miles. If nothing else will be good to compare that to the factory fill of Dex cool.

Agreed on the Dex coolant, both of my vehicles are 2004 and were running factory fill. The Tahoe showed it needs to be changed, the Duramax was still good (@ 8yrs & 117K miles). Don't think there is anything wrong with Dex Cool, just thought I'd try something else and see how it performs.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Dex used to have issues but it flat out does not anymore. Even Ford is using it now.


Did they reformulate it? or did the cooling system design change?
 
I drained out factory coolant from the radiator on my sister 2002 Tahoe (just hit 60k miles) and it has a very noticeable...odor. Can't quite say what it is, but I figured it was time to change it. I'd love to test it but don't have the money to spare.
 
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Dex used to have issues but it flat out does not anymore. Even Ford is using it now.


Did they reformulate it? or did the cooling system design change?


As noted above^^^ it appears to be the same formula.

The real problem was gaskets. Dex isn't the big stinker the Internet has portrayed it as.
 
The cooling system in my 2004 Silverado is spotless and has had Dex the whole time. I had thought about changing it to something else, but decided not too as obviously the Dex was doing a good job.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Dex used to have issues but it flat out does not anymore. Even Ford is using it now.


Did they reformulate it? or did the cooling system design change?


As noted above^^^ it appears to be the same formula.

The real problem was gaskets. Dex isn't the big stinker the Internet has portrayed it as.


+1 Dex is EXCELLENT at keeping cooling systems clean but once a foreign coolant or air is introduced it can cause issues. The issues with the older vehicles were that the acids used in Dexcool would eat away at the gasket material (namely the Lower Intake and Head gaskets.) For the cars that experienced this, AC Delco and other have created new gaskets that are made of materials that wont corrode. Essentially fixing the issue. The only issue is that so many people are afraid of it and frankly I would chaulk it up to their ignorance. If you are truely worried I would switch to Peak Global.
 
Not sure how the concentration ended up so high. We bought this one at 119K miles and had not touched the coolant until after this report.
 
Well then its doubtful its the FF Then. Someone probably did a drain and fill and used concentrate. Possibly they just replaced a bad overflow tank and filled it with concentrate.
 
Dex-Cool in a neglected 2003 Chevrolet S-10 (50K) 8K ago. Great shape
Dex-Cool in a "randomly topped off" 2005 Saab 9-5 (58K) 25K ago. Great shape
Dex-Cool in an "in service" 2002 Saab 9-3 (113K) 1K ago. Great shape
Dex-Cool in a "randomly topped off" 2002 Saab 9-5 (125K) 40K ago. Great shape

Cleanse as necessary. Rinse with distilled water. Use distilled water to dilute to spec (50%).
Dex-Cool is A-OK in my book. Kira
 
I'd never put any of that stuff in anything I own, but in the trucks I maintain, it has performed flawlessly. Always replace the Dex with Dex when something goes down. I installed coolant filters on all of them, just for the extra safety measure.

 
Originally Posted By: dhellman12
Not sure how the concentration ended up so high. We bought this one at 119K miles and had not touched the coolant until after this report.


During the service life of the coolant the water is boiled out. Every year I have to add 1-2qt's of water to my vehicles due to the water being 'cooked" out from the summer time heat. Example, I changed the coolant in my durmax. When I refiled and bleed the system out the ratio was 50/50. About 1 1/2 years later (30k miles) I was 2qts low on coolant. When I checked the ratio it was off a bit..over %60 dexcool. I added the water and that brought the ratio back down to what I had it set to.

Even some owners manuals say adding water up to 4 times a year is acceptable.
 
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