Dexcool vs. Prestone 'Extended Life' antifreeze.

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Again, in the big scheme of things, small change.

We have had a lot of experience with Asian radiators, and they have ALL been quite unreliable, this is across Toyota, Honda and Acura. Id want the right chemistry in there to be sure that optimal longevity is obtained. Over a 200k mile ownership, this could amount to an entire radiator in my experience.

My +250k miles '94 LS400 has original radiator, it has Prestone and Peak all-makes/all-models with tap water for more than 12 years with no problem. I changed these once: water pump, thermostat, upper hose and some heater hoses. I think the key is change the coolant often, like every 2-3 years, then you don't have much problems.

 

[metroplex]

Just FYI

Ford has switched over to Dex-Cool for most 2011-up models, including the Mustang (GT500), Taurus SHO, and other newer platforms. Well, Ford doesn't call it Dex-Cool but rather WSS-M97B44-D2 Motorcraft Orange, but that is the same as Dex-Cool.

 

[SteveSRT8]

^^^Thanks, this is a very old thread but your update is becoming better known and is needed to counter all the baseless hooey about the evil Dexcool.

 

[keith]

My '99 Caddy STS had the Dexcool. One day I checked the fluid, and it was brown sludge. Had the dealership do a flush and refill, and change the radiator cap in case that was leaking. Not too long after, the engine overheated and the head gasket blew, hard to say for sure which happened first. I decided it wasn't worth the cost of the timecert procedure to replace the head gaskets, plus belts and water pump, pushing well over $2500 on an engine that may have been plugged with brown sludge. It only had about 110K miles too. Just another real world experience anecdote to add to the list.

I now use Peak Global Lifetime on every car I own.

 

[surfstar]

Originally Posted By: metroplex
Just FYI

Ford has switched over to Dex-Cool for most 2011-up models,


Yep.

https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/Main/quickref/scucEN.pdf

Wow. I bought their specialty green (Mazda FL22) b/c it was the easiest and cheapest way to locally obtain full strength coolant for my Honda.

I did a 2x radiator drain and fill with Prestone Dexclone in my 2005 Saturn Vue last year - ~82k miles at the time - coolant looked perfectly fine before and after.

 

[Lightsilver]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^Thanks, this is a very old thread but your update is becoming better known and is needed to counter all the baseless hooey about the evil Dexcool.


I wonder why it is that whenever I read about somebody finding really bad sludge in their cooling system, it's always Dex-Cool?

I started this thread because of a post I read on a non-automotive forum, about a fellow who found the famous 'brown sludge' in their cooling system.

At the time, I did an extensive search, and found many other people who reported this crud in their cooling systems, and in every case where the people reported the type of coolant, it was always Dex-Cool. Always.

My read of why Ford has switched to the Dex-Cool formulation is NOT that it's 'good', or even 'better' coolant, but that Ford can save a little bit of money on each new car they sell.

It doesn't take a genius to see that saving on initial cost per vehicle is the MAIN reason why car companies make changes in suppliers, and the components and materials they use when they build cars.

Ford sold 5.31 MILLION cars in 2011. If they save just $1 per car, that's, let's see... carry the Dex-Cool, then... divide by the Dex-Cool. Yup, they would save 5.31 million dollars, and whoever convinced Ford to make this change probably got a six figure bonus, and the first number is NOT a one.

Ford's warranty on the cooling system is 3 years/36K miles. Cooling system failures in new cars, especially which can be blamed on the coolant are extremely low. You start with a new car, completely clean, with new seals and gaskets, and new coolant.

It only has to work for 3 years. That's the way Ford looks at it, believe me, as does GM. After that, any cooling system failures simply generates more income for Ford and GM dealerships.

And, lest you think I don't have any skin in the game: my elderly Mother, is driving a 1999 Oldsmobile Cutlass, with about 67K miles on it, that she bought new, and she has had no less than 6, that's SIX intake manifold gaskets replaced on it, of which she has had to pay for 5, that's FIVE of them, out of pocket. All of the recommended service, including coolant flushes/changes, have been done at the same dealership.

I'm not going to be putting any Dex-Cool in any of MY vehicles, well, EVER.

I have a 1988 Toyota Celica that I store during the winters, and do NOT want to find brown sludge in it, nor coolant leaks, or in my daily driver, a 2005 Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix.

 

[mechanicx]

The truth is in the middle. Ford didn't switch to Dexcool just to be cheap. They could've switched over 15 years ago. It's not saving them anything per se. They made updates to the cooling system to work best with Dexcool. In return they got an effective coolant, with a long service life and long water pump life with Dexcool.

That's the crux of the matter. Dexcool works great in a system set up for it (or a system that always stays completely full of coolant in the engine). On a leaky system with a low mounted cap-on-radiator and no high mounted surge tank, that's ran low Dexcool can fail to protect the system and sludge.