Punisher_ws7

iTrader: (6)

I have read alot about the opinions of people in their cars with miles. What about a brand new motor? I read that with Dex-Cool it takes 5,000 miles for the inhibitors to start working to keep corrosion and oxidation away from the metals.. Well obviously this concerns me. I just finished my build and installed Dex-Cool. Haven't Cranked the car yet as it needs tuned. So i am wondering do i drain the 2 gal. and replace it with something else or will it be fine...

Thanks

Always2Slow

iTrader: (8)

It will be fine and to be honest you can use any antifreeze you want. The block is factory and dex cool comes in it from the factory so your good to go.

Damian

iTrader: (89)

There is nothing wrong with Dexcool. It's the people operating the vehicles that cause the problem. Any antifreeze should be flushed and refilled around 50-60K for best results. Most people that complain about Dexcool sludging up are the ones who didn't check their antifreeze till the car had 115,000 miles on it.

Dex is fine. Run it.

O2Form

Are you kidding? I've seen dexcool RUIN lots of parts. n't use it in anything! My TA had 28k on it and dexsludge terrible in the overflow....once it starts it almost impossible to stop too. It ate two rad caps and i flushed it 4 times and it still was eatting everything. The problem is the fbody overflow is open to outside air....dexcool can't be used in that situation. It turns into a strong acid when its mixed with air and heat. Use anything but dexcool, but good luck finding anything other than dexcool because they are ALL dexclones except the GO5 coolant.

35th camaro

i changed to the green stuff when i put my 402 last year, i have seen that crap dexcool do lots of damage on cars at work,(i think there even was a law suite in the past about dexcool), couple of years ago i restored a 69 camaro conv. 396 ss matching numbers, spent big money on that car and had figured i would put the best in car, i haden't even driven car yet and had started to rust and sludge in my copper and brass rad. could imagine what it was dooing to rest of my engine,

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

Odd...I've used nothing but Dexcool in my car since I bought it, and after 9 years, I've still had no issues whatsoever. If it turns to ****, I'll eat my words. Until then, I'll keep using it.

remauto1187

iTrader: (1)

I would pi$$ in the radiator before i put Dexpuke in it!

My 99 Vortec 5.7L (Vin R) in my Sierra suffered from the Dex eating the aluminum intake base and more importantly the cast aluminum heater hose nipple which is on the passenger side front corner of the intake. They both had been eroded away from the inside. The nipple literally fell off because it got so thin from the inside because of the erosion to the cast aluminum.

I do know that the dexcrap will sludge up if somebody that doesnt know any better adds the green ethylene glycol antifreeze to the cooling system.


Green has been around for many many years...if it aint broken dont try to fix it.

Google it....you will find many dexcrap horror stories.

I will NEVER use it in anything!

Grimes

iTrader: (3)

Ford just switched to a dexcool clone for all of it's worldwide cars, so it must have some merit. I've been using it since 2002, and no problems yet...just keep the system full and properly maintained.

O2Form

Thats true but with dexcool you must maintain it perfectly. ANY air in the system will cause acids to form, just unacceptable to me.

joecar

DexCool has a few interesting properties:

1. when hot in the presence of air, it forms a gel where it contacts the air; i.e. if a small leak starts, DexCool will try to seal it, so you may not be aware;

for example, when the water pump gaskets start to fail, a small amount of coolant dribbles down the front cover and turns to gel (you may see orange grease stuff on the two front oil pan bolts, and maybe an orange grease tail on the front cover);

(also, some vehicles came from GM with a faulty radiator cap which allowed air to enter).

2. in the presence of air, it acts corrosively;

the water pump heater return port typically initially (until the clamp seats) leaks a small amount of air (this is the low pressure side of the pump); I have seen this port corrodes on several pumps;

if there's any air in the heater core (it's hard to get all the air out), then DexCool will corrode the aluminium (how many heater core failures have you heard of...?).

3. it attacks/weakens nylon and silicone;

the water pump gaskets have silicone seals, these fail due to DexCool;

other engines, like the LA1 3.4L V6, the lower intake manifold gasket consists of a nylon carrier with silicone seals; there have been a large number of these failing (coolant then leaks externally and internally) (GM has gotten sued over this); not only does the LIM gasket fail, but the cast iron 3.4L engine block now has air in it, and the DexCool corrodes the iron and forms gel at the same time... the block starts filling with brown mud sludge (I have personal experience with this, GM fixed my wife's GAGT under warranty).

I was a firm believer that DexCool was high tech and superior (I used to convert my old engines to DexCool) until I started seeing repeated water pump gasket failures and heater core failures on my LS1, and engine block failure (water jacket clog, water/oil swap, due to LIM gasket) and heater core failure (on the GAGT you have to pull the whole dash to get to the heater core).

Always2Slow

iTrader: (8)

There are pros and cons to everything. I have used dex cool on my ls1 and the green stuff in my other car with no issues. Its very crucial to be on top of the cooling system that no air gets in like everyone mentions otherwise your up the creek without the paddle. If you check or flush once a year you should be fine.

NBM99SS

iTrader: (33)

+1. If you flush is every 3 yrs or 50-60k you are fine. Any coolant dex or not will get acidic after a long time and eat away as gaskets and stuff.

joecar

My wife's GAGT suffered LIMG failure at 20K miles (1.5 years since new).

pwrtrip75

iTrader: (8)

Why not just use the green stuff? Its been working fine for how many years? When in doubt use whats known to work.

piercecamaro

i work for a gm dealership im tech and we use dex cool in everything dex cool is great as long as you dont leave it longer than 80,000 miles it will start to sludge but other than that i have NEVER seen major problems with dex cool except for OPERATER ERROR.

safemode

iTrader: (1)

You know what happens to regular anti-freeze coolant when you leave it in longer than 80,000 miles? I can tell you what it doesn't do. It doesn't coat the entire coolant system in orange gunk. It doesn't eat aluminum. It doesn't clog up your thermostat and render it non-functional. It doesn't do much at all in terms of massive engine destruction.

Obviously if everything is done perfectly the way it should be, both would be fine to use, so we have to be assuming you're not doing everything perfectly or there would be no point to the question. So go with the option that results in the penalty that doesn't mess everything up. hint: Not dex-cool.

As far as i'm concerned it's a coolant designed to produce more repair work on parts that otherwise would probably outlive the rest of the car.

Russ K

iTrader: (1)

I use Peak Global antifreeze in place of Dexcool, as it's ethylene glycol and won't turn to brown sludge. The dexcool is propylene glycol.

Russ Kemp

O2Form

No its not.............Dexcool is ethylene glycol

remauto1187

iTrader: (1)

Maybe you havent "seen major problems" with dexcrap because YOUR F'N EYES ARE CLOSED ! ! ! !

I suppose the rest of the whole United States is "just making things up".... or all the lawsuits over dexcrap are just "people's imagination" trying to get rich schemes.

Please! Its hard working people trying to make a living that bought a GM product that is defective simply because GM refuses to admit that dexcool is destructive to ANY cooling system it is put into. Somebody is getting rich of dexcrap....and it sure isnt the hard working people! They are the ones paying for a new car/truck that should be fine with 40k-120k miles on them instead of broke down in the driveway with a fatal dexcool induced failure.

They tried the BS angle back in mid 90's that Dexcool won't harm pets unlike the green stuff to get it out in the market....and charged, what double atleast the cost of what ethylene glycol (green) is!

NO THANKS! I'll keep the Green. My Great Grandfather used it.....and I will always use it. I dont have to worry about it eating everything away.

***NOTE*** I am a diehard GM fan/owner.....but GM screwed the pooch on this one among many others. (Shall i say VIN R 5.7L leaking intake manifold) to bring back memories.

I own a '85 Corvette '99 GMC Sierra and 5.7L GEN I and 4.3L Equipped boat...the only thing i dont have gm is my lawnmower and 4 wheeler !

O2Form

Dexcool is ethylene glycol and so is the "green stuff. Its the additive package that makes it different.