Someone mixed dex and green into my radiator while the motor was being built . So I am going to flush my radiator this weekend and am thinking of switching to Green antifreeze. But thought why? what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using dex and regular green? I know dex lasts longer (suposedly)and was made for aluminum motors,and more expensive. Was wondering your educated thoughts on this before I fill my rad back up??

And what is the most effective way of getting the guts of my cooling system cleaned up before damage might occur? I was going to flush with distilled water, let it warm up, then repeat few times.

 

Try a search on this. There have been many threads, recently a big one in the LS1 Internal Engine section.

Basically, the general consensus is split on Dex vs Green. Personally, I'm sticking with Dex. It's worked great for me, so I have no reason to switch.

 

ok man thanks!

 

Green is available in "Low Tox" formula wherein the primary component is an approved food additive (I run it in my formy no problem). Green also contains fluorescent dye already in it so tracking down leaks is easy.

 

we run dex in our patrol cars....anyone who knows anything knows they get very hot....but it actually keeps them pretty cool

 

i have noticed that dex does have a problem when over due on a change. that would be that it forms a gunk and chuncks of red clay if you will that can stick up your thermistat radiator cap and even seen one piece that took out the water pump. sorry for spelling its 450 and only 3 hrs of sleep. i flushed my system and went with green no chance of this gunk or chuncks with that

 

I've never noticed a difference with either one. When I worked at O'Reilly's most people usually came in when they flushed their radiator and switched to green (simply becuase of the cost). I've seen the green ran in F-bodies with no problems and just as many with Dex but I'm stickin with Dex just cause I get it for free!!! LOL

 

I just use that pre diluted green coolant that says it work with any type of coolant. I guess its some universal **** or something.

 

Thanks guys i'll just stick with the green!

 

I work for a GM dealership and we constantly have 3.4L and 4.3L vehicles needing the intake gaskets replace because it eats the gasket material away over time. Usually around 30K-50K miles.

 

be more specific, what eats the gaskets? the green stuff or the dex?

 

I don't think this is an issue with the newer engines. LS1s (on average) don't seem to suffer from early mileage coolant leaks like that.

Perhaps some of the older engine designs use gasket material that was not originally designed to work with dexcool, thus the use of dexcool by GM in later years in these older designs caused issues.

 

so he is talking about dex cool.

 

i switched to green after dexcool ate through my water pump with only 30,000 miles on it. btw, it was changed at the recommended 5 year interval - as soon as i bought the car yes, green coolant isn't rated to last as long as dexcool is, but you can't run dexcool for the 5 year change window or else it starts eating seals anyway. so what is exactly the advantage of dexcool if you can't run it for the period it's advertised for, the sole reason dexcool is supposed to be beneficial?

people are going to come in here saying that dexcool is less corrosive to an aluminum block than green coolant is. of course, they won't mention how changing the coolant every other year won't corrode the block and how long after they're dead and buried, your block will still be intact, even if the car is rotting in a junkyard somewhere for 50 years. just because it's aluminum doesn't mean the block is fragile. the purpose of using aluminum is that it's very corrosion resistant, lightweight and dissipates heat quickly (aluminum can't rust, ahem).

so why does GM recommend dexcool? well, it's more expensive, and, oh yea, doesn't GM get a kickback for using it, just like they get a kickback for recommending mobil 1 on corvettes even though many other oils outperform it?

run whatever you feel comfortable running. just know that most mechanics hate dexcool and advise their customers to switch to green. dexcool is stereotyped as a bad coolant by mechanics for a reason - it's notorious for gunking up your radiator and eating water pumps. if you decide to switch, make sure you flush out ALL the dexcool. my car was flushed with green coolant FOUR TIMES on the swap, including running the heater to clean out the heater core - don't forget this step.

 

I used to work at franklin pontiac in franklin and was told by the older techs to switch to green,and they complained of the same problems you described. After hearing all these reviews I now have switched to green.

 

Many mechanics bad mouth domestic cars too, while praising asian imports as the gold standard. I tend to disagree with that as well.

Most LS1s do not blow out water pump gaskets at 30k miles. Yours would be the exception, not the rule.

There is no major price difference at the local autoparts stores around here for dexcool over the green. And what I like about the dexcool is, my radiator looks a lot cleaner using that stuff than what my older cars did with the green stuff. I change coolant much more often than the 5 year recommendation though. But again, I don't see price as an issue regardless of change interval, because dexcool costs me $10/gallon. No biggy. Green stuff isn't much cheaper.

 

I was talking about Dexcool eating gaskets. Im not talking about old engine either. Ive seen the gaskets on a 05' Impala be completely trashed in about 50K. Brady, its me.....MeangreenZ28.

 

I didn't mean an old engine, I meant an old design.

Some of the engines in new cars that use dexcool now (or in recent years) are engines that were designed before dexcool was standard, so the gaskets might not be fully compatible. 3.4/4.3L motors are not "new".

 

I bought a used 2000 Tahoe that had Dexcool in it. I did not know you had to change it at certain intervals. Anyways I started to notice a brown sludge building up at the radiator cap that discosto mentioned above.

I cleaned it up but the sludge would reappear of course and then the motor started running warmer. I had the motor flushed out and the green coolant put in it. No problems since. I know more about the situation now but with the green I don't have to worry about the brown sludge.

 

haha I thought that car looked familiar,we need to meet up soon and go cruise!!