Lambert695

iTrader: (17)

I understand where you're coming from but if all we are talking about is family vehicles then in my GM family they all started out with dex-cool, and I never once pissed in my radiator and the dexcool STILL went bad.

Im not trying to argue with you, some people have good luck(like you) and people have had bad luck (like me) and dexcool may work but who wants a coolant that only works 50% of the time. That's all i am trying to say. It works fine until it starts to go bad.. but when it starts it goes bad fast and gets nasty. With my experiences other coolant is more reliable.

bww3588

iTrader: (49)

not saying you pissed in your radiator...a little exaggeration. however, In my experience, as well as more hands on experience between training and real world experience, the only thing that will cause problems to dexcool us neglect.

Customer vehicles have rolled thru the shop with problems supposedly caused by dexcool, in reality it was caused by simply getting the oil changed at a quick lube.

on any of my cars, and friends/family cars, the dexcool is still going after many many years. I have an 02 cavalier (sealed system w/surge tank) that has 171k miles and the factory dexcool is still in perfect condition...89K5 blazer with 230k miles, that had the green **** drained 6 years ago and replaced with dexcool (open system w/overflow) still going...

there is absoutely nothing wrong with dexcool. all it takes is proper maintenance. if you think being able to neglect a product and having it last, makes it a better product, you are sadly mistaken. the low silicate and high lubricity properties of dexcool make it a far superior product than the green stuff. if taken care of, a cooling system with dexcool will last just as long if not longer than one with green stuff.

i've seen it, personally as well as working at a GM dealer side by side with other techs that seen it on a daily basis. every vehicle that came thru the door with cooling system issues "related to dexcool" have been sent right back out the door after draining green coolant, or something other than dexcool in it, refilling it and a bill for 1200 to replace the water pump and misc gaskets. each customer swearing to call GM HQ and complain about dexcool. thats where the BS that dexcool is junk comes from.

91sonomast

i say tomato you say to-mat-o

bww3588

iTrader: (49)

I appolagize if I came off dickish. Didn't mean it that way.

One more thing before I go, even in a system with a surge tank, it will still vent to and from outside air. Every cooling system has to build and relieve pressure to be effective. As many vehicles as I have worked on with dexcool, the only ones with problems were the ones that had some form of coolant or water in them that didn't belong. All my vehicles have never had anything but dexcool put in them and after hundreds of thousands of miles, not a single leak, squeak, over heat or component failure. Even in the 350 in my blazer that had green in It from the factory went strong until the engine came out for a rebuild. And even then the cooling system was as clear as could be.

On a side note, one of my friends has an impala with a 3.8 that he decided to flush the system out. For some reason he thought he could fill it up with tap water until he got paid to get coolant. (Don't ask me why) but 2 days later his water pump took a ****. Flushed it out after replacing the pump and filled with dexcool and 2 years later and 50k miles it's still clean as day.

sepsis

iTrader: (7)

So if I want to get my dexcool removed and switched to green, should I take it to a GM dealer and have it flushed and changed by them or have some shop with a BG system do it?

bww3588

iTrader: (49)

Anybody with a coolant exchanger should be able to do it. The dealer will way over charge you.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Do it yourself in about 30-40 minutes for free.

My write up:

Best/easiest way to flush and get every drop of old coolant out.

****My power steering fluid leaked into my block, so it was bad, but this flush process works for normal maintenance flushes too. You might just want to skip the degreaser stages.****
-Cold engine.
-Remove radiator fill cap.
-Remove the t-stat from the housing. ((Buy a new t-stat housing gasket, they're like $3.00)) Leave the housing attached to the rubber radiator hose, just remove the 2 housing bolts and pull it away from the water pump to get to the t-stat. (2-3 minute job). ***The t-stat itself can be removed from the so-called one piece t-stats just like we can remove the t-stat from the newer two-piece t-stats. And the housings will bolt right back to the water pump.***
-Put t-stat housing back on. (1 minute) Just put one bolt in, no need to put them both in, there’s no pressure in the system during the flush.
-Take the entire radiator drain valve (petcock) "off" and let it drain, don't just open the valve itself. It'll drain faster with it off and that’s what you want. ((Buy a new petcock valve before starting this flush process, sometimes they break when you remove them all the way just because they're cheap plastic and they get briddle over time, they're like $2.00))
-Take a hose and stick it in the radiator fill cap, running medium to high.
-Start the engine when the radiator looks like its full again.
-Turn heat on full blast
-Let it run for about 15-20 minutes or until the water is running out the drain CLEAR.
-((If you want to, you can wait till it runs clear, "close" the drain valve, add some degreaser (I use ½ gallon of Formula 88 to clean mine) and let it run for 15 minutes, then let it sit for 15 minutes, then run it for 5 minutes, then drain it all again. Then open the drain and put the hose in for about 5 more minutes and run it all out till its CLEAR. The degreaser will help break up the crap thats stuck DEEP in the BLOCK that sits and swirls and doesn't like to come out.)) ***NO…degreaser will not hurt anything. Just make sure its ok for aluminum.***
-When it runs clear your entire system is clean.
-Remove the overflow reservoir from the car and clean it out real good. (I had to use gasoline to clean mine out because the sludge and grime was so thick inside. The gas broke it all down and then it flushed right out. I filled it about 1/3 up with gasoline and shook the hell out of it real vigorously, the black stuff kept coming out. I did that like 4 separate times with gasoline till no more chunks of black crap came out. Make sure the lines that go to the reservoir are also cleaned out. Or just buy a new piece of 3/8” heater hose and replace that line, 3 feet will do, then cut to fit. My sludge came from my power steering fluid leaking into my coolant system.)
-Put the t-stat back in.
-Put the overflow reservoir back in.
-Put the drain valve back in. Use the new one, what the hell.
-Put half a jug of Dexcool in the radiator. (Or if you live in very cold places, 1 to 1 ½ jugs of Dexcool)
-Fill the rest with water.
***You do not need to use distilled water, clean hose water is just fine, just make sure your city water is clean and not total crap quality.

**Bleeding the system of air:
Take the radiator cap off when its COLD, top it off, start it up and let it idle, and let it warm up till the t-stat opens. I rapidly squeeze the upper and lower radiator hose like 20 times each while its warming up to help move any air bubbles through the system and by the t-stat on the engine side. When the t-stat opens you’ll see the level drop as you squeeze the hoses, its sucking the coolant through the system. You will also see the coolant start to flow in the radiator fill neck, once it starts to flow the level should drop down a lot, IMMEDIATELY top it off with coolant/water. Then the flow will stop when the t-stat closes. Wait one more time for the t-stat to open again and start to flow, if it drops down again top it off again. Do it a 3rd time if you want to make sure. When the level does NOT drop down when the t-stat opens and coolant is flowing....you're system is free of air bubbles. I always squeeze the upper hose during the whole process to keep any air bubbles moving through. Always works like a charm. Just keep checking your temp gauge until the t-stat opens for the first time to make sure it’s not sitting there overheating from a trapped bubble. May take 10-15 minutes for the t-stat to open the first time.
If you do start to get hot while sitting there and the t-stat will not open…..you have an air bubble on the engine side of the t-stat. Shut the engine off and rapidly squeeze the upper and lower radiator hoses again. Then start the engine again and see if the t-stat will open. Sometimes you just have to work those hoses to move the air through. Even after it seems topped off after a couple cycles…check it the next time you have a cold engine…top off if needed.


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LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Drill a small hole in the t-stat near the 12 o'clock position near the edge....that'll let the air push through.......it works....

But my method works every time also......squeezing the upper and lower radiator hoses rapidly like 30-40 times each after you top off the radiator.

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