i have heard stories about the dex-cool destryoing radiators. i was told by a friend/mechanic that I should drain that stuff out, and clean the cooling system, then put the green stuff in. I thought that you couldnt just add it, but i could be wrong. is there any truth to this? or does someone else have any stories of radiators rusting or going bad due to the dex cool.

thanks for the help

jimmy

 

the problem with the green stuff is that it contains silicate chrystals that can damage the seals on your water pump causing premature failure. The green stuff and orange (DEX-COOL) both have excellent anti-corrosive properties. Dex-Cool provides a longer service life. The only thing that most of us here don't like about the Dex Cool is that it has a tendency to gel up when exposed to air in stagnant areas like the coolant reservoir tank. I've never heard of Dex Cool damaging radiators. If it did I doubt that GM and Daimler Chrysler would fill up cars with this at the factory.

 

I would just stick to Dex Cool if I were you. It costs the same as the green stuff and it works just as well. I've never heard of it causing any problems. If it's not broke don't fix it, I say.

 

Change it out to the green coolant just flush it really well. While you are at it go ahead and put a new thermostat in it. I did it on my 01 when it was six months old an I've got 98,000 on the car now with no problems. I just change the coolant and flush the system every twenty five to thirty thousand miles. We recomend the same to customers at our shop. Dex cool becomes extremely corrosive when exposed to air through coolant leaks etc. Which on the 96' up chevy pickups intake gaskets are notorious failure points so they introduce air. The corrosion then begins and even though you and I fix problems when they occur the majority of the motoring public adds coolant till they start puking water everywhere. When it reaches this point the damage is done though. The miles get racked up on mine driving to galveston from home to work and to college station and it has never let me down. Plain green antifreeze has been fine for years engineers just found another way to screw us. I did my internship with gm as an EE no thanks. Exxon is a way better company to work for now. ggod luck just my .02

 

Keep the dex-cool. It doesn't seem to pit the AL as much as the green stuff (glycol)


Where in Norristown are you?

 

My personal opinion is to keep the dex-cool in. As long as you check the system every once in a while it will work better than the green stuff on an all aluminum engines. I still have it in mine although people who dont like to check their fluids may want to flush completly (radiator, block, and heater system) and refill with the green antifreeze. Opinions vary so much and there is pro's and con's to each way

 

why does it work better on aluminum engines? and what are some pro's and con's of each

thanks
jimmy

 

I have found the green coolant to be less picky. Dex cool is actually a OATbase coolant which is called an organic acid technology. However when introduced to air it sludges and becomes corrosive. Although not an issue in a ls1 based engines on the older 99 back 350's that have intake gasket troubles the result of constantly topping leads to the intake being severely corroded when it is time to cahnge the gaskets. This usually necessitates changing the intake. But, as mentioned earlier and above there are very many different opinions I have gone both ways and not had any troubles. So it basicly boils down to personal preferences. Neither on will cause trouble as long as you do coolant system maint and fix problems as they occur.

 

im probably gonna keep running dex cool but that stuff will corode very easy if not kept under perfect conditions

i thought the cooling system on my wifes 98 blazer was ruined, actually i did have to change water pump, after it coroded like an old battery

 

I was going to switch to the green stuff but I flushed my system instead. Got a lot of junk out too, even with 22K miles.