there is a thread on camaro Z28 that talks about dex-cool not being the "coolant of choice"

some guys have flushed it all out and gone with the green coolant. i have drained the radiator 2x's since having the car and just had a water pump installed, so the radiator was drained, then filled with water and drained again.

my coolant looks to be clean, but they talked about it being like mud

any truth to dex-cool being "crap"

 

I have not had any problems with dexcool. I've heard about what you said though. But if the manufacturer states that dexcool is required for these engines, that's what I'm going to run, unless I have a problem with it.

 

well I dunno about it being crap...but it sure is more expensive.....and i hear that if it mixes with the green coolant that it can gel up.

 

The trick to keeping either coolant from being a problem is changing coolant about every 1 1/2 years or 30k regardless of what the manufactuer states. The issue with dexcool turning to that mud like susbstance is caused by air intrusion into the system, and then just topping it all of the time instead of fixing the problem. It is only after it gets contaminated with large quantities of air that it is an issue.

 

id use the dexcool as thats what the system was desiged to be used with but dont believe the 150k BS

30-50k miles at the most id say

 

I've got a buddy who's a tech at a Chevy dealer. He says the key is keeping it in the correct ratio (50/50 with water). He says he's seen a lot of heater cores and radiators plugged up with the gel when people don't keep it in the correct ratio. Otherwise, he says it's as advertised - it will go five years without a change and cause no problems. And, like someone said, mixing it with Ethelyne Glycol (green) coolant is a death sentence for the cooling system; it greatly increases corrosion.

 

I'd stick with it i've never had any problem thats just my .02
BTLFEDSS

 

thanks for the insight guys,

i usually change it out every year which is only about 5k miles and i work at a dealer so the correct 50/50 solution/mixture is used

 

I changed mine at 30K miles. It stunk and it looked dark so out it went. I put back in the Dexcool . It's fine so far.

 

Here's my thoughts on this:
I spoke to a guy at GM, and he was saying with the 3800 series II V6, part of the major upper intake problem was the Dexcoolant. It was attacking the seals, at around 50K miles, and then flooding the engines with coolant.
I'll be a witness - moms 98 bonnie 4 times hydrolocked (all the way, and burned the starter out too). When I had to replace the entire motor because of the dealer foobers,(stranded #3) I was told by several sources to Switch back to Glycol (Green), with the stronger aftermarket manifold. It's like their "100K mile plugs" bull....Mine started fouling out at 70K on my GMC 5.3....
New technology is great...but sometimes Old rule of thumb is better.
Dats my thoughts.

 

The problem with the upper intake gasket isn't with Dexcool...it's with the gasket design, and the close proximity of the EGR tube to the gasket (major heat = brittle gasket). The gasket cracks and leaks. You just have to catch it when you see it leaking, instead of waiting until your engine hydrolocks.
I'm a GM tech, so I'll tell you what I tell all the customers that ask me about it.....repair your coolant leaks, maintain a proper mixture, and use distilled water instead of tap water to mix in. Don't let it go 100k miles either. I've got 4 vehicles running Dexcool, and as long as you maintain it, and keep the air out, it works just fine.

 

Exactly, if you have a leak fix it. The main probelm with dex-cool seems to be when the air gets to it. Not being out of proportion or being to old although those can all have negative effects. It's good stuff if you keep on top of it. If you catch it before it gets bad a flush will take car of it.