Dex-cool bad?
Tech Resident
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Philly
Originally Posted by white/blue99ta
and flush my system every year with dex-cool.
flushing dexcool every year will likely make it so your coolant system has no problems. however, if you're going to do this, you may as well put green coolant in it because the coolant flushes are 3 times as expensive with dexcool. all you're doing is flushing money down the drain.
now, if you don't flush your coolant regularly, this is where dexcool becomes a problem!
it's so ironic because if you flush your coolant every year or two, dexcool won't have any problems, but in that case, you may as well use green as it's cheaper. but if you wait several years to flush your coolant - the advantage of running dexcool - you may encounter a lot of problems from the old dexcool eating seals and gunking up! i mean, do you appreciate the irony here? flushing dexcool annually is throwing money down the drain, but using it for extended change intervals - the whole purpose of the creation of dexcool - is when people have problems!
is anyone else appreciating this?! 
Originally Posted by Cop Car
third gens are 20 year old cars. NO other car company stands behind its cars as long as GM.
for your low coolant problem, check your hoses and put in a container of block sealer (before you go saying how itll screw up your coolant system, all cars get it at the factory, and it works)
for your low coolant problem, check your hoses and put in a container of block sealer (before you go saying how itll screw up your coolant system, all cars get it at the factory, and it works)
Originally Posted by BLKWS.6
yeah man, you a homo?
j/k, messin' with Choco about his steriotype comment and that his formy looks purple in his sig, lol.
j/k, messin' with Choco about his steriotype comment and that his formy looks purple in his sig, lol.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Originally Posted by ChocoTaco369
again, dexcool cars are known to have more water pump issues than green coolant cars.
FWIW, the inside of my radiators look a lot cleaner with regularly changed Dexcool than my older cars did with regularly changed green stuff, so even if you're gonna change it often I think Dex is the way to go. The extra $$ isn't really an issue to me.
I replaced my waterpump today! It was really messy! Brand new from O'reilly's for $150. I dunno the brand...Master something, but I heard its a good company. Came with new gaskets which were desperately needed. My stock gaskets were half gone or insanely brittle. I also put on new hoses, thermostat, and a low milage stock radiator. Hopefully this fixes my magically disapearing coolant. Yes thats right, it goes low, but no leaks.
I put Dex-cool back in. I dunno why some of you guys are bitching about it costing so much??? I bought 2 gallons of it and it was only $20!!! I didn't really pay attention, but I think it cost about the same as the green stuff. So, I don't know where your going off and saying its X3 more???
I put Dex-cool back in. I dunno why some of you guys are bitching about it costing so much??? I bought 2 gallons of it and it was only $20!!! I didn't really pay attention, but I think it cost about the same as the green stuff. So, I don't know where your going off and saying its X3 more???
Thread Starter
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Originally Posted by RPM WS6
In my experiance, it makes no difference what coolant you use. Green or dex, the key to long cooling system component life is in regular coolant changes. I use Dexcool, and I do a full flush on my daily drivers every 2-3 years, and a drain/refill on my Camaro every spring (don't see a need to flush this one, since I'm adding a gallon of fresh coolant every 1000-1500 miles). Been working great for me, so I'll keep doing it.
FWIW, the inside of my radiators look a lot cleaner with regularly changed Dexcool than my older cars did with regularly changed green stuff, so even if you're gonna change it often I think Dex is the way to go. The extra $$ isn't really an issue to me.
FWIW, the inside of my radiators look a lot cleaner with regularly changed Dexcool than my older cars did with regularly changed green stuff, so even if you're gonna change it often I think Dex is the way to go. The extra $$ isn't really an issue to me.
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Verdad Gallardo Tech Resident
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Philly
Originally Posted by RPM WS6
In my experiance, it makes no difference what coolant you use. Green or dex, the key to long cooling system component life is in regular coolant changes. I use Dexcool, and I do a full flush on my daily drivers every 2-3 years, and a drain/refill on my Camaro every spring (don't see a need to flush this one, since I'm adding a gallon of fresh coolant every 1000-1500 miles). Been working great for me, so I'll keep doing it.
- change dexcool every 2 years and throw money away
- use dexcool for its extended life properties and eat your gaskets up
but that's just my opinion, it's not fact by any means.
Tech Resident
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From: Philly
Originally Posted by HotWhipT/A
Hopefully this fixes my magically disapearing coolant. Yes thats right, it goes low, but no leaks.
Originally Posted by ChocoTaco369
it has to be going somewhere. not meaning to scare you, but you may want to get your oil analyzed from blackstone labs. it sounds like you may be getting coolant in your engine oil. that could cause a big problem in the long run. if you're losing coolant and it's not leaking, the only thing i can think of is it's seeping into your oil
Its a possibillity. I've already planned for that. My oil looks good. I pulled the valve covers too. Everything looks fine.
Tech Resident
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Philly
Originally Posted by HotWhipT/A
Its a possibillity. I've already planned for that. My oil looks good. I pulled the valve covers too. Everything looks fine.
anyways, i recommend you send out THIS BATCH of oil. reason why is the new water pump and radiator you just replaced may have fixed the problem. i suggest you send away the oil in there right now so you'll know for sure if the coolant has been going into your oil. chances are everything's fine but who knows that the block or combustion chamber looks like.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Originally Posted by ChocoTaco369
however, the point i'm trying to make is if you're going to change your coolant every 2 years anyway, you may as well run green as it's A LOT cheaper than dexcool and is known to be easier on seals and hoses than dexcool. IMO, changing dexcool every 2 years is throwing money down the drain.
Thread Starter
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Originally Posted by RPM WS6
Again, in my experiance, the inside of my radiators look a lot cleaner with regularly changed Dexcool than my older cars did with regularly changed green stuff, so even if you're gonna change it often I think Dex is the way to go. The extra $$ isn't really an issue to me.
Yea, I don't know if my coolant had ever been changed and its got 133k! It didn't look really bad and the block, WP and radiator looked really clean. Even the overflow tank was good besides a lil crap on the dip stick.
i did a coolant flush this past october, first time i have done it since owing it since 7/2005 everything was really clean except the dip stick on the over fill tank. filled it back up with dex cool
Now, when i did the coolant flush i think there might have been some air pockets. b/c i took my car to my perfed speed shop, and there might be a bad head gasket. ther radiator had about 20 oz in there, but the block was full. i think it was air pockets, and i think that the leak from the head is coincidental (sp) they drained the oil and it was crystal clean..
but i still trust dex cool
Now, when i did the coolant flush i think there might have been some air pockets. b/c i took my car to my perfed speed shop, and there might be a bad head gasket. ther radiator had about 20 oz in there, but the block was full. i think it was air pockets, and i think that the leak from the head is coincidental (sp) they drained the oil and it was crystal clean..
but i still trust dex cool
When yuo are filling up with coolant and you do not want to have air pockets unhook the hose to your throttle body and when the antifrees starts coming out of it hook it up. You will have most of the air out of the engine at that time. Then run it for a while and keep topping it off as needed. It works for me.. 
Last edited by slt200mph; Feb 7, 2007 at 08:35 AM.
Originally Posted by slt200mph
When yuo are filling up with coolant and you do not want to have air pockets unhook the hose to your throttle body and when the antifrees starts coming out of it hook it up. You will have most of the air out of the engine at that time. Then run it or a while and keep topping it off as needed. It works for me..
hmm that is a good idea thanks
