2002 Suburban - Flush Dex-cool Anti Freeze

[jro909]

nothing wrong with dexcool...your risking more by throwing in the green shit, if there is dex and it mixes with the green shit your going to have some issues....stick with dex, its good stuff

[MPDano]

I too am sticking with Dex-Cool 50/50. About to replace my radiator in my 02 Yukon XL 8.1 2500. Just removed the old radiator (cracked tank) and flushed out all the green stuff the PO used.

 

About how many gallons do i need?

 

Thanks in advance,

Leo

[Colossus]

1st Gen Dex Cool was bad. Very bad. Especially if you did not flush it (talking about an actual flush, not drain and fill) every 50,000-60,000 miles. That being said- You need to put back in dex cool and not be switching brands. Why? I'm no chemistry major, but the general consensus is is that you end up having more issues when you try to go over to the green stuff as the metallurgy for the components that the coolant touches is set up to work with dexcool, and by introducing something else, you run the risk of more leaks, more parts failures, and what not.

 

So what I would recommend- Have a very good flush performed at a service shop- you won't find a better flush tool than this. Get this done, and then re-fill with brand new dexcool. Also, do away with that 100,000 mile mentality on changing it out, despite what others and GM says that it is ok to go the full 100,000 miles. It is not. Same goes for spark plugs. Change em about every 75,000 miles. Coolant flush every 50,000-75,000 miles and you will be goooooooooooood.

 

Dexcool has made drastic improvements over the years. But back in 01, it was still that nasty 1st gen stuff. Introduce a bit of air into the system, let it go more than 50,000 miles, and you had failures and corrosion issues, the acidity came into play and all kinds of other stuff.

 

Find a shop that has this for the flushing of the radiator system You will not find a better way of doing it at home, or in any shop. This thing WORKS. You would not believe the crap I saw it get out of a 2009 Suburban that was only 3 years old at the time and with 60,000 miles.

 

http://www.gates.com/products/automotive/tools-and-sales-aids/professional-tools/power-clean-flush-tool

[Nanotech Environmental]

1st Gen Dex Cool was bad. Very bad. Especially if you did not flush it (talking about an actual flush, not drain and fill) every 50,000-60,000 miles. That being said- You need to put back in dex cool and not be switching brands. Why? I'm no chemistry major, but the general consensus is is that you end up having more issues when you try to go over to the green stuff as the metallurgy for the components that the coolant touches is set up to work with dexcool, and by introducing something else, you run the risk of more leaks, more parts failures, and what not.

 

So what I would recommend- Have a very good flush performed at a service shop- you won't find a better flush tool than this. Get this done, and then re-fill with brand new dexcool. Also, do away with that 100,000 mile mentality on changing it out, despite what others and GM says that it is ok to go the full 100,000 miles. It is not. Same goes for spark plugs. Change em about every 75,000 miles. Coolant flush every 50,000-75,000 miles and you will be goooooooooooood.

 

Dexcool has made drastic improvements over the years. But back in 01, it was still that nasty 1st gen stuff. Introduce a bit of air into the system, let it go more than 50,000 miles, and you had failures and corrosion issues, the acidity came into play and all kinds of other stuff.

 

Find a shop that has this for the flushing of the radiator system You will not find a better way of doing it at home, or in any shop. This thing WORKS. You would not believe the crap I saw it get out of a 2009 Suburban that was only 3 years old at the time and with 60,000 miles.

 

http://www.gates.com/products/automotive/tools-and-sales-aids/professional-tools/power-clean-flush-tool

I disagree.

 

You appear to be stating things as facts when they are only your opinions......

 

I went 150,000 miles on my original plugs and they were still working fine, as well as being in good shape. I only changed them as I was concerned that they may seize into the heads from being in so long. My concerns were unwarranted.

You can monitor the condition of your coolant and change it as needed. For some, it will be at 50,000 miles. For others it will be at 100,000. I did mine at 150,000 miles. Water pump and everything else was still fine.

I also change my oil at around 7-9,000 miles, when the OLM says so. It works. Truck has nearly 200,000 miles now & still runs fine(5.3 liter) & doesn't use oil. This engine should go 400,000 at least. However, rust will consume this truck before that.

It's like all those people carrying on about changing oil at 3000 miles.....They are fooling themselves about false economy & end up wasting money. A lot of money. Same goes with other consumables and wear items.

Use it up till it is done, then replace. Not before.

 

Vehicles are expensive enough to own as it is. It's pointless to throw away money needlessly on changing items out before it's really needed. Especially when failure of the item in question will not cause collateral damage, or enough damage to worry about.....

[Colossus]

You obviously have not spent any time in the automotive repair industry.

[Nanotech Environmental]

You obviously have not spent any time in the automotive repair industry.

You might be surprised at what my experience is...

 

Either way, it has no bearing on whether my point is valid or not. There are quite a few folks on this site that like to promote hi-frequency fluid changes, excessive maintenance etc. Maybe it's a self-interest thing as they earn their living that way. Maybe they just don't know any better and are mollifying their fears of the unknown......Who knows?

Regardless, it's a waste of money to do hi-frequency fluid changes, among other things. It doesn't benefit the vehicle owner and certainly doesn't extend the life of the vehicle.

 

A while ago, I did some math on another thread showing how hi-frequency oil change proponents are effectively buying a new engine for their truck every so many miles, due to accumulated cost of the excessive oil changes and other related costs.

The math wasn't wrong, but the belief about hi-frequency oil changes was......

 

Same goes for coolant. Change it when it needs changing, not before. It's not going to harm anything leaving it in til it's done.

[06pirate]

My 1990 Toyota Hilux 4x4 X-cab has 361,000 miles on it. I changed the oil every 3,000. I figure I could have changed it only two or three times and the engine would still be running. But with the money I'd have saved not buying oil and filters, I could have long-blocked the engine.

 

I think I changed the coolant three times or so.