Coolant Change

[mudpuppy]

My truck is 5 years old with the original coolant and 51,000 miles on it. It looks good and still test good, but should I change it any way? i'm sorry if this is another one of those threads thats been beat to death, but I couldn't find a straight answer any where on here. Seems like everyone wants to talk about how good/bad dex cool is. All I'm looking for is a simple should I change it or not answer.

 

Thanks in advance

[KMGZ400]

i really wouldnt worry about the coolant. as long as there are not chunks of shit or dirt in it you should be ok. i have a 2003 suburban with 150k on the original coolant and it still looks perfect so i dont see a reason to change it.

 

thats just how i feel, im sure others will chime in that you have to follow the manual and change it like every 30k

[jro909]

5 years or 100k whatever comes first end of story, its cheap and easy maintance...seen neglected coolant eat waterpumps

[Matt_]

Change it out. Cheap and easy..... and its not something you want to wait for to go bad.....once its bad, its too late.

[txab]

After a period of time coolant begins to loose its protection ability against the different metals in engine playing nice with one another, not to mention gaskets, especially head gaskets. That's one reason why you change it. You can test for this protection, but you cannot go by looks. 5 yrs is what the manufacturer suggests, now is a good time to change it. Don't forget to examine all your hoses for any breakdown while you're at it

[Black02Silverado]

The cost is minimal and I would change it. Once every 5 yrs isn't asking much. It might still be protecting against freezing but there are other properties that you can't test for the would no longer be with in specifications due to age and use.

[mudpuppy]

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. Looks like I'll be getting it changed 1st chance I get.