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dex cool coolant

garyhmb

By garyhmb
in Ask A GM Technician

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garyhmb Enthusiast

garyhmb

Posted
Posted

i got my coolant flushed out of my 2002 silverado at a local shop and they replaced it with the green type of coolant instead of the the dex cool coolant that it came with from the factory. by the way it had 60,000 miles when this service was done. will using the green coolant damage my truck in any way or should i replace it with the dex cool coolant asap.

overkill Enthusiast

overkill

Posted
Posted

Well..... I have read on other forums where it IS ok to put the green stuff in and some people have even recommended doing it. At the same time there are those that will say "GM designed it to use brand X and thats all you should use".

 

My question is what did the shop say their reasoning was for putting the green stuff in and not the pink stuff like they took out. They are supposed to return it to you with whatever is factory recomended, for warrenty purposes. You wouldnt put 85w-140 lube in the rearend if it calls for 85w-90. Or non synthetic if it specifies synthetic.

 

Anyway, I'd call them back and ask WTF? Maybe even call the dealer. If there is a good reason for the green being installed, then fine. The new guy must have done it isnt a good reason. Otherwise, they need to change it again at NO CHARGE!

MS3DALE Senior Enthusiast

MS3DALE

Posted
Posted

I would want the DEX-COOL put back in ASAP!!! :cheers:

C & A s Dad Senior Enthusiast

C & A s Dad

Posted
Posted

The truck came with DexCool and that is what should be back in it. I do not think the green af will "hurt" anything but it is not the same technology as DexCool. DexCool is less "abbrasive" on the system and is designed to be more compatible with all the materials that is must travel through, ie. alum, plastic, iron, rubber etc etc.

 

I would also suggest you add a bottle of Lubegard's Kool it. You can check it out on their website but it is recommended by Modine and an excellent additive for reducing Electrolisis which is a real enemy to any modern cooling system.

454ss Enthusiast

454ss

Posted
Posted

keep the green stuff, ive seen and heard from both mechanics and individuals that the dex-crap seems to be the cause for the early failure of intake gaskets and water pumps, and it corroads worse than normal antifreeze, both my 97 and my 02 use to get a lot of pinkish/white crusty crap around the radiator cap but after switching to the old green stuff it went away. just flush it more often like you use to do and all will be fine, ive been running the old green stuff in my 97 since 99 when the intake gaskets went and i put it in my 02 as soon as the warranty was up.

GM-Tech Senior Enthusiast

GM-Tech

Posted
Posted
i got my coolant flushed out of my 2002 silverado at a local shop and they replaced it with the green type of coolant instead of the the dex cool coolant that it came with from the factory.

 

The green coolant will be fine. The only difference is now you need to flush the system every two years/30,000 miles instead of 5/150,000.

TEE Enthusiast

TEE

Posted
Posted

Well my dexcool on my 04' Sierra has 30k on it and the sludge is building up in the tank! :cheers:

diverlloyd Enthusiast

diverlloyd

Posted
Posted
Well my dexcool on my 04' Sierra has 30k on it and the sludge is building up in the tank!  :D

 

 

 

You should get that checked out. The coolant sludging up is supposed to be an indication of an air leak somewhere; air is coming in contact with the coolant like through a gasket.

C & A s Dad Senior Enthusiast

C & A s Dad

Posted
Posted

I still cannot understand the comments on the DexCool. I have used it in the past 3 Dodge Caravans that I drive for work with no issues at all. I would flush the factory AF at 50K and run the vans to approx 130K with no sludge and no issues. I also ran it in my Wife's Intrepid from 30K to 125K before selling it with no problems. It is now in my 02 Yukon and when I flushed it a couple of months ago the factory AF looked great. I do not doubt there has been issues but I am just asking were they really caused by the Dexcool or some other reason?

 

By the way, I work in the Auto Parts Industy and sell thousands of gallons of Dexcool each year through our Distribution Centers and stores and I know of not even one complaint or issue that we have ever had.

GnatGoSplat Enthusiast

GnatGoSplat

Posted
Posted

Almost every Dex-cool problem people talk about are coincidental. Dex-cool gets blamed for many things that are unrelated, but happened about the same time. For example, intake gasket leaks. People blame Dex-cool, but the fact is GM started switching away from the cardboard intake gaskets to plastic & rubber intake gaskets sometime in the mid-90's close to the time GM switched to Dex-cool. Dex gets blamed for that a LOT, but most people don't realize that engines with that type gasket had leaks even with green coolant.

A lot of the brown sludge people found in the cooling systems happened to be residue from factory-installed sealing tabs (there are TSBs on this).

 

There are several other things as well. IMO, Dex is just as safe as the green stuff.

Mr. Smith Enthusiast

Mr. Smith

Posted
Posted

C & A s Dad and GnatGoSplat are right. This silliness is like a virus all over the net on how evil Dexcool is. One day someone might actually post facts instead of conjecture.

GnatGoSplat Enthusiast

GnatGoSplat

Posted
Posted

One problem is that mechanics are fueling the fire.

My brother-in-law needed a lot of work on his late-90's Monte Carlo w/3100 V6 because the lower intake manifold gasket leaked. The mechanic told him the cause was Dex-cool and to switch over to green coolant.

 

I KNOW that wasn't true, because GM switched the 60-degree V6's over to rubber+plastic lower intake manifolds in 94. GM switched those engines to Dex-cool in 96. The 94 and 95's have the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. Since those engines were more widely used 96-on, people have incorrectly connected Dex-cool to the leaky LIM problem when it was actually a design or materials defect with the LIM. In the mid-90's, GM switched to that style gasket across the board. They recognized its problems and made improvements to the design, I believe in 2002.

454ss Enthusiast

454ss

Posted
Posted

use what ever makes you happy but i know for a fact my trucks cooling systems have stayed cleaner inside with the old green stuff. i would rather flush the system more often anyway, just good maintenence in my opinion.

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