dex-crap coolant

[Christopherrr]

I'm really considering switching to the green stuff. I've always had problems with my coolant from the get go...ie sludge. I've changed my coolant three 4 times since I've bought my car and each time, it's sludge and sludge.

The last time I changed it was 3 months ago. Mixed it perfect with distilled water and everything. Flushed and flushed...and filled.

Last weekend, I looked and more sludge. all that gunk can't be good.

Flushed it again and refilled this time with less Dexcool and more distilled...more 60/40 mixture. I take a look into radiator this morning and it seems like it's starting again. The coolant is dark in color, not the pinkish-orange it's suppose to be.

I got a 160 stat and the temp is always hotter than I'm comfortable with. It's hot in ATL and I'm down for anything to keep her cool. I know a manual fan switch is a must now.

Tell me it's okay to run the green stuff and I'll do it.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

I had a similar experience, for some odd reason. As much as it is a pain to change the coolant in these cars, I wanted the long lasting stuff and went to orange. Some crap floated to the top and I always saw some junk in there which was never there before, so I changed it again when I did heads & cam - same thing, and I know no oil got in there or anything. Went back to green last year and never looked back. I changed it in my bike also. I have never seen any junk in the green coolant. I do also mix in a couple bottles of Water Wetter.

BTW, these days I change my coolant with a wetvac - much better than an antifreeze shower, and you don't have to yank the knock sensor. or that other hard to get to pipe plug.

[ONLNTM5]

A while back, I had the cooling system flushed and refilled on my son's 97 Firebird (when it was still mine), and the radiator place that did it, used the green coolant. I was reluctant to let him do that, but he has been in business a looong time, so I figured that he knew what he was doing. Once you switch, just make sure that you always add only the green stuff and not the orange, whenever you need to add coolant.

[ryan34]

You can use green in an aluminum block? I thought that's why that had the pink and orange stuff? No side affects?

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

I had the same issue with my '96. The stuff gunked up my heater and low coolent sensor and I replaced the sensor and reverse flushed the heat exchanger. I wonder if some people wait a little too long to change it. I was 1 year passed the 60 month time interval, but hadn't reached the 100,000 mile interval yet. The only time I've ever been late on any service. Now I change it about once every other year and no problems. I wonder if it's some leak stop additive or something like that.

[raroZ28]

My coolant sludges up too. I thought that if you used anything but dex-cool it would turn to sludge quick.

[Trash man]

want the long stuff? completely flush the system(using the prestone acid stuff, forget the name of it) and add the toyota 5 year deal. i havent seen that gunk up anything.

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

TOYOTA coolent in an F-BODY!?!?!? Ahhhh!!!!

[Trash man]

im serious, i got that in mine as of this weekend. beats the dex-coolant by hundred times and im prob gonna change my tstat back to the 160 and get a new rad cap(mine is only a 7 lb one) and completely flush the system

[aldaran]

2000 Camaro Dex-Cool OK.....

I have changed my coolant only once so far (60,000 mile mark) and replaced with Prestone Pre-Mix (Orange 50/50) and have not had any sludge build up. Temperature stays at the same point as the day I drove it off the dealer's lot. I am considering changing it sooner next time though. Texas weather can be harsh at times.

[Blazer]

I am in your back yard an I use the green stuff an no 160 stat an everything is ok. Blazer

[Joe 1320]

The most overlooked part of this whole discussion is that you should be using distilled water in the cooling system. Anything else will speed up the process of forming deposits. Distillation is what removes all the particles that also lower the boiling point. So flush out the system completely and that includes the seldom touched heater core, refill with the proper coolant and distilled water mix and you'll find a more effecient and cleaner cooling system.

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

Temperature stays at the same point as the day I drove it off the dealer's lot.

The temp stays the same because GM "improved" the guage in the '99 model year. On prior models it would display the actual temperature. The newer models default to the center of the guage unless an overheat condition exists.

I suppose too many folks thought they're cars were running too hot when the guages would peak at around 230 degrees or so.

[Injuneer]

I guess I've been lucky... changed my 94 to Dex-Cool in 1998, replaced it once when the stroker was built in 2000, and there are no problems of any kind with the cooling system. There is no problem running Dex-Cool with aluminum - all the heads in the Y- and F-Body LT1's are aluminum. I run an aluminum Griffin radiator. Going on 5 years... guess its time to replace the coolant.

My 2001 Silverado left the factory with Dex-Cool, and no problems of any kind with it after more than 4 years.

[BomberZ]

Switched mine about 3 years ago. I just caught it starting to get thick.