dexcool? whats wrong with it?

[ulose2av6]

have heard numerous stories it eats away at gaskets etc. So explain to me if you went back to old stuff in new cars you will void warranty?

 

[The Radius Kid]

If you're under waranty,don't change anything from where it should be.

 

[turbodave231]

The Dexcool story that it eats manifold gaskets is a myth. Dexcool does have problems when it is run low (lack of coolant) for extended periods. It decomposes into a muddy looking mess that plugs radiators and heater cores (when it is run low).

The intake gasket problems are a completely separate issue that some people would like to connect to Dexcool.

DR

 

[Steve Wood]

http://www.dexcoolcase.com/

Most suggestions I have seen are as stated by the prior poster. If you have it in the car, make sure it stays at the full mark, or fuller.

 

[tminer]

My GM dealer service department is taking advantage of the situation and reccomending changing the coolant at 30K. All the while the new car propoganda is still 100K between coolant changes. And the big city dealers can't figure out why they keep failing when they buy one of the established, local, small town dealerships.

Tom

 

[8UWITH6]

The eating gaskets thing is a myth. However, stay away from the 3.1L GM engine, it eats intake gaskets for lunch. When I worked at a GM dealership in the parts department, I used to pull at least 6 sets a day for various 3.1L jobs. As for dexcool, my dads 96 Impala SS had it, and it plugged the heater core up solid at 25K miles, and it was not run low. Ive never been a big fan of the stuff, because Ive seen what it looks like when you neglect it just a little. Ill never use it, and if I for some reason had a car that had dexcool in it, Id flush it all out and put the green stuff in it.

 

[mgmshar]

In the past, mixing Dexcool (the orange stuff) and normal anti-freeze (the green stuff) would cause problems. When the orange stuff and green stuff were mixed, they would form a gel that would block-up the cooling system. This happened to many new vehicle owners who dutifully changed their coolant. They would partially drain the orange stuff, refill with the green stuff, and then wonder why their cooling systems failed. I am pretty sure that this incompatibility still exists.

If you change your car from one to the other, you must flush the cooling system thoroughly...