![]() GM suggests flushing Dexcool for the first time at 150,000 miles. If I have Dexcool in my car, can I leave it in for the life of the car? Head gaskets blow, heads warp, and the engine suffers major damage. The water pump overheats and fails due to a lack of lubricant in the coolant. The coolant stops flowing through the system, clogs up coolant passageways and water jackets, radiators, and heater cores. The coolants chemically react and form a gel rather than a liquid. What exactly happens when these coolants are mixed? To guard against major engine failure, read on. ![]() There are some coolants that claim compatibility with Dexcool, but I would rather err conservatively and add what the system is supposed to take rather than gamble. When mixed together they form a gel-like substance that stops coolant flow, and consequently, the engine overheats. The green and orange coolants do not mix. This is one of those questions usually asked after the fact, and usually engine damage has already occurred. Can I mix green coolant with orange coolant? What is coolant?Ĭoolant (sometimes referred to as antifreeze or radiator fluid) is used to regulate your engine temperature and prevent it from overheating. And in mixing any antifreeze with water for a 50/50 mix, the use of distilled water is highly recommended. On GM's own consumer site, the debate regarding its Dexcool antifreeze continues. that Dexcool is not the root of all the problems people think they have with it.Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in 2009. I also changed the AutoTrak fluid in the Suburban at 210K, and eliminated driveshaft thump! Neither the Owners manual or Shop Manual ever mentions changing T'case fluid in GM trucks, go figure. Relax Roadie, I do change the AutoTrak fluid in the Bravada. I'll get negative replies, but if it's not broke don't mess with it. I also now have an '03 Bravada 165K on factory fill. I still have the 'Bird with the same fill of dexcool. The "other" vehicles? 1979 Firebird Formula 78k and a 1987 Bonneville traded w/ 276K. Soon after I bought that Suburban, I flushed my other vehicles and refilled with Dexcool so I'd only have to stock one type of antifreeze. I bought a used '98 Suburban in '01 (72K miles) I'm at 214K and have never flushed the system, only added new during intake gasket replacement. My personal experience with DexCool has been excellent. The cause was traced to conductivity of the fluid and some temperature sensors leaking voltage into that fluid. The Lawsuits had to due with the coolant turning into gel or jello and causing over-heating. Contrary to common belief, intake gaskets fail regardless of DexCool or Green antifreeze. That is why you saw sludge in your cooling systems then. I just wanted to offer my opinion of dex-crap.ĭuring the 1996 time-frame GM installed seal tabs in the factory fill with DexCool. Yes, there were still bits 'n pieces floating around after all of that! After I flushed about 4-5 times, I went with a new water pump, rad hoses, thermostat, then removed and cleaned my coolant overflow bottle. I even went so far as to removing the thermostat, running the engine, then disconnecting the rad hoses and draining it from there. I had to flush and fill the radiator many of times to try and eliminate the sludge. When my Camaro reached 36k and the factory warranty was expired, I went and changed to the green coolant and never looked back. I've also read about a lawsuit filed against GM, but nothing ever came my way mentioning a recall. While others have had the same experience as I have and they share my opinion. Some people that I've talked to say that they've never had an issue like this and they love dexcool. My GTO currently has 14,762.8 miles on it and the Envoy has 122,629 miles. They too have the dexcool curse! Although, the coolant in both of them isn't nearly as bad as what it was in my Camaro. Since that time, I've bought and still own a 2006 Pontiac GTO (bought it new) and my current '03 Envoy. I removed the rad cap and found the same thing! The car had somewhere around 15k on the odometer, so I took it to two separate GM dealerships for their analysis. I looked at the fluid inside of my coolant bottle, and there was a bunch of brown, silicone-like sludge chunks foating around in the bottle. In my 1996 Camaro (which I no longer own), I bought it brand new and found the sludge one day when I was changing the oil. I've never serviced the radiators prior to this problem. In all three GM vehicles that I've owned since 1997, they've all had some sort of brown sludge-crap buildup in the radiators and it's very hard to completely remove! Okay, I'm going to divert from the OP's question here a bit:
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