DEX-COOL revisited

One of the local stations aired a consumer alert for owners of GM vehicles with DEX-COOL. From lurking here I was aware of the intake gasket problem on the old body trucks with the 5700 engine. Because of this I changed the coolant at the coolant at the 50k service ('02 Sierra) just to be safe. I never knew the problem was so widespread nor was I aware there was a class action suit in progress.

According to the article GM is telling people to call their local dealer to get change intervals specific to their climate and terrain. For yucks I called mine and they played the "That's news to me" card and said do whatever the manual says.

I haven't been reading this group since I ditched Roadrunner (dial up is a bitch after broadband) but this story really caught my attention and thought at the very least I could get thoughts from the pros out there.

Here is a link to the article:

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Thanks, Joshua

Reply to
Joshua Phillips
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I recently spoke to my GM dealer and they said that the problem can be caused by air trapped in the system. This happened in some vehicles because the systems were not "burped" properly at the factory. GM and Texaco (the manufacturer of Dex Cool) say that air and an improperly fitting or faulty radiator cap will cause the problem. Also, if you add water that is high in mineral content you may end up with the problem. At any rate you should keep the reservoir filled to the HOT level when cold to prevent air from entering the system. Also, NEVER, NEVER mix Dex Cool and regular ethelyne glycol antifreeze (the green stuff) and if you want to convert to the green stuff, you must flush the system thoroughly and open all drains on the engine to get all the Dex Cool out before refilling with regular antifreeze.

Reply to
Rich B

Almost forgot, a lot of guys are changing the Dex Cool every 5 years or

50,000 miles.
Reply to
Rich B

Well I'm going to change mine this year sometime, I think whats in there might be the origianl from the factory as it's a '99 *shrug* who knows.. I've only owned the truck 5 mons. after I do it this summer I'm gonna change it every 2-3years prolly. can't hurt.

Adair

Reply to
Adair Winter

"Rich B" wrote

We now recommend changing Dexcool every 3 years and around the 100,000 kilometre mark. Regardless of what anyone thinks, there has been a "noticable" increase in cooling sytem component failures since the introduction of Dexcool. GM and texaco can make all the excuses they want, but it certainly cannot be touted as any kind of "long life" coolant.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_Kai

Thanks fo the update Lan, I'll keep that in mind. Rich B

****************************************** I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. ~ Thomas Jefferson ~
Reply to
Rich B

If you change it be sure to add only distilled water when you mix it. Don't use tap water.

Al

Reply to
Big Al

I have a 3/4 ton with the oil cooler in the drivers side tank and it's been leaking for a while at the top nut I don't believe dexcool caused it but, who knows? A new one is $392.00 from napaonline which sucks in a major way.

Reply to
alasatian

"alasatian" wrote

Have you tried just snugging the nut up a bit tighter? I've found a lot of these that are just a little bit loose.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_Kai

I recently fixed mine by draining the system, removing the oil lines, taking the oil cooler tank nuts off & making new gaskets from some sheet rubber (neoprene). Installed with no gasketing compound & it's been leak free for 6 months now.

Reply to
Stephen Young

As I understand DEX-COOL is NOT compatible with any of the other long life coolants, is this correct?

Joshua

Reply to
Joshua Phillips

"Joshua Phillips" wrote

I don't really know that much about "long life" coolants other then Dexcool. But I suspect that the safe route is to just use the same type of coolant that is already in the vehicle.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_Kai

Reply to
scott

How does one measure the voltage of the coolant???

Reply to
Kevin

Prestone states that its 5/150 coolant is compatible with Dex-Cool.

WW

Reply to
WaterWatcher

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