Sorry, but I couldn't help it. I'm a recovering pyromaniac and I decided to add some extra fuel to the never ending Dexcool fire.
I bought into the Dexcool hype back in about '98, at which time I converted my '88 Acura Legend to Dexcool. The waterpump went bad on the Acura in less than 20K miles (a genuine Acura part). I decided that this *might* have been a fluke and kept the Dexcool, partly because I didn't want to bother with the massive flush routine necessary to convert back. I simply changed the pump and topped off the Dexcool.
Well, the Acura system proceeded to work flawlessly for another 50K miles at which time I sold it in '02 with 185,000 miles. At that point the Dexcool in the radiator still looked brand new and the metal (that I could see) within the radiator was free of any corrosion.
In the meantime, I had converted my wife's Caravan to Dexcool in about
2000. I sold it yesterday with 127,000 miles after having the Dexcool in it for over 4 years and about 65,000 miles. Again, through the radiator fill neck, the Dexcool and the radiator look brand new.All of the "official" releases I've read about Dexcool problems have said that it is very, very important to maintain an absolute FULL level in the radiator and plenty in the overflow bottle so that no air gets into the system. I have always kept the system full.
Also note that, when I converted from the "green" to Dexcool, I went through about 5 gallons of distilled water to thoroughly flush out the old prior to adding any Dexcool, and I only use distilled water in the
50/50 Dexcool/water mix.For the past three years, I've had Dexcool in my old '89 Ford beater pickup. Again, the Dexcool is working perfectly.
My point? Nothing, other than to relate my experiences with the stuff. I'm sure there have been issues - there are too many folks that are having problems, especially with GM vehicles and head gaskets / intake manifold gaskets. But I'm not necessarily convinced that Dexcool was the cause in all of the cases. I bet "gooey Dexcool" was the result of a head-gasket leak, not the other way around.
Let the flames begin. I'm standing back with marshmallows.
Keith