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I have cunks of something in my Radiator? Mini van

I have a Montana 2000 which I bought at an auction a year ago. I notice I was low on coolant in the reservoir. Then I opened the rad cap and it is full, but it has some kind of chunks floating in the coolant. There is a warning on the reservoir not to fill it with just any type of coolant. Can I add a bit or regular green/ yellow coolant or even some water? Any reason why I would want to flush the system. I have been told that the chucks could mean the rad had a leak before and sealer was added to seal the leak. Also the coolant really stinks, a real bad smell to it. Any advise. Should I add any coolant at all? There still is a little bit of coolant in the reservoir. And as far as I can tell, the van has never over heated before.

lbbs

Reply to
van
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Never mix green antifreeze with the pink stuff. Whatever you do, flush the system and replace the coolant with 50/50 mix of distilled water and regular green antifreeze. The pink stuff is causing problems in lots of cars.

Al

Reply to
Big Al

My suggestion is to have the system flushed and refilled with Dexcool, which is what it left the factory with and what GM recommends. The vehicle was designed with Dexcool in mind - not the green stuff. In my opinion, Dexcool works just fine in vehicles designed for it, such as your Montana. Just keep a very close eye on the coolant level. Dexcool seems less tolerant of air in the system than the "green stuff". It is likely there was/is a leak in the system that was/needs to be repaired. Most complaints I've seen or heard about Dexcool fall under three categories:

  1. Not maintaining proper coolant level, thus allowing air into the system.
  2. Mixing other coolant types with Dexcool.
  3. Using Dexcool in an engine not designed for it.

Roger

Reply to
zroger73

The "chucks" are tablets that come from the factory to help seal minor leaks. Dexcool does not have that same ability as the only green antifreeze. In fact if you take it to the dealer to have the system flushed, they will add more tablets to your cooling system.

Look around the water pump and intake gaskets for signs of antifreeze. That could be your leak. If you are going to get your system flushed, do not go to a dealership. Go to someone where they will not reinsert the tablets.

Hope this helps.

Tim

Reply to
Tim Schoell

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