Prestone LowTox + cooling system flush

... and you got a radiator leak!

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

Not sure if you're joking or not. However - it was a cracked plastic radiator tank. The mechanic was surprised it lasted 130K miles. My coolant hose burst at 113K miles after only using Honda coolant changed every 15K miles.

Cracked nylon tank at the top of the original Showa radiator. This is rather common - right down to where it cracked. Type in "honda radiator tank cracked" on Google and see how common this is. I don't blame Dex-Cool for my radiator tank cracking or Honda Type 1 coolant for the blown upper radiator hose at 114K miles. These were the only non-wear items I've ever had repaired out of warranty other than the antenna mast. Less than $500 in about nine years of ownership and

132K miles ain't bad. Pretty darn good compared to my dad's Buick.

I had less than 2 quarts left, so I just used the bottle to store some of the used antifreeze.

Nope, DexCool is well-known to attack solder joints (among other things...)

Why anyone would use anything other than good old yellow-bottle Prestone is beyond me. G-05 supposedly works a lot better than DexCool, but as far as I can tell that is damning with faint praise.

When. You'll post WHEN it becomes a problem.

What is with this silicate paranoia? Car companies have been using ethylene glycol coolants with silicate corrosion inhibitors for 30 years, and waterpumps often last 150,000 miles with it. The sudden paranoia makes no sense to me. It only results in an abrasion problem if something causes it to precipitate out of solution. In a healthy antifreeze mix, its actually a lubricant.

Yep. Waterpumps are cheap and easy, rotting the engine away from the cooling passages inward is a killer.

I'd love to know why some companies (GM, Honda, etc.) are basically saying that they can no longer build water pumps that last >100k miles with silicate corrosion inhibitors. Everyone sure was doing it in the

60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s. Certain vehicles (eg. 80s Ford smallblocks) had problem waterpumps, but that was related to bearing design, not seal life.

I was looking at the Prestone website, and they claim that they came up sith silicate corrosion inhbitors in the early 70's.

The other thing about Honda water pumps, is that Honda (in all their infinite wisdom) decided to drive theirs off of the timing belt. So if your water pump seizes, the timing belt more than likely snaps. Couple that with interference engines, and you see why so many people have the water pump changed as part of the timing belt service.

As was suggested, I looked up what the problems were with DexCool. From my research on the web, it seems that the majority of sludge problems were in cast iron block engines. They usually involved corrosion from large amounts of air in the cooling system. Aluminum block engines seemed to have far fewer problems, and they might have just been unrelated to the use of DexCool.

Coolant hoses are a normal replacement item at >100K miles - the internal webbing becomes brittle and any flexing will tear it. Why you change at

15K miles is beyond me - a waste of resource and an excessive burden on the recycling system IMO... like 3K oil changes.

No I was not joking but now that you've said plastic tank, the Dex-Cool was likely not the cause. I have my own theories about why the plastic tanks crack - mechanic abuse. I've never seen it myself.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

It doesn't have to precipitate out. The silicate is there to lay down a protective anti-corrosion film on metal surfaces. With aluminum the resulting surface is rough enough to damage pump seals. It is *not* paranoia - I've seen the results.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

So does my Chrysler 3.5

At least Chrysler wasn't THAT stupid... until after the Dumbler took over.

Which makes me wonder even more... since the water pump on a Honda is now a "preventive maintenance" item done every 60-100k miles, all the LESS reason to diddle around with questionable coolants when you could just use good old Prestone and never EVER see a water pump failure before it got replaced with the T-belt.

But if you've got any soldered joints, such as a copper based heater core, consider them gone.

No need to wonder: use Prestone regular antifreeze in a Honda and you'll have a high risk of a seized water pump ~25K miles later... my experience. There may be other coolants which would work but I know the Honda stuff works for me.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

Consider this question motivated by ignorance, not malice: WHY can't (or won't) Honda (or GM, apparently) make a water pump that lasts as long as everyone else's do with silicate coolants?

Well yes - I have pondered the question... and decided to just accept things the way they are. Even if I could figure out the chemical and physical processes which lead to failure it's not going to make any difference... for a savings of $15. or so every 3 years. IOW it's a nuisance but it's not important enough to drive me towards some other mfr with more bothersome practices.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

Oh the cost wouldn't bother me either. For example, I have no gripe about using ATF+4 transmission fluid in a Chrysler, nor did I have a problem using Type F in Fords years ago. Its the idea of using a type of coolant that has inferior corrosion protection for the engine block just to protect the a cheesy little water pump seal, especially when the same seal hasn't been problematic for the past 40 years.

There sure are a lot of failed water pumps out there over these past 40 years, so don't be so sure about your statement!

John

When they fail at 100,000+ miles, I don't consider that a problem. Thats pretty typical for every water pump I've had, and they've all been run on Prestone's classic "silicone silicate" formula.

I've seen nothing to suggest that the non-silicate/borate coolants have inferior corrosion protection - quite the opposite in fact... whereas there does seem to be a problem with the silicate formula when used in aluminum blocks and water pumps.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??