I need to flush my radiator and the engine block to get this dexcoolant out.what would be the best longlife coolant to use.2002 montecarlo ss 45000 miles.thanks rob
If your vehicle is working OK with Dexcool, and this is a routine, normal radiator service, there is no reason to not use Dexcool or any universal application coolant on the market. Do a good flush two or three times if you choose to change to something other than Dexcool. You could also change to the more familiar green stuff, but by definition it is not long-life. I would never recommend Dexcool go the max distance, anyway, so my view is a bit different than the manufacturer’s on “long-life”.
While many people call it the “sludge of death”, it is a perfectly good coolant to use as long as you don’t have any other problems.
i was reading a article were gm was sued for the damage that dexcoolnt was having on gm cars.the suit was settled and gm had to pay.it is under girard gibbs .maifoild gasket class action.thanks rob
DEX COOL destroyed a perfcetly good radiator in one of my cars. My mechanic gave me a generous adjustment on a new rad and installed a different long life coolant.
That is exactly what i am worried about.i was told that peak long life antifreeze is a good choice.thanks for your help rob
Drain the dexcool. Flush the cooling system REALLY WELL to eliminate any trace of dexcool, then refill the cooling system with a 50/50 mixture of good-old green antifreeze and water.
I still haven’t heard of anything that works better.
My daughter and son in law have run Dexcool in their cars since they were purchased several years ago. No problems. That is the only experience I have, but have read all the dire complaints. From what I have read, any of your Universal anti-freezes (including Peak long-life, I think) are Dex-clones.
If you want to be safe and know for sure you are not using Dex or a Dex-clone, use Zerex green or G-05 (yellow). Neither are Dex-clones, for sure, without a doubt.
Don’t fall for this long-life antifreeze farse. This was found out when GM introduced the Dexcool antifreeze claiming it could last 5 years/150,000 miles. Then when people purchased these vehicles with or switched to this antifreeze, they discovered what can happen when you neglect the cooling system believing this.
If you perform a cooling system maintenance every 3 years/36,000 miles, you’ll avoid all the problems associated with neglecting the cooling system. No matter what the manufacturer of the antifreeze claims.
Tester
I don’t disagree with tester very often, but this time I will. I have used Dexcol and the new HOAT long life antifreezes for some time now and they really do work very well. I kept the OEM Dexcol in my Saturn for 6 years and 150k miles, then switched to Prestone Long Life. I did not flush out the system, just drained the block and the radiator and refilled. The Prestone will probably last the rest of the life of the car as it has 170k on it now and will probably have 240k or more when I retire in a couple of years.
I put the Prestone Orange Long Life in my Nissan Truck and left it there for 7 years. I only put about 80k miles on it though during that time. When I bought the truck new, it had a persistent coolant leak, about a cup a month. The orange coolant at through an oxide inclusion in the gooseneck and showed me the leak. I repaired it and it hasn’t lost a drop since. It now has the Prestone yellow LongLife in it.
I also used the Prestone Orange in my wife’s 97 Accord. Put it in in 99 @30k miles, changed it in 05 @ 105 k miles when the timing belt was changed.
I think these HOAT antifreezes really work and will last a long time. I don’t see 5 years as being too long for them. I also do not like to flush out my cooling systems as I always had lots of problems after each time I flushed them in the past. I also use a 2:1 ratio of antifreeze to distilled water instead of the usual 50:50.
While I always seem to use Prestone, I see no reason why Peak or Zerex wouldn’t be just as good. It just seems that the Prestone is on sale when I need it and I am all about the wallet when it comes to brand selection. I don’t use off brands though, I prefer to stick with one of these three.
Keith,
You are correct in every aspect of antifreezes. But! Let’s look at the average vehicle owner? They’re not as savy on vehicle maintenance or on antifreezes. So do you get them involved with the chemistry of antifreezes? Or do you tell them to do basic vehicle maintenance to prevent problems?
Tester
My understanding is that Prestone 5/50 is one of the Dexcool clones that has been mentioned here.
I put it in a BMW with a brand new Nissen radiator. Two years later the O-ring between the aluminum radiator and the plastic end-caps let go. It was leaking in several places.
Replaced the radiator. No more long-life antifreeze for me.
Thank you for all of your advice.
Our new 1996 Chevrolet had Dexcool installed from the factory. Since then, I have drained but not flushed the system twice and refilled with compatible brands as stated on the gallon jug. No problem. The car has about 125,000 miles.
I think Peak Long Life is a dex-clone. Peak Global Life Time is equivalent to Zerex G05, and is definitely not Dex or a Dex-clone formulation. I would use it if my concern is to not use Dexcool or its clones.
You had a defective radiator, it wasn’t the fault of the antifreeze. You didn’t by any chance decide to flush the cooling system with a chemical flush like Prestone Superflush after you put in the radiator did you?
I think that “good-old green” either does not exist or is very hard to find. That stuff was high in silicates. Even stuff that resembles that is lower in silicates these days.
I have not used a chemical flush in a radiator since I worked in a JC Penny Auto Center back in 1980. That always scared me because so many times the flush triggered a leak that was not there when the car came in, we were (of course) blamed for causing the leak, and I ended up replacing a freeze plug or other component on my own time.
I cannot say with confidence whether the radiator was defective or the antifreeze caused the problem. However, given two facts: Nissen is a well-known name brand and they likely use the same seal in all their radiators, and DexCool has a well-documented history of attacking seals in cooling systems - I read a GM service bulletin on a shop board that listed the models that were known to have seals that would not tolerate DexCool. I have enough evidence persuade me to choose another antifreeze from here on out.
Having said that - I also chose another radiator brand for my replacement radiator. I put in a Behr. Trying to cover all the possibilities.
thanks for all the great advice.
Zerex brand provides a green coolant as does Motorcraft, that equates to “good old green”. Oddly enough, my mechanic still gets good old green in bulk, and it is his preference to use. All the others appear to be suspect, are univeral Dex-clones, or the information provided is not sufficient for my curiosity to be sure.