got a 2002 montecarlo ss.43.000 miles.need to flus the radiator.iwas informed their is a bleed screw that i have to bleed to get the air out.also this uses that dexcololant.in says 50/50 to water but i live up north it gets cold up here.whatratio of water to collant would you suggest. the car runs normal.i was told not to let them put it on one of those b/g machine what is so bad eabot the b/g machine
You want to use a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water for the best protection. A higher concentration of antifreeze to water can result in the cooling system sludging up. Because your cooling system is a sealed system where there is no radiator cap, it’s difficult to exchange 100% of the coolant. In this case it would be easier to exchange the coolant using a machine. You’ll get negative opinions about the use of these machines for exchanging the coolant. But these are from those who have never used one of these machines so they don’t know what they’re talking about. And if you decide to go this route, you might consider replacing the Dexcool with either a regular green or one of the new universal antifreezes to avoid the problems Dexcool can cause.
Tester
i will use 50/50 ratio.about dexcollant in the owners manual says to only use dexcollant.also that you can not mix dexcollant with any other type ove antifreeze.i heard the same bad things about dex collant.the rad in this car is aluminium if it matter i dont know.i want to use a extendand life collant any reccomadtion
You can use the new HOAT antifreezes. The have all the advantages of Dexcool but none of the purported problems. Personally I never had any problems with Dexcool but when I drained and replaced the coolant in my 02 Saturn, I used one of the new universal long life (HOAT) antifreezes. It can be mixed up to 70% antifreeze/30% distilled water. This will give you extreme cold protection.
I do not care for the flush machines but I don’t have anything against them. I do not like any of the flush chemicals, I believe they do harm to engines. I have seen so many problems right after these were used that I do not recommend them for any reason. You cannot use the flush machine if you are changing from Dexcool to the older green antifreezes as it will mix them. You can do it with the newer long life coolants though. Your vehicle is new enough that a drain and refill is all you need, just drain the block as well as the radiator if you are changing types of antifreeze.
You can use a coolant flush machine to remove ALL the Dexcool and replace it with the regular green coolant.
You connect one hose of the machine to the upper radiator hose and the other hose to the upper radiator hose neck. Then you fill the machine with four gallons of 50/50 mix of coolant. Turn the machine on and watch the coolant in the sight glass in the drain hose turn from orange to green. You just exchanged 100% of the Dexcool mix with the regular green antifreeze mix.
Tester
thankyou for yor advice.i will use the dexcoolant.i havent had any problems with dex coolant so far this chevy monte carlo ss 2002 42.300 miles.the temp gauge is staying were it should be.i also looked into the prestone longlife coolant.so when i go to the autoparts store i’ll ask them also.have a great 4of july
Please go to Google, and search for keyword ‘Death-cool’. You may reconsider the decision to go with it.
what extended life antifreeze is comptable with decool.and i know prestone has a new extended life antifreeze.i dont know if it will be conpatiable with dex cool.any help would be appreicated
The new extended life antifreezes are compatible with dexcool, but I would strongly recommend draining the block as well as the radiator.