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 Post subject: Coolant URGEND
PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2004 12:07 pm 
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do I need the Dex Cool or can I use any coolant from ATU?
This is what they have there: http://www.basf.de/basf/html/d/produkte ... /index.htm

I intend to change the Thermostat. Do I actually need a new coolant or can I also use the old one? What is better?

tnx

Vadim

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2004 1:01 pm 
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This is just my opinion.

I've talked with serveral dealership techs as well as independant shops. If you have dex cool (orange) drain it out, and replace it with green.

Dex cool has proven to be very corrosive and damaging.


...will only cost you a few bux to put new in when you swap T Stats no matter which type you choose to go with however.

I also recommend drilling a small hole in the T stat perimeter. It will allow any air to escape the system, and when you do it, elevate the front end so that the filler neck gets above the Thermostat. That way you shouldnt have to bleed the system when your done.


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 6:55 pm 
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According to the service manual, it says to only use dex-cool. It was formulated for the cars with aluminum heads. I don't know about the corrosion problem, but I trust the engineers who designed it.

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 7:17 pm 
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thank you guys. I did it yesterday and I took that pink coolant from above. It is specially for high-performance aluminium engines. ;)

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 8:11 pm 
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KC10A wrote:
According to the service manual, it says to only use dex-cool. It was formulated for the cars with aluminum heads. I don't know about the corrosion problem, but I trust the engineers who designed it.


I guess my heads werent aluminum way back in 94. It was a industry wide change in or around 1996, doesnt matter if the heads were made of balsa wood, high performance or no performance engines aluminum or otherwise.

The reason it says run Dex-Cool is because you are strongly discouraged from mixing the too (bad thing).

People use it everyday, but the people that the "engineers" trust to do the warranty work on the cars wont put it in their cars. And there are several class action suits filed against Dex Cool for alledgly ruining engines.

Understand I AM IN NO WAY SAYING IT WILL HARM YOUR ENGINE. Each person will and should believe what ever they want too.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 03, 2004 9:18 am 
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You have a lot of knowledge Rob, and I trust that you would not say something unless you completely and utterly believed it to be true! ;) I might be flushing my system out soon.


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PostPosted: Fri Sep 03, 2004 3:57 pm 
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This is what I would do, and will as I still have it in the focus and my wifes car. The stuff is rated for a severly long time, and its proven to retain its anti freezing properties for 1 billion miles or whatever is claimed. But it will not keep your system clean for that long.

Thats why some people had problems with it. I would change it just like if you had the green. Kinda like those 100,000 mile plat plugs that came in our cars.


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PostPosted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 1:25 pm 
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Hey people with problems with Dexcool ,are the ones who do pisspoor maintenance on their vehicles or go beyond the service life of the coolant . But too each his own when it comes to coolant. Ihave no problems when it comes to coolants . I check them regularly and test them semiannually . Test corrosion, and freeze protection . Plus one that only some mechs know and that is for electrolisys.(sp)

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 2:13 pm 
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I've done some extensive reading on this subject and had to ask myself that question quite a few times when I had my Z's. Anyway, what I learned from reading about this in my Chevy Venture, was that the "Original" dexcool chemical had issues with destroying gaskets and causing corrosion.

Since this time. GM now uses the Prestone version of Dexcool that is "Dexcool Compatible" (Comes in a Grey container with an orange top). This was confirmed by others that dealers have been instructed to use Prestone's version now, which gets rid of the original dexcool issues. I did a lot of research on this because the FWD 3.4L that is in the Venture has head gasket and intake gasket issues. That are almost entirely related to the coolant.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 2:55 pm 
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Magna pilot , I don't believe that for one minute , It sounds like a lot of internet legend to me. There has been no recall for this what so ever That I can find to prove what you said. Show it to me , and I will have been enlightened.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 5:07 pm 
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MagnaPilot,

wanna sell me one of your LT1s? I'm looking for 1. ;)

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 6:58 pm 
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No there isn't a recall, it seems that GM dodges this one just about as much they do when you ask them about the 5th Gen F-body. :?

It seems that this is a combination of a few different things. Engine Design, Gasket Design, and Coolant Design.... the 60* V6 motors and the 4.3L motors have taken the worst of this mess but it does effect the V8's to some degree.

Taken from:
http://www.cwcd.com/CM/ClassActions/ClassActions35.asp

Quote:
The suit, ROBIN FLYNN and CHERYL HALL et al. vs. GENERAL MOTORS CORP., et al. filed in Madison County, Illinois seeks to compensate class members for damages to their vehicles. The most commonly reported damages include corroded, rusted and clogged radiators, eroded aluminum cylinder heads, eroded water pumps and thermostat housings, rotten and leaking radiator hoses, leaky heater cores and freeze plugs, corroded radiator caps, deposits within the cooling system, damaged and leaky cooling system gaskets, damage to the head gaskets, chronic overheating, damage to the engine, oil in engine coolant system, leaking coolant, deposits on the overflow tanks and sludge in the engine coolant system.

Over thirty-four million vehicles have been sold and continue to be sold by General Motors containing Dexcool. In many of these vehicles, the problems in the engine coolant system do not become apparent to owners until after the warranty has expired. Unless the vehicle is under warranty, General Motors has not agreed to repair vehicle, recall vehicles, replace Dexcool with traditional coolants, change the maintenance schedule to include inspection of the engine coolant system, replace the coolant, nor inform owners.



I'm working on finding the links to the offical prestone thread I do have threads on message boards that say they've seen the info that says what is to be done. But for the most part it is said that Texaco/Havoline had to reformulate their version of Dex-cool due to the corrosion issues. I'll see what else I can dig up later if you like. Though I agree it's quite possibly hearsay, but considering the number of links and info I found at the time. It didn't seem likely that it was totaly incorrect.

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'97 Chevrolet Venture (Faster than the Civic!)
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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 7:00 pm 
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Quote:
MagnaPilot,

wanna sell me one of your LT1s? I'm looking for 1.


I sure wish I still had one! I even tried to lookup the VIN of my wrecked Z28....wanted to see if it got repaired and sent back into service. I'll buy it again if I could!

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MagnaPilot
'97 Chevrolet Venture (Faster than the Civic!)
'98 Honda Civic EX (Slow)
'96 Z28 Purple M6 (Sold)
'95 Z28 Silver A4 (R.I.P.)
'92 Camaro RS V6 (Sold)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:59 am 
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Roy wrote:
Hey people with problems with Dexcool ,are the ones who do pisspoor maintenance on their vehicles or go beyond the service life of the coolant . But too each his own when it comes to coolant. Ihave no problems when it comes to coolants . I check them regularly and test them semiannually . Test corrosion, and freeze protection . Plus one that only some mechs know and that is for electrolisys.(sp)


wow, in a 5 to 1 word ratio in your favor, that is exactly what I said :roll:

Internet legend? No, more like the ...your DS is not imbalanced, (93-96) .... No, your fuel lines were not routed wrong (94-95) Just on a broader sense. GM bought into this dex cool in a big $$$ way. Maybe its reformulated now, and maybe its not, people use it everyday and cars still run around the streets.

Not everybody's Explorer flipped over and burned to the ground either, but the tires were bad.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 5:28 am 
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Rob i understand where your coming from , But a lot of people couldn't even tell you where the radiator cap is , much less the dipstick. The words preventive maintenance for them is , check fuel level and refill as necessary.

If there is a problem with DEXCOOL , I will never find out , Its been changed twice because of corrosion inhibitors were low , or electrolysys reading was high. Its all part of regular preventive maintenance to keep your vehicle running , when running it on the ragged edge.

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