dexcool?

[cowboydan]

my van uses the orange stuff, now that being said i was curious. the fact used to be that nothing is compatible with dexcool. i have always believed this. but prestone makes celcius which i was told is compatible.
here is my question, is dexcool for aluminum parts? if so, the back of the celcius jug reads that is is safe for alluminum... should i mix? or should i keep my beliefs?

[chevymaher]

If your not sure dont mix.I have seen some strange stuff from mixing in the shop I worked at.Clogging eating up parts.I have no clue how those 2 would react to each other.Just decide what your gonna run flush system real good and run it.I use that green glycol straight and mix it my self.Cheaper that way.I never have problems with it.This one like religion and politics I am afraid everybodies beliefs different.basically just flush it and change it periodically and you be fine.

[cowboydan]

If your not sure dont mix.I have seen some strange stuff from mixing in the shop I worked at.Clogging eating up parts.I have no clue how those 2 would react to each other.Just decide what your gonna run flush system real good and run it.I use that green glycol straight and mix it my self.Cheaper that way.I never have problems with it.This one like religion and politics I am afraid everybodies beliefs different.basically just flush it and change it periodically and you be fine.

you would figure there would be something compatible. from what i have read most are too afraid to really try adding anything. some have done a complete flush and switched, but just to simply top it up?? i, like most, don't care to find out for myself either. i'll just get a jug of dexcool and be done... thanks though

[Phantom]

my van uses the orange stuff, now that being said i was curious. the fact used to be that nothing is compatible with dexcool. i have always believed this. but prestone makes celcius which i was told is compatible.
here is my question, is dexcool for aluminum parts? if so, the back of the celcius jug reads that is is safe for alluminum... should i mix? or should i keep my beliefs?

I think you should stay with your beliefs , when dexcool first came on the market more than a decade ago their first formula had a problem , and they reformulated shortly after , it is a better coolant than the green stuff, the key is change it every year or two, don't wait the 5 years and you'll be good , everything I have read says do not mix dexcool with the green stuff , I am not familiar with the celcius you spoke of , but I know from research that dexcool is good for aluminum and the green stuff will cause scale and silicate build up , but until you see specific data stating the stuff is compatible don't mix it with anything , i have been using dexcool for years and my cooling systems are always looking new , since coolant only costs about 10 -12 dollars a gallon it should be an easy way to keep system clean by changing every year regardless if they say it lasts 5 years

[Mr_Bowtie]

I got rid of the orange stuff and just bought the universal green stuff. "works with every make/model" It has been fine since.

[cowboydan]

I got rid of the orange stuff and just bought the universal green stuff. "works with every make/model" It has been fine since.

i may look at that option down the road.

[Big_kid]

I flushed mud out of my Astro when i got it, replaced the water pump and started running the green stuff. I topped it off with more green stuff last weekend after the radiator swap.

In the '06 Express however...
It had been giving the occasional P0128, coolant temp below thermostat rating. I'd been blaming it on the aftermarket tracking system (our fleet manager said it was common after a state inspection). I finally noticed the reservoir was low, so I topped it off with some "universal" store brand stuff that came out a diluted green. The label said it mixed with all brands and colors. At 156K on the clock, I'll probably be getting another vehicle later on this year so I won't have long term results to share. It's only been a week, but so far so good. The light hasn't come back since I reset it, and I wasn't struck by lightning when the weak green topoff fluid met the old pink stuff.

[cowboydan]

I flushed mud out of my Astro when i got it, replaced the water pump and started running the green stuff. I topped it off with more green stuff last weekend after the radiator swap.

In the '06 Express however...
It had been giving the occasional P0128, coolant temp below thermostat rating. I'd been blaming it on the aftermarket tracking system (our fleet manager said it was common after a state inspection). I finally noticed the reservoir was low, so I topped it off with some "universal" store brand stuff that came out a diluted green. The label said it mixed with all brands and colors. At 156K on the clock, I'll probably be getting another vehicle later on this year so I won't have long term results to share. It's only been a week, but so far so good. The light hasn't come back since I reset it, and I wasn't struck by lightning when the weak green topoff fluid met the old pink stuff.

lol... i thought for sure you would have

[chevymaher]

I think you should stay with your beliefs , when dexcool first came on the market more than a decade ago their first formula had a problem , and they reformulated shortly after , it is a better coolant than the green stuff, the key is change it every year or two, don't wait the 5 years and you'll be good , everything I have read says do not mix dexcool with the green stuff , I am not familiar with the celcius you spoke of , but I know from research that dexcool is good for aluminum and the green stuff will cause scale and silicate build up , but until you see specific data stating the stuff is compatible don't mix it with anything , i have been using dexcool for years and my cooling systems are always looking new , since coolant only costs about 10 -12 dollars a gallon it should be an easy way to keep system clean by changing every year regardless if they say it lasts 5 years

Yes I am sure they fixed most of thier problems.But it was supposed to be the cats meow then.Only get one chance to screw up my stuff then I go back to what has worked since the dinosaur days.Im good vans 17 years old and radiator clean as a whistle.The 90 had the orange junk in it and its radiator was rotted out leaking anti freeze into the tranny fluid.I dont think mine will do that in 4 years.i am sure it was lack of flush/change that killed that one.It was dealer maintained got the papers with it.But that the point if it maintained no matter what you using it does better.I am not saying what you said is not correct now.But they blew thier chance with me.

[Phantom]

I got rid of the orange stuff and just bought the universal green stuff. "works with every make/model" It has been fine since.

Just for the record I did not mean to imply that the green antifreeze is not good, it has been around a long time , dexcool was developed to be less corrosive and safe for the environment , people and animals , with the green stuff it is more toxic and can cause death to pets and harmful to people . When my car needed a new radiator I did some research on the topic to help me decide if I should go with the green stuff or dexcool and I decided to go with dexcool and have noticed that the cooling systems that have used dexcool were cleaner overall ,

There is no problem with using the green stuff as antifreeze if it is changed often , A big thing to consider is the use of distilled water , using tap water will have a greater chance of scale build up in cooling system , so with either type of antifreeze a person chooses , use only distilled or de-ionized water and mix it before putting into the cooling system , I will pour half a gallon out of a jug into a clean jug and then pour the distilled water into the jug to fill it up . 50% water/antifreeze , or a little stronger sometimes shake the jug then pour into radiator

[cowboydan]

my van uses the orange stuff, now that being said i was curious. the fact used to be that nothing is compatible with dexcool. i have always believed this. but prestone makes celcius which i was told is compatible.
here is my question, is dexcool for aluminum parts? if so, the back of the celcius jug reads that is is safe for alluminum... should i mix? or should i keep my beliefs?

I think you should stay with your beliefs , when dexcool first came on the market more than a decade ago their first formula had a problem , and they reformulated shortly after , it is a better coolant than the green stuff, the key is change it every year or two, don't wait the 5 years and you'll be good , everything I have read says do not mix dexcool with the green stuff , I am not familiar with the celcius you spoke of , but I know from research that dexcool is good for aluminum and the green stuff will cause scale and silicate build up , but until you see specific data stating the stuff is compatible don't mix it with anything , i have been using dexcool for years and my cooling systems are always looking new , since coolant only costs about 10 -12 dollars a gallon it should be an easy way to keep system clean by changing every year regardless if they say it lasts 5 years

yea, i'm going to flush with dex in the spring but i have never had an issue with build up. the van has had a flush once in it's life at southgate chev/olds on record. it was done a year before i bought the van. that makes this year #5. i bought a jug of dex to do my t-stat and i'll buy another when i do the flush. then i'll be good for another 5 yrs. the stuff isn't cheap...$21/gal for dex, $10.98 for celcius. i have been using dex in my cars since 1998. i have no issues with dex, just lazy people who think coolant lasts for ever. the same people who think brake fluid last forever, then their calipers seize... gm is surely to blame eh? neh, just bad maintinence.

[Leeann_93]

They say 5 years/100,000 miles, but I'd never let any coolant (let alone Dex-Cool) go half that long. That was part of the reason Dex-Cool got a bad rap in the first place.

[cowboydan]

They say 5 years/100,000 miles, but I'd never let any coolant (let alone Dex-Cool) go half that long. That was part of the reason Dex-Cool got a bad rap in the first place.

what ever the bad rap was, i never heard of it untill just recently. i know that all vortec engines have alluminum components, which will have adverse effects when green coolant is applied. i'll be safe and sick with what's in there. can't be that bad if my van is 14yrs old with only one flush on record