what now???

i posted a few days ago about my over heating problem. turns out it's a water pump or so said the mechanic.
got it back today with a "it's good to go, problems fixed."
that costed me (with tax) 415.29$

well, drove around a little today..temp is still going past 195. not much past but it should stay at 195, right??

i'm guessing..again..i just wasted 400$ and nothing has been fixed.



i also looked around a little about Dex-Cool. well, apparently the only cooolant that can and is recommended to use is dexcool. but what does dexcool do??? IT MESSES YOUR CAR UP!

"Customers complain that DEX-COOL forms a sludge-like substance that clogs their vehicles' cooling systems causing them to overheat, and that DEX-COOL corrodes all parts of the engine it comes in contact with including the heater core, water pump, hoses, cap, upper and lower intake manifold, thermostat, and engine block."


had the "sludge-like" substance.
had the over heating.
just put a new engine in it about a year ago.
replaced the water pump.
replaced thermostat.

still have the same problem.
is anyone else experiencing this too??


also, someone replied to my last post about converting to the green coolant? what exactly do you mean? supposivly dexcool (orange coolant) is the only one to use. or so says the owners manual.

I was told when i bought my car which is the 99 below, that the only type one could use is Dex-cool, adding anything else will cause it to congeil turing into one big fuckin mess! If you were to change coolants, you would probably have to get a whole new radiator and the whole nine yards because gettin all that Dex-coolant out of it would probably be a bitch. Stick with what you got becuase all dealerships have to guarentee their work for 90days. If it still fucks up, go back and raise alot of hell! G'luck to ya man

I was told when i bought my car which is the 99 below, that the only type one could use is Dex-cool, adding anything else will cause it to congeil turing into one big fuckin mess! If you were to change coolants, you would probably have to get a whole new radiator and the whole nine yards because gettin all that Dex-coolant out of it would probably be a bitch. Stick with what you got becuase all dealerships have to guarentee their work for 90days. If it still fucks up, go back and raise alot of hell! G'luck to ya man


i've looked around, seems like i'm not the only one experiencing these problems. infact ALOT of people have the same problems as i am.

somebody posted this..
"As far as I'm concerned, when they state that its good for 5 years or 150,000 miles ... that's an implied warranty. My owners manual states ..."This coolant is designed to remain in your vehicle for 5 years or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first, if you add .. only add DEX-COOL extended life coolant."

i'm pretty sure it says the exact same thing in my owners manual..
GM's reply regarding the Dex-Cool is simply..

"The DexCool is supposed to last up to 150,000 miles under perfect operating conditions. The DexCool may not last 150,000 miles in certain parts of the country due to the environment and terrain."


there's law suits about it but unfortunately nothing is going to happen for awhile.

You can put in the Green coolant without problems, but you MUST flush the system first. Just get one of those kits that any parts store sell. It is basically a "Tee" fitting that goes in a heater hose. Then attach your water hose from the house and flush away. Don't forget the overflow bottle and hose. You don't need any chemicals or additives. After you flush the system just add your 50/50 mixture of the green coolant. The only differance you will notice is the service interval. I have converted several over the years. Some I even converted to the dexcool when it first came out. Then years later I had the Gel, flushed it and converted them back. No More Problems. Two of my cars came with dexcool and have been using the green for several years now. If you have the gel in your red coolant, then convert it fast before it kills the engine. As for it running a little over 195, that may be the temp sending unit for the fan or the thermostat covered with dexcool gel. Good Luck.

Just a little tip on the "Do it yourself" Flush kit. Be careful not to turn the water on too high.

It's a good kit and a cool idea, but I accidently blew my head gasket with it. (it was an old truck, but I'm sure the precaution still stands.)

You're supposed to flush it with the cap off the radiator and the drain open. So you would not be able to blow a head gasket unless the water passages were already completely blocked. If that was the case you would need to remove the head anyway to clean it out. Oh well a head gasket job on these care is only about a 4 hour job. Just leave the intake manifold connected. If you take it off add 2 or 3 hours.

That truck had a drain plug (88 S10). It's all good though, I just jotted that under my looooong list of "learning mistakes". :banghead:

I know what you're saying there. I have made some funny mistakes over the years.

even if you do a flush you cant get all of the dexcool out of the system the only way is to do a chemical flush. Dexcool will only sludge up when you have a low coolant level. That is the only reason. If you do use green antifreeze your cooling system will be full of green gel. As for the temp issue the cavalier should run a little over 195. That is normal

I have been certified for over 15 years and I have not seen "Green Sludge". Yes you can get the DexCool out with a simple water flush. A chemical flush is needed only if you have a lot of sludge. I never let my cars go low on coolant and two developed gel. Here in Florida the coolant gets to the overflow tank every time you shut the car off. So guess what, it is hot and exposed to the air and gels up. So this Dexcool would be great in a sealed system. But in my cars, all three GM products I use the green stuff, and have been for years. Anyone who tells you it cannot be done is full of smoke. They have been reading to many magazines and not turning wrenches.

I have the same damn problem, I have a 1999 2.4l cavi Ls the temp runs a bit over 195. The whole mess started when I heard a loud sqeal/clanking sound that turned out to be my waterpump. I replaced the waterpump and Thermostat and flushed the system, prior to the water pump going bad the car ran consistantly at 195, never overheating. Immediatly after changing the water pump and thermostat I noticed it ran at about 225 in traffic (the hottest it ever ran) then the fan would kick on and maintain 225 until I picked up speed, created air flow, and dropped the temp back to 200 or so. I drove it for about a month before the temp started reaching about 245-250 in traffic (california OC traffic). At this point I knew I had problems and decided to replace the temp sensor/ resovior cap/ new radiator/ and lower radiator hose (on a hunch). Of coarse nothing helped, same simptoms occured. I reluctantly took it to a radiator shop, they told me that I purchased a bad thermostat, after 30 min of arguments I decided to change the thermostat... again. This resulted in the same symptoms, pissed off because I waisted my day and money I took it back to the radiator shop, they told me it was probibly (not certainly) air bubbles in the cooling system which requires a 75.00 vaccume proceedure to fix. This was something the radiator guy said he had to do with the new Vett's. Sounds like bullshit to me, but feedback is appriciated. Has anyone else heard of this, does anyone have any other ideas?

I agree with Public. Dexcool is junk ( I work at a Delco distributor, I know) and it is perfectly safe to flush your system and replace with green. Green coolant has silicates in it. They help "scrub" sludge and deposits from the walls of your cooling system. THat is why it needs to be changed regularly. DExcool doesn't have these silicates, so instead of suspending them until change time, it allows them to adhere to internal cooling system components causing sludge. Do yourselves a favor and flush that Dexcrap, oops, i mean Dexcool out and replace with the green. After doing so, most if not all your cooling problems will go with it.

Its fine to switch to green if you want. I've heard a lot about the problems of Dex-Cool. However, my dad has 218,000 miles on his 1998 Chevy Venture minivan with the 3.4 V6 and it made it that far using nothing but Dex-Cool. However, I will be the first to admit that we changed the coolant every 2-3 years, I don't trust that 5 year rating.

I have a 99 Cavy with 50,000 miles and no probs yet.