Omg Death By Dexcool

I know we've been over this a 100 hundred times, So Please help me understand something about "DEXCOOL". My Daughter has a 2003 Malibu, 30,000 miles on the clock. Last week I just finished flushing out the cooling system on my son in law's 97LS Blazer (It was a red muddy dexcool mess with the stock rad cap on it and yes we replaced it with a stant). We checked the Malibu out just for giggles. When I opened the Plastic overfill reserve tank (15lb screw on cap) I was shocked to see Dexcool mud forming in the cap and in the plastic tank. This car does not have a cap on the Rad. What gives here. I'm a little concerned because my wife's 04 caviler (8K) has the same cooling system set up with no rad cap. How often should Dexcool be flushed and refilled? What could have happened to the malibu for it to start to turn shitty so soon 30K? Can anyone come up with a logical answer to this problem?

BlazerLT, I copied the web site below from you, hope you don't mind and I have heard the good and bad about Dexcool from you guys, GM says it's good for 100K, Thats not happening...

Dino.................


No actually, the dexcool failure is due to a poor stock rad cap.

http://www.imcool.com/articles/anti...ol-macs2001.htm (http://www.imcool.com/articles/anti...ol-macs2001.htm)

The rad caps on the S/T vehicles don't cause the problem, they make it worse. The problem occurs when the dexcool becomes contaminated. For the most part, people have pretty good luck with it, if they flush it every 3 years at less than 50,000 miles.

I currently use green antifreeze in my vehicles after having major dexcool problems in my Impala. My Impala doesn't have a cap on the radiator either, it has a pressurized reservoir. The problems occured less than a year after a flush and refill. My car is meticulously maintained, all levels are always checked regularly.

I'm sure that this thread will be full of suspected causes, half truths and conspiracy theories, but the bottom line, IMO, is any product that can be tainted so easily, and become destructive to so many expensive componets should not be used. Dexcool has the potential to be superior to the standard green antifreeze, but at this time, it is not refined enough to be used in mass production.

DINO, its a dead link. try this
http://www.imcool.com/articles/antifreeze-coolant/dexcool-macs2001.htm

i know someone who had a 97 yukon. it had high miles but was properly maintained. It used dexcool coolant. Over time the dexcool ate the cooling system (mostly the radiator) apart. The engine had to be rebuild do to the severe overheating when the rad failed. Maybe this was a freak accurance.

Mike1224, Thanks for the link correction.
Blazee, Your last paragraph could not have summed it up better for me IMO, This is the thing I don't understand, how GM could allow something to become destructive in our vehicles. Now i read the class action lawsuit's over Dexcool are starting.
Does anyone have a happy ending story about Dexcool? Like, I've been running Dexcool for 6 years and with regular changes, this is the best thing that ever hit the market... If so I would like to hear from them.
Trust me guy's, I'm not looking for a debate on Dexcool, I'm just looking your honest opinions and experiences / stories. Thanks again for your input.

A lot of people have had no problems. Tony Mazz has had good luck with it. He sent a sample of his off and had it examined. I think he had about 50,000 miles on it and it was still in great condition. The internet is full of people talking about having problems with it, you don't hear about the ones that haven't had any problems. The majority of people seem to have no problems. The reason I don't like it is because of the high percentage that do have problems. It is obvious, to me, that there are some serious issues with it that need to be resolved and should have been resolved before it was used.

i think it just depends on maintainance. sure it has a life of 5yr/ 100,000 miles, but that doesn't mean maintainance free! I believe thats the biggest problem. people may be forgetting about it or not worrying. I haven't had problems on my '00, bought it used in '02. and like you seem, i am VERY picky about maintainance.

Some of the problems may be due to a lack of maintenance, but not all of them. As I stated above, mine was less than a year old and was meticulously maintained.

The problem occurs when the dexcool becomes contaminated. My Question is contaminated with what, air, tap water, dirt, heat, other chemicals, all the above??? When is a good time to flush the Dexcool in her 04 cavalier? Where the heck is Tony Mazz now.Talk to me.

The problem occurs when the dexcool becomes contaminated. My Question is contaminated with what, air, tap water, dirt, heat, other chemicals, all the above??? When is a good time to flush the Dexcool in her 04 cavalier? Where the heck is Tony Mazz now.Talk to me. I'd say all of the above. I've heard that some people wait the entire period, some change it every 2-2.5 years. just personal preferance. I'd change it now, and probably every 2 years. personally, I'd stick with dexcool.

Does anyone have a happy ending story about Dexcool? Like, I've been running Dexcool for 6 years and with regular changes, this is the best thing that ever hit the market

If I ever give up my daytime job and become a Fiction Writer.......


The Dexcool in my '97 gave out at 30k miles at 5 years old.

Some of the problems may be due to a lack of maintenance, but not all of them. As I stated above, mine was less than a year old and was meticulously maintained.are you the original owner? the previous owner (if there was one) may not have been as sreious about maintaining their vehicle.

are you the original owner? the previous owner (if there was one) may not have been as sreious about maintaining their vehicle.
I'm the second owner. The original owner was a chiropractor that garaged the car at home and at work. He hand waxed it, detailed the interior and the engine every week. He kept all the mainanence up and had all the documentation. That's the main reason that I bought it. But regardless of that I had owned the car about 4 years when the coolant was changed and had already flushed and refilled it a few years previously. I had owned it about 5 years when I had problems.

blazee,

what are your thoughts on "dexcool approved" products say, from Autozone and such. Pre-mixed and mixed?

This stuff is usually a Prestone "Dexcool look-a-like" right?

This stuff from AZ isn't what the stealership is putting in our trucks ... yes?

Is the AZ look-a-like safe?





I'm the second owner. The original owner was a chiropractor that garaged the car at home and at work. He hand waxed it, detailed the interior and the engine every week. He kept all the mainanence up and had all the documentation. That's the main reason that I bought it. But regardless of that I had owned the car about 4 years when the coolant was changed and had already flushed and refilled it a few years previously. I had owned it about 5 years when I had problems.

blazee,

what are your thoughts on "dexcool approved" products say, from Autozone and such. Pre-mixed and mixed?

This stuff is usually a Prestone "Dexcool look-a-like" right?

This stuff from AZ isn't what the stealership is putting in our trucks ... yes?

Is the AZ look-a-like safe?
They're not just look-a-likes. The other brands of Dexcool are still considered Dexcool. The Prestone dexcool is a little different than the Chevron/Texaco/Havoline (GM) dexcool. They are the same except for the corrosion inhibitors. I really don't think that the two are different enough for one to be considered better or worse than the other. They should both have the same benefits and drawbacks.

As far as the premixed stuff, a lot of people consider it a convenience... I consider it a waste of money. A gallon of premix is about $8, that means you're paying $4 for half a gallon of water. The same water can be bought for about 50 cents/gallon.

Most of the dealerships around here will actually flush dexcool out of new cars/trucks and replace with normal green stuff when they come in the lot. I once talked to the service manager at the local chevy dealer about this and asked about it being expensive for them to always do this, his response?

"We'd rather spend the a few bux per car putting normal antifreeze in, then deal with the headaches of dexcool a year or 2 down the road"

My blazer had decool in when I bought it, 1st thing I did when I got it home (before I destroyed the engine with a screw (see my site for the story) Was do a complete acid flush of the cooling system and replace with green... The rad itself took a while do to all the gel and corrosion..

Granted, if you watch it and maintain it, it will be fine, but most times the crap is more trouble than it's worth...Again, this is only MY opinion. Others may vary...:)

Most of the dealerships around here will actually flush dexcool out of new cars/trucks and replace with normal green stuff when they come in the lot. I once talked to the service manager at the local chevy dealer about this and asked about it being expensive for them to always do this, his response?

"We'd rather spend the a few bux per car putting normal antifreeze in, then deal with the headaches of dexcool a year or 2 down the road"

My blazer had decool in when I bought it, 1st thing I did when I got it home (before I destroyed the engine with a screw (see my site for the story) Was do a complete acid flush of the cooling system and replace with green... The rad itself took a while do to all the gel and corrosion..

Granted, if you watch it and maintain it, it will be fine, but most times the crap is more trouble than it's worth...Again, this is only MY opinion. Others may vary...:)
I perfer the green antifreeze, too.

I just want to stress the fact that if anyone wants to convert over to the green stuff, you must thoroughly flush all of the dexcool out of the system first.

Just wanted to let you guys know, i have had bad experiences with dexcool in my vehicles, but my fiance has dexcool in her 98 malibu and it has 168k miles on it and the antifreeze has never been touched, never flushed, maybe topped off but that has been few and far between, and no problems, so there is a success story for ya! Although I dispise Dexcool!

Trust me when I say, Dex-Cool is the Devil's Urine.

Nah, I have had no problems with Dexcool in my 1995 Blazer.

The problems that the cooling system had was due to the following:

1.) Parents not changing the coolant until I did in 2002.

2.) After that a rad cap failure allowing lots of air into the system.

3.) Improper dealership flushing. They didn't flush it long enough, one of those quickly 45 minute flushes.

The the overflow tank is filled just below the overflow tube and the air contact minimized, you should have no problems with Dexcool.

Most if not all of Dexcool failures is due to lack of maintanence or a hardware failure.

I also find short trips and city driving VERY hard on Dexcool.

Anyone with a Dexcool system should overfill their overflow resevoir and if you owna 3.4L, you should have the intake gasket checked. Some years had failures.

Dex-Cool is the Devil's Urine...

:evillol: :evillol: :evillol: :evillol: :evillol: :evillol: :evillol: :evillol: :evillol: :evillol: :evillol: :evillol:

Trust me when I say, Dex-Cool is the Devil's Urine.thats a nasty color, he might want to get that checked out by a doc for STD's. OMG IT BURNS!