Replacing DexCool coolant

[adhx]

I have a 1996 Olds 88 with 40k in mileage.

I am thinking about replacing the DexCool coolant in it. I've heard that this coolant causes a lot of problems with leakage and corrosion, particularly with the intake manifold.

Do you recommend that I flush the DexCool out?

Should I do a "power flush"?

And what coolant should I use instead of DexCool?

['97ventureowner]

Your best bet is to stick with the Dex Cool as most of the problems associated with that coolant have other causes. Poor gasket materials and designs, poor maintenance, air infiltration into the cooling system can all cause the problems people like to blame on Dex Cool. A properly maintained system will give you the best performance, which includes thoroughly flushing the cooling system out (which is true for any coolant used,) and changing the coolant on a 2 to 3 year (or 30,000 to 40,000 mile) schedule instead of the 5 yr/150,000 mile schedule once suggested. many of the defective designed gaskets have been re-issued with better materials and workmanship as well.
The Dex Cool is the recommended coolant by the automaker to work in conjunction with all of the various components and materials that make up your engine. I have, and have had many GM vehicles that use Dex Cool and really haven't had any issues,and still continue to use it,(and recommend it.)
As long as the coolant is properly maintained and air is kept out of the system, it should be trouble free.

[adhx]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

Your best bet is to stick with the Dex Cool as most of the problems associated with that coolant have other causes. Poor gasket materials and designs, poor maintenance, air infiltration into the cooling system can all cause the problems people like to blame on Dex Cool. A properly maintained system will give you the best performance, which includes thoroughly flushing the cooling system out (which is true for any coolant used,) and changing the coolant on a 2 to 3 year (or 30,000 to 40,000 mile) schedule instead of the 5 yr/150,000 mile schedule once suggested. many of the defective designed gaskets have been re-issued with better materials and workmanship as well.
The Dex Cool is the recommended coolant by the automaker to work in conjunction with all of the various components and materials that make up your engine. I have, and have had many GM vehicles that use Dex Cool and really haven't had any issues,and still continue to use it,(and recommend it.)
As long as the coolant is properly maintained and air is kept out of the system, it should be trouble free.

What about that DexCool class action lawsuit that GM had to settle?

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r195...uit-settlement

It seems there are significant problems specifically with the use of DexCool.

In terms of flushing the coolant, is there a difference between a power flush and regular flush?

['97ventureowner]

Again the problem wasn't necessarily the coolant, rather defective LIM gaskets ( either poor design or materials that made up the gaskets.) I received a settlement from that class action suit as well as one of my vehicles had an issue with the gaskets. ( After replacing with the new revised gasket, I installed Dex Cool again and got more mileage out of the van with the new gasket and Dex Cool than I did with the defective gasket.)
I also think GM did not take responsibility that Dex Cool was the culprit, rather they agreed in the suit to pay for repairs that the customer made to replace gaskets or repair sludge ( which is generally caused by a leak in the coolant system which allows air to infiltrate and mix with the Dex Cool causing sludge. Also mixing two types of coolants, with one of them being dex Cool can cause sludge as well.)
Dex Cool was installed in millions of vehicles from 1996 on. The "issues" seem to plague only a certain number of these as evidenced by the class action suit criteria. I tried to locate the original list of vehicles covered and found this taken from the article:

Under the proposed settlement, current and former owners and
lessees of certain 1995-2004 model year GM vehicles with 3.1-liter,
3.4-liter, 3.8-liter or 4.3-liter engines will be eligible to receive
reimbursement for Dex-Cool related engine repairs that occurred within
7 years or 150,000 miles (whichever is earlier) of original vehicle
purchase; these repairs include intake manifold gasket replacements,
cooling system flushes, and heater core repairs.

Link to source here
As you can see only certain engines were affected up until 2004. Dex Cool is still being used so it's safe to say something happened after 2004 that caused the issue to disappear such as new revised gaskets, and other solutions. If there were significant issues with the Dex Cool, and with the millions of vehicles it was installed in don't you think there would be even more complaints about problems? Again it is somewhat limited to certain models and engine families.
The difference between a regular flush and a power flush is that a regular flush pretty much just drains the cooling system and in most cases fresh water is circulated through the system and then fresh coolant is installed.
A power flush uses a machine and a cleaning chemical in most cases.The lower radiator hose is disconnected and the thermostat is removed ( great opportunity to replace with a new one I might add.)
The machine will pump either the water or water and cleaning solution in a reverse flow through the cooling system removing debris including scale. This is generally done until the water runs clean. When done the hose is reinstalled along with the thermostat, and the system is filled with the proper proportion of coolant and water.
I have recommended the power flush be done on cooling systems because it removes more junk and cleans the cooling system better than just a standard flush.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by adhx

It seems there are significant problems specifically with the use of DexCool.

If that was the case you think GM would have discontinued its use on later model GM cars? My 2008 has Dex-cool from the factory. I still run Dex-cool in the majority of my GM vehicles.

Dex-cool is only good for 5 years or 150K miles whichever comes first.