should i put dexcool back in my 99 grand am se 3.4 V6

[asprintree]

I have read some thing about dexcool gumming up but it is also what is suggested for this car. Should I flush it out and use the green stuff?

[3100]

people say that green one is better. However, in GM dealerships we still use red. So if there was something wrong with the red by now engineers would discontinue it. Put it back.

['97ventureowner]

Most of the problems associted with Dex Cool are actually caused by other things such as improper maintenance defective materials /poorly designed gaskets, and air infiltrating the cooling system to name a few. Outside of those issues, the coolant works just fine and was designed for modern engines like yours. I've run Dex Cool in my GM vehicles over the years and have not had any major issues . I keep the level up as needed and properly maintained which is important for any coolant you use.
If there were major issues with this coolant don't you think the dealers/GM would have switched to something different by now?

[wafrederick]

Put it back if you want to.The aftermarket came out with the better intake gaskets made out of metal instead of plastic.Dorman is one selling theirs as a kit with new intake bolts.Green and the dexcool do not mix.

[GTP Dad]

I always recommend Prestone Extended Life. It mixes with Dex and does not have the issues associated with the DexCool antifreeze. I have used it and it works quite well.

[xeroinfinity]

The problems I've seen when changing from Dex to the old green is not gettting the cooling system fully flushed.
Then when you add green to Dex, even just a little bit, it starts to gel and clog your heater and or system in general.

[teagueguitar]

Actually, I have investigated this issue. Being an owner of two GM products, (2003 Chevrolet Venture and 1999 Pontiac Grand Am), I became aware of a class action lawsuit against the makers of Dex-Cool while repairing the intake manifold gasket, head gaskets and thermostat on my Venture (1700 bucks if anyone is interested). This info can be found online (look up Dex-Cool Lawsuit, or problems with Chevrolet Ventures!!) as it affects a LOT of GM's using this stuff!! Looking in the overflow tanks of both of my cars and seeing the flakes of sludgy material floating around only reinforced the "Dex-Cool" rumors. In closing, under advice of my mechanic and my own experience, I switched back to good old green!

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by teagueguitar

Actually, I have investigated this issue. Being an owner of two GM products, (2003 Chevrolet Venture and 1999 Pontiac Grand Am), I became aware of a class action lawsuit against the makers of Dex-Cool while repairing the intake manifold gasket, head gaskets and thermostat on my Venture (1700 bucks if anyone is interested). This info can be found online (look up Dex-Cool Lawsuit, or problems with Chevrolet Ventures!!) as it affects a LOT of GM's using this stuff!! Looking in the overflow tanks of both of my cars and seeing the flakes of sludgy material floating around only reinforced the "Dex-Cool" rumors. In closing, under advice of my mechanic and my own experience, I switched back to good old green!

But the "good old green" is not the right coolant for your engine. It does not contain the proper protection package. Yeah there are a lot of sites out there spreading half facts and such, some by lawyers trying to drum up business, but one doing any research needs to look further and scrutinize these sites. The sludgy material floating around in your overflow means the coolant got contaminated from something such as air in the cooling system, a leaking gasket (which was either a poor design or the materials were inferior) to poor maintenance practices. There are a lot of misinformed mechanics out there who make the wrong diagnosis or recommendations on a daily basis. If Dex Cool was so bad don't you think GM would've discontinued it's use years ago, especially after the class action suit ? This is the 21st century, and a 20th century coolant will not cut it in these modern engines.

[manicmechanix]

Dexcool works just fine as long as you don't let your coolant get low AND you have a pressurized coolant reservior with the pressure cap on the reservior. Which the Grand Am does have a pressurized reservior. The problem with Dexcool is it doesn't tolerate air in the system, so if your coolant gets much below the full level or you have the pressure cap on the radiator and not on the reservior then it will oxidize and gum up, and even worse if you have an all iron engine. It is also not compatible with certain plastics, but that wasn't the primary reason for the LIM gasket problems.

Dexcool is compatible with other types of anti-freeze, including green. So you could go on using Dexcool and get extended protection or you could switch to some other extended life coolant. You could even put the green type in, but I don't think it would be a good idea because you'd get less protection and have more frequent change intervals. Dexcool in addition to protecting longer protects aluminum better and is silicon free so there's less water pump seal wear. That may not be the case with some other types of extended life anti-freeze, but green works well so I imagine other extended life anti-freeze works good enough too.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by manicmechanix

Dexcool works just fine as long as you don't let your coolant get low AND you have a pressurized coolant reservior with the pressure cap on the reservior. Which the Grand Am does have a pressurized reservior. The problem with Dexcool is it doesn't tolerate air in the system, so if your coolant gets much below the full level or you have the pressure cap on the radiator and not on the reservior then it will oxidize and gum up, and even worse if you have an all iron engine. It is also not compatible with certain plastics, but that wasn't the primary reason for the LIM gasket problems.

Dexcool is compatible with other types of anti-freeze, including green. So you could go on using Dexcool and get extended protection or you could switch to some other extended life coolant. You could even put the green type in, but I don't think it would be a good idea because you'd get less protection and have more frequent change intervals. Dexcool in addition to protecting longer protects aluminum better and is silicon free so there's less water pump seal wear. That may not be the case with some other types of extended life anti-freeze, but green works well so I imagine other extended life anti-freeze works good enough too.

The first paragraph is great advice and what I have told my customers over the years. By keeping the level up in the reservoir , it keeps excess air out, which can cause issues. The second paragraph though needs a little clarification. The problem arises when people talk about "green coolant". The old standby green coolant(non OAT) used in practically all 20th century vehicles has a different protection package than Dex Cool does. Like you said, by mixing the old green coolant , you negate the positive effects of Dex Cool's protection for your engine. There are newer, OAT based coolants like Dex Cool that can be safely mixed that also have a green coloring to them. These too are called "Extended Life Coolants". The problem is the colors of both are green, and not many people realize there is a big difference, and tend to get the older stuff as it's generally much cheaper in price.

[manicmechanix]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

The first paragraph is great advice and what I have told my customers over the years. By keeping the level up in the reservoir , it keeps excess air out, which can cause issues. The second paragraph though needs a little clarification. The problem arises when people talk about "green coolant". The old standby green coolant(non OAT) used in practically all 20th century vehicles has a different protection package than Dex Cool does. Like you said, by mixing the old green coolant , you negate the positive effects of Dex Cool's protection for your engine. There are newer, OAT based coolants like Dex Cool that can be safely mixed that also have a green coloring to them. These too are called "Extended Life Coolants". The problem is the colors of both are green, and not many people realize there is a big difference, and tend to get the older stuff as it's generally much cheaper in price.

Yeah my point was you could mix the old green with Dexcool and it wouldn't cause any compatibility issues, but like you said you would not get the same level of protection and you would no longer have extended life protection. The only problem with Dexcool is not being tolerate of air, so as long as you have a prerssurized reservior it gives the best protection.

['97ventureowner]

I read an interesting article in a trade magazine a couple years back of the dangers of mixing a non OAT coolant(the old standby green coolant) with an OAT coolant ( Dex Cool). I wish I had saved it for future reference. Thinking about what you just said about Dex Cool being intolerant of air made me wonder why the manufacturer after seeing all the issues hasn't reformulated the product or modify it in a certain way to keep the characteristics of the coolant while at the same time be more tolerant of air . Another article I read online awhile back was saying that there are times when technological advancements are made in an industry (like the automotive industry) and the current support or technology has to "catch up" for it to work properly. The most recent thing that comes to mind is the switchover to digital tv. The digital tv was a newer technological advancement over analog, and in order for people to take advantage of it they had to either buy a newer digital tuner , tv, subscribe to cable/satellite, or buy a digital converter. The same can be said for the Dex Cool issue. Dex Cool is a "newer technology" but the remaining items, (gasket materials, designs, etc.) are still the "old style technology". In order for everything to work in unison, the older technology items also need re-working and upgrading which either didn't happen in time, or were poorly planned and executed. By this I mean the LIM gasket materials and design, and properly educating consumers on how to maintain the coolant, etc . Advancements have been made in order for everything to work together and time will tell if it has been successful.

[teagueguitar]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

But the "good old green" is not the right coolant for your engine. It does not contain the proper protection package. Yeah there are a lot of sites out there spreading half facts and such, some by lawyers trying to drum up business, but one doing any research needs to look further and scrutinize these sites. The sludgy material floating around in your overflow means the coolant got contaminated from something such as air in the cooling system, a leaking gasket (which was either a poor design or the materials were inferior) to poor maintenance practices. There are a lot of misinformed mechanics out there who make the wrong diagnosis or recommendations on a daily basis. If Dex Cool was so bad don't you think GM would've discontinued it's use years ago, especially after the class action suit ? This is the 21st century, and a 20th century coolant will not cut it in these modern engines.

Let me start this by saying that I am not a certified GM mechanic, but I do have some experience in auto repair. My response to the Dex-Cool issue comes from personal experience while dealing with my 2003 Chevrolet Venture (3.1 V-6, granted, bad design on the gaskets). During my "adventure", I was made aware of several fellow GM owners who, ironically, were suffering similar problems with their vehicles.These vehicles all range from low mileage(53,000) to moderate/ high mileage(146,000), all with good maintenance records. My decision to go green, albeit not factory recommended, was based on my findings on the internet from a LOT of unhappy GM owners, the lawsuit against Dex-Cool(which resulted in a settlement to folks for repair of their vehicles), and several mechanics specifically "knowing about the Dex-Cool problem" as I was getting quotes on my Venture (ranging from shade-tree mechanics to big pro shops). I will definitely keep an eye on my Venture, now with the Prestone (green) anti-freeze, and if I encounter any issues, I will post it ASAP!!

['97ventureowner]

I owned 2 Ventures, both 1997s. One had the gasket go bad at about 62,000 miles in 2002, and the other one went to 161,000 before being sold with the original gaskets. Both ran Dex Cool. I have seen many vehicles over the years in the shop that have issues with Dex Cool. To my knowledge, every single one of them had an underlying issue that caused the coolant to go bad,( issues listed in above posts.)I would be willing to bet if someone looked further into many of the stories you read online of thse that have issues with their vehicles, you will find similar results . With millions of vehicles coming from GM with Dex Cool installed since 1996, the number of those with issues is rather a small percentage of the total production figure. When someone is likely to have an issue, they become vocal and tell more people of their problem which in turn these people tell more people and so on. Most folks that have a good experience tend to not say anything or be as vocal as those that have an issue so we may not know the true story. If you look at the info on the class action suit, you will see only a certain class of engine was affected, during certain years. Dex Cool was installed in most GM vehicles for the 1996 model year and beyond so the time frame was much larger compared to the class action suits' coverage. That should say something for the design / material aspect.Other GM vehicles also were found to have defective radiator caps and some aftermarket replacement caps were found to be incompatible.I always try to educate the customer so they have the knowledge to make their own decisions. If you are happy with what you have in your cooling system after doing your own research then you should go with that. Just know what to look for if issues should develop and be prepared to take action to prevent any damage.
(Also you stated your '03 Venture has a 3.1 . It actually has a 3.4 VIN "E" engine , not trying to be condescending or anything, just wanted to clarify so you don't get the wrong parts when you buy them for your vehicle.)

[manicmechanix]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

I read an interesting article in a trade magazine a couple years back of the dangers of mixing a non OAT coolant(the old standby green coolant) with an OAT coolant ( Dex Cool). I wish I had saved it for future reference. Thinking about what you just said about Dex Cool being intolerant of air made me wonder why the manufacturer after seeing all the issues hasn't reformulated the product or modify it in a certain way to keep the characteristics of the coolant while at the same time be more tolerant of air . Another article I read online awhile back was saying that there are times when technological advancements are made in an industry (like the automotive industry) and the current support or technology has to "catch up" for it to work properly. The most recent thing that comes to mind is the switchover to digital tv. The digital tv was a newer technological advancement over analog, and in order for people to take advantage of it they had to either buy a newer digital tuner , tv, subscribe to cable/satellite, or buy a digital converter. The same can be said for the Dex Cool issue. Dex Cool is a "newer technology" but the remaining items, (gasket materials, designs, etc.) are still the "old style technology". In order for everything to work in unison, the older technology items also need re-working and upgrading which either didn't happen in time, or were poorly planned and executed. By this I mean the LIM gasket materials and design, and properly educating consumers on how to maintain the coolant, etc . Advancements have been made in order for everything to work together and time will tell if it has been successful.

I think Dexcool is compatible with convential green but I'm not saying anyone should top their cooling system full of Dexcool with green. I meant if you drain most of the Dexcool out, you could switch to green if you wanted to. Dexcool and green are both ethyl glycol based only the additive package is different, with Dexcool being an OAT like you said. My thinking of why people believe that mixing the two leads to gumming is probably from cases where they were adding green to a system that had a leak and other problems that were causing the dexcool to gum anyway.