Engine woes - mixed coolants

[ladieleisure]

For the general non-mechanical public, shouldn't garages and other suppliers of coolants warn customers not to mix types of antifreeze? My 2000 Taurus overheated on the highway(with the 'orange' coolant from O'Reilly's). Both the garage and O'Reilly's insisted we buy the orange coolant when my car was serviced and never suggested any problems may occur. Evidently,there was some green left in the system. Not knowing better, 'green' was then added by the tow garage. The overflow now contains a substance that looks like mud, and my car is significantly damaged!
Interested in pursuing strong warnings on labels for these products?
If so, please contact me.
Maybe others could benefit if enough voices would speak.
"$2,000 poorer and only a little wiser"

[dmbrisket 51]

fords are green systems, why the heck would someone want to put dex cool in your car is beyond me, except the mark up on its a little better because it costs more

[paker]

I don't see how mixing coolants can cause overheating because all coolants have ethylene glycol (or di- ) as the base chemical. Boiling point goes with the concentration of ethylene glycol, not the color (I mean different corrosion inhibitors).

I am not trying to debate about DexCool. I believe there is another reason why you had engine overheating.

[dmbrisket 51]

mixing green and dex causes foaming and sludging as soon as contacted with air ie the over flow on fords that are part of the pressureized system... dex cools base is different for the plastic intake manifold gaskets gm use, fords better idea was to stay away from that one... and careful with diy flush kits, the plastic screw on tops like to break, see atleast half a dozen a month broken and causing a serious coolent leak

[paker]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know the cap on the plastic overflow reservoir tends to leak. I am not necessarily a fan of DexCool but at least am aware that OAT based coolants need air tight cooling system. I will stay away from DexCool for my Taurus. A conventional radiator with pressurized cap may work better with DexCool.

[dmbrisket 51]

dont put green in where dex should be, its a long chemicly based reason, or simply put, the gm plastic intake manifold gaskets dont like to have green on them

[paker]

The info is new to me. I have been using DexCool on my 98 Chevy Lumina and had intake manifold gasket leak. It was repaired. I didn't ask the mechanic which one but I suppose it was the lower one. Now it's leaking again internally. I don't know which one, intake gasket or headgasket.

So I agree with you. If the leaks are related to coolant, then Lumina's don't like GM's own DexCool. Or it may be just the gasket problem. Now I have another Lumina, 97. I guess I have no choice but to use DexCool.

On my Ford Taurus and F150, I will have to stay away from OAT coolants because neither has the conventional radiator cap. I honestly believe the spring loaded radiator cap is a more reliable technology than a single rubber gasket. Now I need to be coolant-wise on top of all other car problems. Life is getting more complicated.....

Thanks for the explanation.

[mwt878991]

Originally Posted by paker

I don't see how mixing coolants can cause overheating because all coolants have ethylene glycol (or di- ) as the base chemical. Boiling point goes with the concentration of ethylene glycol, not the color (I mean different corrosion inhibitors).

I am not trying to debate about DexCool. I believe there is another reason why you had engine overheating.

Read this it may help you understand a little better

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/gener...a052601a_2.htm

Mike

[dmbrisket 51]

Originally Posted by paker

The info is new to me. I have been using DexCool on my 98 Chevy Lumina and had intake manifold gasket leak. It was repaired. I didn't ask the mechanic which one but I suppose it was the lower one. Now it's leaking again internally. I don't know which one, intake gasket or headgasket.

So I agree with you. If the leaks are related to coolant, then Lumina's don't like GM's own DexCool. Or it may be just the gasket problem. Now I have another Lumina, 97. I guess I have no choice but to use DexCool.

On my Ford Taurus and F150, I will have to stay away from OAT coolants because neither has the conventional radiator cap. I honestly believe the spring loaded radiator cap is a more reliable technology than a single rubber gasket. Now I need to be coolant-wise on top of all other car problems. Life is getting more complicated.....

Thanks for the explanation.

gm reccomends (well reccomended, i dont know what it is with all the moters having some sort of upgrade to them now) changing the lower gaskets at 60k intravels... and luminas can leak internally into the oil, if this is the case its bad, coolent in the oil is damageing

[ladieleisure]

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Thanks for all the responses on the coolant. I have learned much. Unfortantely, I guess, experience is the best teacher. You were right. Something else DID cause my overheating. We had my car serviced in December, radiator flushed and a new thermostat installed. It was installed backward! The next time I drove on the highway in January, the heat gauge went up. I pulled over immediately, and antifreeze had spewed all over the motor, etc. It was Sunday and nothing was open to get towed to, so after cooling down, a kind farmer put in 50/50 for me to get home. It was probably green, but I didn't know the difference then. The car ran great, so I didn't think anything else about it. However, the next time on the highway, it overheated again. This time, towed to reputable mechanic...many miles from our home, though. He called to tell us he had found the thermostat in backward as he was repairing my car. He taped it as he found it, and offered to meet us halfway if we would like to show our local garage. I talked to local garage and he has refused to accept any responsibility, said he installed it himself and it was in correctly.
Question? Is he responsible for any part or all of my repair bill?
I am not 'car savy' but I am learning, and I really have learned alot already from your responses in this forum. Do you realize that most people are like me and are at the mercy of local mechanics? I also questioned about 30 people that I know about mixing coolants, all college educated, three PhD's.............non 'car savy' either..none were aware at all. Many did not even know that orange antifreeze existed.
Thanks again for helping to educate me. I have learned more from you than my local mechanic!...of course, I WILL be searching for a new one.
ladieleisure