Change Dexcool to generic green?

[rabar51]

I have an 01 Malibu with 117k miles. With all the bad reports about the corrosive action of orange dexcool coolant I'm wondering if it's possible to give the engine a thorough flush and replace the orange coolant with regular green "prestone" coolant? Appreciate the tips and feedback. thnx

['97ventureowner]

A few years back that was thought of as an allowable practice, but further research has determined it's best to stay with what is recommended for your engine. I would however make a big change. Instead of changing the coolant every 5 years/150,000 miles as reported by GM, I would follow a different schedule much similar to the green coolant's changeout. That is every 2 to 3 years and between 30,000 to 40,000 miles. A big reason for the problems associated with Dex Cool was that people were leaving it in their engines too long,( you couldn't blame them however, they were just following GM's guidelines.) A good reason why you should stay with the Dex Cool is that it's a totally different type of coolant. The green coolant we all grew up with is an ethylene glycol based coolant. The Dex Cool is an OAT (Organic Acid Technology ) based coolant. The two coolants have different protection packages in them and using the green in place of the Dex Cool will not properly protect the cooling system of your vehicle. Today's modern engines are different than their counterparts of a decade ago and the new coolant is meant for them.Also consider flushing the cooling system well when you do a cooling system service and check your radiator cap and replace it if it is leaking. There have been faulty radiator caps in the past which let air in the system causing problems. A Stant brand cap works well as a replacement.

[johnholl]

it's not the coolent, it's the gasket that fails

[rodeo02]

That's right. Dexcool itself was never the problem. Total lack of maintenance or engine issues were. Dexcool is designed to coagulate when in contact with heat and air and evaporation, such as dribbling through a pinhole leak, etc. Any coolant will turn to goo when subjected to combustion gasses and open air, such as you would with a sealing problem. If everything stays tight, your coolant will last a looooooooong time. Even so, I don't like to go over 3yrs/36Kmi on any coolant.

Joel

[Speedy_1234]

Yep the gaskets.

['97ventureowner]

I read an interesting article a couple months back where the author was discussing how when something new comes out it affects other technologies that interact with it and sometimes there are problems that force developers to either reformulate or come out with a new version of the "technology' that can interact with the "new item". Case in point is the Dex Cool being the new item and the gaskets being the "technology". It was painfully obvious from the start there were problems with the gaskets and they did not interact well with the new coolant. But my question is why did it take GM almost 7 years to develop a new gasket to work with the new coolant?

[rodeo02]

I often wondered if GM intended Dexcool to be a fix for the intake manifold gasket leaks. Dexcool is designed to plug small leaks. Obviously it didn't work well! At least most of the new pushrod GM V6's engines don't circulate coolant through the intake manifold anymore. Problem solved.

Joel

[iBgodsmacked]

I have a 98 and am pretty sure the intake gasket is blown. That being said, you can change to the green. Despite what people say it probably will not harm your engine properly maintained. The main problem with dexcool like other peolpe have already said, is lack of care. what happens is a hydrostatic charge with old fluid eats away at the gasket. I am going to try a liquid gasket repair, and will post my results on this forum at a later date.

[rodeo02]

Originally Posted by iBgodsmacked

.. I am going to try a liquid gasket repair, and will post my results on this forum at a later date.

I don't mean to go OT with this thread, but how is liquid gasket going to work? It's the internal leakage you want to worry about. You could *try* bars leak coolant additive if you dont want to put any resources into the car, but the only real fix is to tear down the top end of the engine and install a new set of Fel-pro (or better) gaskets. It's a major repair.

Joel

[Ian Szgatti]

I made the switch to green quite a while ago, and matter of fact, I spent the morning in the shop flushing and cleaning and re-filling again with... green.

[iBgodsmacked]

I was referring to Bars leak. i bought it a few days ago while getting my pressure hose for the power steering pump. (see other thread)

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by iBgodsmacked

Despite what people say it probably will not harm your engine properly maintained.

The key word in that sentence is "probably". Why risk it? Your engine was made to run with Dex Cool and the Dex Cool has the PROPER protection package in it whereas the green 'ethylene glycol' coolant does not. You wouldn't want the internal parts of your engine damaged by use of the wrong coolant, would you?I've seen waterpumps and radiators damaged in vehicles that have switched to the green coolant. Granted it took a little while to happen as they were switched a couple of years ago when the consensus was that it was "ok" to switch. Now that thought has been reversed. The Dex Cool contains silicates which protect your engine. Let me put it this way: You wouldn't use diesel in your gas engine because it was available and others use it in their cars, would you?

The main problem with dexcool like other peolpe have already said, is lack of care.

A part of that reason can be linked to GM's original thoughts that it could go 5 yrs/150k. We now know that is NOT a good idea. GM has removed the stickers from many of their newer cars that used to say that. People need to be made aware that they need to have their cooling systems serviced sooner than originally indicated. If properly done at the right service intervals, there should be no additional problems with Dex Cool. IMO it should be the job of both GM and any repair shop to inform their customers who have vehicles in which Dex Cool is being used , of the new service interval.