Cooling System Question for Spence

[Glennm27]

Steve
I've been hearing that Dexcool is not all it's cracked up to be. That is causes corrosion problems, clogging problems, rots hoses, leads to leaky gaskets, and more............

What do you know about this??? Is there a New and Improved Dexcool??

If all I am hearing and reading is true, I don't want this stuff running through my Corvettes LS7 engine.

I had a 2002 Monte Carlo that needed the intake gasket replaced 2 weeks after the 3/36 warranty ran out and that was expensive and upsetting to me. THAT repair is one of the main reasons I purchased a Honda when the Monte Carlo was sold.

As I read these stories about Dexcool, THAT Monte Carlo intake gasket failure comes to mind....

Is Dexcool to be avoided? Is there a good replacement? I don't think I want this stuuff in my car.

Please let me know what you think, and/or know about this subject.

Just some of the info regarding Dexcool to be found

Consumer Affairs - Dexcool (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/08/gm_dexcool.html)

More Dexcool Information (http://sancarlosradiator.com/dex-cool.htm)

GM agrees to Dex-Cool coolant class-action settlement (http://www.topix.com/forum/oakland/T13NRHAVJGLMP8NES)

[Frank Gonzalez]

Just because some lawyer claims it is so doesn't make it so. Follow the money. Class action suits benefit lawyers, not consumers.

Let the buyer beware.

Frank Gonzalez

[carboman]

Just because some lawyer claims it is so doesn't make it so. Follow the money. Class action suits benefit lawyers, not consumers.

Let the buyer beware.

Frank Gonzalez

Does this mean we should or should not be on the look out for coolant issues?

[Glennm27]

I want to hear from someone (Mr Spencer) who deals with this on a daily basis.

It's not what the lawyers say, it's the experience with my 02 Monte Carlo destroying it's intake gasket at 22k miles AND pictures like these that has my concern raised..

http://sancarlosradiator.com/images/gexmud23.jpg

http://sancarlosradiator.com/images/dexmud46.jpg

[T&K's Baby]

Was that a picture of your cooling system or a clogged toilet? It was very difficult to tell the difference. That did not look healthy. And that was at 22K miles?

[92RAGTOP]

My Daughter has a 02 Ford Taurus with the same issue. The coolant turns murky and muddy. I had it flushed and 6 months later it happens again. Ford is playing dumb saying this is not an issue. However search the internet and there is a ton of people having the same problem. Same old same old, they look at you in the face and lie!:rolleyes:
The thought with the Taurus is that Ford had changed the material they are using for the engine blocks. This new material may be having a chemical reaction with the coolant. Nobody knows for sure because Ford is not officially addressing the problem.

[carboman]

Funny, I recently changed the coolant in my 5 year old Honda Element and the old coolant looked exactly like the new stuff. The radiator looked clean as a whistle too. :)

A good friend told me he switched to using Honda coolant in his classics and his issues with leaking water pumps and seals (due to the cars sitting) have disappeared.

[92RAGTOP]

I had the coolant flushed in my 94 BMW. It has over a quarter of a million miles on it. It occurred to me that the coolant must have 100,000 miles on it by now. When I asked the mechanic how the old coolant looked, he told me it looked exactly like the stuff he put in. ;tu

[Norm Clemmer]

This is a real interesting thread. I have had cars where the cooling fluid muddied up and cars where it didn't.

[SLAPSHOT]

The current dex-cool has been reformulated to last to 150,000 miles but to answer your question I flush my coolant every two years regardless of which type or suggested time/mileage so I'll know the radiator and heater core remain clear. As for the coolant rusting and turning to mud, that all starts with a leak and having low level. Intake gasket repairs to 3100 3400 engines have redesigned gaskets and torque specs and if you had to have it done more than once it's because it was done incorrectly. I have done many without any coming back. The 3800 intakes melt inside because there is an EGR port around the area that gets damaged. I have had very few Corvettes with coolant issues.

[Glennm27]

Thanks Steve... I would never go over two years without a full flush and refill so I'll just continue with that strategy....

As for my '02 Monte Carlo, it was done only once, but I felt that was one too many times... It was the 3400 engine. It was repaired at Bryner but you were not in that day.