So Dex Cool (the GM recommended antifreeze/coolant) has not been the greatest for me. My heater wasn't getting hot and it turned out that the Dex Cool and solidified into a sandy-looking paste and clogged up the tube going to the heater block. We unclogged it and all is good now.

Also, about a month ago the same thing happened to my mom's 2002 Monte Carlo. Except all of the Dex Cool had turned to the sandy slush and we had to pay $150 to get it fixed.

Seems like Dex Cool really isn't that great. Is it safe to run anything else in these motors besides Dex Cool? There is a sticker under the hood that specifies to only use the orange coolant. My dad did tell me about a Peak antifreeze commercial he saw and said they claimed it would work in any car. Would it be a good idea to flush the systems in both cars and switch to Peak, or possibly some other brand?

 

Green Flush out all the dex, go green, and never go back.

 

I saw that Prestone has a new Lifetime Antifreeze, that might be something to check out. Also, I would consider Genuine Honda coolant. It is 50/50 premixed and costs ~$13 a gallon, but has low silicates (or none at all) that reduces the erosion of aluminum engine parts. I drive an Acura now (but looking to sell and get a 4th gen again and this stuff seems to work really well. Good Luck.

 

Yea Dex Cool is crap. This guy was running dex cool in the motor im putting in my car, i tore it all apart and all the coolant passages are build up with thick gunk, and the waterpump it trashed. Its a huge mess. Green is deffinatly the best thing.

 

when u get it clogged up or decide to change...
drain the radiator
fill with water and a half cup of cascade
runi for a day
drain refill with water
drain refill with water
repeat several times until u feel the water commin out feeling non soapy
then pull out ur resavoir, clean bc the bottom will prolly b about 2 inches of mud
then when all the soap is out refill with water and antifreese
check to make sure your good to w/e temp u want to be
never touch dex again

anyways thats the way to convert...when u put dex in your car its not bad the only thing no1 understands is that dex cannot be topped off with water dex+water=MUD!!!
hope this helps yall
Daniel

 

I heard the problem was GM was putting those crappy stop leak tablets in at the factory and thats whats cloging everything up. Two liquids mixed cant make mud. At least no 2 liquids ive ever seen/herad of.

 

I love dexcool.. Tell everyone to switch and I have never had a problem. I thought green wasnt good for aluminum parts.. Stop leak does gunk up but it sounds to me like there are some neglected cooling systems here...

 

One of the common problems is that people use regular tap water with it...a big no-no....use distilled water only.

 

Can anyone explain the differences in orange and green coolant? Is the orange just a long life application or are there differences in protection and quality, too?

 

Dex Cool is long life while green stuff is not. THey are made up of different materials. Dex Cool isn't crappy if you maintain your cooling system and don't mix any other coolants with it. The 5 yr/150,000 is to long though, it should be 3 years, 75,000 miles.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. Dex-cool blows, sorry to anyone who wants to argue otherwise.

 

swapped out the dex within the first 50 miles on my mara when i first bought her...no problems for 25,000 hard-driven miles..



trav