"The Orange Stuff"
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Joined: Aug 2002
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From: BC
"The Orange Stuff"
I had a bit of a discussion with one of my mechanic's workers about coolant in the LT1. The guy was semi sketchy though (he thought all LT1's had electric water pumps from the factory...).Anyhow he was very set on using the orange dexcool for the LT1 and said that the green antifreeze is bad for our gaskets and may cause the head gasket to blow early on. I use only distilled water with my antifreeze mix and keep it at 50/50. Is there any truth to what he's saying?
I believe the early LT1's from gm came with the green stuff but I think in 96 or so they started using the orange dexcool with the engines. Was the change done across the board for most gm cars? Or was it more of a bandaid fix to gaskets blowing too early?
I've read a lot about the dexcool messing up cooling systems but the consensus is that it not properly flushing the old green stuff out is what causes the gumming up to happen. I do think the orange stuff works as a coolant, but just wondering if there is any relation to gasket life at all
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 43
From: Pensacola
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
dont mix...but dont use the Dexcool either. Over time, it breaks down and fills your radiator w/ a silica type material. Essentially filling your radiator w/ sand. Eventually, you will only have a 55% coolant capacity.
Billy D.
Billy D.
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Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 27,727
From: Little Rock, AR
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
Originally Posted by showinoff
Over time, it breaks down and fills your radiator w/ a silica type material. Essentially filling your radiator w/ sand. Eventually, you will only have a 55% coolant capacity.
Billy D.
Billy D.
Since the coolant contains no phosphates or silicates, hard water deposits in the cooling system are almost eliminated. The low level of abrasive dissolved solids in Havoline Extended Life Anti-Freeze/Coolant DEX-COOL results in improved water pump seal life.
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Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 27,727
From: Little Rock, AR
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
Originally Posted by FIREHAWK #7
??? I heard that if you mix the orange and green anti-freezes you get a slimy engine...
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Joined: Nov 1998
Posts: 71,098
From: Hell was full so they sent me to NJ
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
Odd.... this thread is claiming "green" eats up head gaskets, and in a similar thread running today as well, there's a guy who claims the "orange" eats head gaskets, and that he has data from 11 LT1's to prove it. Do a search and see how screwed up this whole subject it.
GM has made widespread use of Dex-Cool for nearly 10 years. There were some serious problems with a particular line or lines of GM trucks, with the radiators plugging up with solids. The tech paper on this problem, produced jointly by GM and Texaco found that the radiator cap on those trucks was defective, allowing air to enter the system, and cause the formation of the solids. There was a fairly general consensus in aftermarket publications that it was probably an accurate analysis.
If either one of them "eats head gaskets" there would be hundreds of people on a board like this with head gasket problems, but there aren't. We have a fairly huge participation in our local clubs, and I can only think of one 4th Gen owner who blew a head gasket, and he was running enough nitrous on his 99 SS to be running 10.5's @ 126MPH. Don't think you can blame the coolant for that one
If formation and precipitation of solids was a widespread problem, there would be GM cars on the sides of every highway with steam coming out from under the hood.... I haven't seen it.
GM has made widespread use of Dex-Cool for nearly 10 years. There were some serious problems with a particular line or lines of GM trucks, with the radiators plugging up with solids. The tech paper on this problem, produced jointly by GM and Texaco found that the radiator cap on those trucks was defective, allowing air to enter the system, and cause the formation of the solids. There was a fairly general consensus in aftermarket publications that it was probably an accurate analysis.
If either one of them "eats head gaskets" there would be hundreds of people on a board like this with head gasket problems, but there aren't. We have a fairly huge participation in our local clubs, and I can only think of one 4th Gen owner who blew a head gasket, and he was running enough nitrous on his 99 SS to be running 10.5's @ 126MPH. Don't think you can blame the coolant for that one
If formation and precipitation of solids was a widespread problem, there would be GM cars on the sides of every highway with steam coming out from under the hood.... I haven't seen it.
I use the green stuff...but im a cheap skate.
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 35
From: St. Louis, MO
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
Originally Posted by showinoff
dont mix...but dont use the Dexcool either. Over time, it breaks down and fills your radiator w/ a silica type material. Essentially filling your radiator w/ sand. Eventually, you will only have a 55% coolant capacity.
Billy D.
Billy D.
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 449
From: CHI-TOWN
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
I know on the caprice/impala ss the problem wasnt with the new dexcool, but with the stop leak pellets the factory added. Yupp the factory sticks in a couple stop leak pellets (the ones that break down and look like sand and sludge) and thats what clogs the radiators and heater cores. The b-bodies were plagued with clogged heater cores. Ive had to flush my impala 3 times each time getting tons of sludge and having pulled the knock sensors and all and still dont have heat in that car. Need to get a new heater core and probably radiator too. Its those junk pellets not the dex cool causing the troubles.
I can only imagine what its done to the tiny coolant passages in the motor.
I can only imagine what its done to the tiny coolant passages in the motor.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 12
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
I had been having some over heating problems running on green coolant then i had some running on orange colant then i figuired out my headgasket was blown, thenm my mechanic said use the factory coolant next time but that it really didnt matter so now im back on the green. I would just say go with what the factory gave you
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 313
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
look at it this way...anything can cause Head Gasket Problems.....its natural. I wouldnt blame it on the coolant...but i do think that the Dexcool does cause Radiator problems due to the Abrasive in it...which could explain the heater core problems...i personally would just use the cheap Green...but thats IMO...
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 43
From: Pensacola
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
Ive only used the green stuff in my car, but the shop always kept dexcool in my old work truck (97 gmc1500) and it ended up filling the radiator almost half full of sand looking crap. If you will pop your rad. cap while running heat cycles, you can actually see the stuff stirring around in there. Switched the truck to the green stuff, and it did great until we got rid of it in 2001.
go w/ what you know and are comfortable with.
Billy D.
go w/ what you know and are comfortable with.
Billy D.
Administrator
Joined: Nov 1998
Posts: 71,098
From: Hell was full so they sent me to NJ
Re: "The Orange Stuff"
What abrasives? Dex-Cool is virtually identical to the glycol-based "green" stuff, except for the removall of silicates and phosphorus from the additives. Its things like the silicates and phosphates that are abrasive, and they are only used in the "green" stuff.
Dex-Cool is an Ethylene Glycol based high performance coolant that contains unique corrosion inhibitors, which are different from anything else on the market. Dex-Cool is vastly superior to conventional coolants, which use silicates, phosphates, borates, nitrites, nitrates, and amine additives to eliminate corrosion. These additives are abrasive to water pump seals, and silicates are especially unstable and drop out of solution and form a gel after time. All of these conventional inhibitors deplete after a short time, which is why conventional coolant must be changed every year.
The unique corrosion inhibitor technology in Dex-Cool is based on the use of two organic acids, which are synergistic and combine to form carboxylates. Texaco refers to this as Organic Acid Technology (OAT), or Carboxylate Technology. The corrosion inhibitors used in Dex-Cool deplete very slowly thus eliminating the need for traditional additives, or frequent change intervals.
Note that contrary to what some may say (or write), you can indeed mix Dex-Cool and conventional coolant with no ill effects. However, if there is more than 10% of conventional coolant in the system this will reduce the concentration of the Carboxylate such that conventional coolants change intervals must be followed. In other words, if you mix it, you can't leave it in for 100,000 miles or 6 years, but instead should treat a mix just like conventional coolant and change it every year until the concentration of Dex-Cool is over 90%.
The unique corrosion inhibitor technology in Dex-Cool is based on the use of two organic acids, which are synergistic and combine to form carboxylates. Texaco refers to this as Organic Acid Technology (OAT), or Carboxylate Technology. The corrosion inhibitors used in Dex-Cool deplete very slowly thus eliminating the need for traditional additives, or frequent change intervals.
Note that contrary to what some may say (or write), you can indeed mix Dex-Cool and conventional coolant with no ill effects. However, if there is more than 10% of conventional coolant in the system this will reduce the concentration of the Carboxylate such that conventional coolants change intervals must be followed. In other words, if you mix it, you can't leave it in for 100,000 miles or 6 years, but instead should treat a mix just like conventional coolant and change it every year until the concentration of Dex-Cool is over 90%.
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