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Recently got an all original 82CE.
Changing all fluids to get a baseline.
current coolant is bright green.
Should I convert over to the orange Dexcool? (That is what my 2013 6.2L called for.)
I dont think so at least for a 79..i bought dexcool and removed it went back to green advised from a lot of folks here..i think because aluminum in newer engines and if exposed to air acidifying..
Recently got an all original 82CE.
Changing all fluids to get a baseline.
current coolant is bright green.
Should I convert over to the orange Dexcool? (That is what my 2013 6.2L called for.)
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
If any brown sludge comes out of the engine block drains, I would definitely buy some system flush and drive around with it in there for a day, then drain it. I did that and my system came out squeaky clean
I remove Dex-Cool from any old GM product I work on.........its service life is much shorter and tends to turn to gel if left in the system too long. If I were to drain and flush the cooling system in my 11' Silverado LS, I would replace it with green.......
Dex Cool was created around 1996 for S-Blazers that overheated at the Arizona proving grounds as a 11th hour "fix".........there is zero benefit to having this **** in your Corvette.
Down here a mix of distilled 75% and straight green anti-freeze 25% is the ticket....up north, 50/50.
I want to add that "coolant" is anything but.....it is a misnomer, "coolant" doesn't help cool anything. Straight distilled water is the second best liquid to use next to alcohol, and we all know that we can't use alcohol. It has to do with reducing the boundary layer on the inside surfaces of the coolant passages to improve thermal transfer.......coolant actually makes the boundary layer thicker. I have worked on Hot Rods here in Texas that cooling issues were solved with just replacing straight coolant with 75% water.
There has been some good discussions in years past on this forum about what type of anti-freeze to use. The consensus from one of the discussions about 10 years ago was to not use Dexcool in our older vehicles. Among the known issue of breaking down and turning to gel, there is a chemical in Dexcool and other OAT solutions which can soften any gaskets or seals that may contain silicone. Because of the discussions I mentioned, I've been using Zerex G-05 in my '73 without issue for the last 10 years or so. I use a 50/50 mix as my part of Texas has hard freezes.
Engine Materials In addition to the specific composition and color of the two coolants, DEX-COOL is designed specifically to interact with aluminum engines. Unless a previous owner has used traditional green coolant in your vehicle, using DEX-COOL for an aluminum engine will help minimize corrosion.
Engine Materials In addition to the specific composition and color of the two coolants, DEX-COOL is designed specifically to interact with aluminum engines. Unless a previous owner has used traditional green coolant in your vehicle, using DEX-COOL for an aluminum engine will help minimize corrosion.
That might be so....but using distilled water and fresh green anti-freeze will damn near last forever. Just ask a savvy L-98 C4 owner.
The problem with original dex-cool was lack of maintenance. Dex-cool has a service life of around 5 years. After that it becomes acidic and will start to eat stuff it touches. It needed to be flushed and replaced as it reached 5 years in service. I've seen the internal GM TSB stating as such. The new formulas of dex cool doesn't have this problem. The gel problems was the result of electrolysis to dex cool being used past its service life. That being said, why go through the expense of using dex when green works just as well in these old gals. On a side note, of all the coolants I've dealt with the Toyota red keeps the inside of it's engines CLEAN. Worked on Toyo's that looked like they came off the ocean floor but the insides of the coolant passages were spotless. Like the block had just been poured the day before.
I too have rid my vehicles with the red DexCool anti freeze. I would keep the green style anti-freeze in it.
Down where you are you probably don't need to much for your winters. In Virginia I use 70% distilled water and 30% anti-freeze as the water transfers the heat more efficiently.
Replace the radiator cap if it looks old, I replace mine on a regular basis to avoid problems. same goes for the thermostat
Probably good stuff but I'll have to pass on a $250+ coolant change. Actually more the first time since you have to prep and flush the system of the old coolant.
Zerex G-05 and distilled water will set me back less than $50 total considering NAPA currently has it on sale for $13.99/gallon.
Coolant change
