Now with a new radiator & water pump I'm looking for the next best thing in coolant. I hear rumors about corrosion and Dexcool.

 

IMHO, anything but Dexcool would be better. Dexcool problems are not just "rumors"; they are facts!
Do a Google search on Dexcool litigation or class action and you will never put it in your car. You might want to start with this link: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/autom...m_dexcool.html
...or this one: http://www.geocities.com/b_gillie/dexcool_problems.html

 

I used the 50/50 premixed Prestone after I put in a new radiator not long back. Just flush the system good.

 

Been using Dexcool in my Blazer for 12 years.
Never had a problem.

 

http://www.girardgibbs.com/dexcool.html

 

Dexcool blows! Its a fact. As stated before, do a Google search and see the litigation, etc. Dexcool maybe ok now in the new cars, but in the older cars, the stuff eats gaskets. The stuff ate threw my water pump seal in my NorthStar. Anyone that owns a GM car with plastic manifolds can attest to the problems that Dexcool can cause. I'd stick with gold old Prestone every time.

 

I don't know if there is any better and the few articles I've reviewed trend towards problems in the sixes and not the eights. I would stay away from the GM coolant sealant tabs which GM now advises against. GM developed them fearing that gaskets - without asbestos - wouldn't make it through the warranty without leaking. The tabs seem to muck the system up, so I'd just go with whatever flavor of coolant you like and service it at regular intervals.

 

I did this very thing and ended up looking at a complaint forum with an endless supply of complants about the stuff. This is right up there with GM's design on the opti IMO.

 

same here. 99 malibu & 01 tahoe. no issue what so ever.

 

Guess I'll chime in here too with my experience.

1996 Corvette, purchased with 45,000 miles (now has 90,000 miles)
2000 Silverado, purchased new (now has 98,000 miles)
2001 Monte Carlo purchased new (now has 129,000 miles)

Dexcool in all 3 of them, regularly maintained and not a single issue.

Yes, I know you can read about all the problems and law suites all day long. But guess what, there are literally millions of cars without problems.

I'll keep using Dexcool in my 3, since they've went this far without any issues.

 

I'm glad you agree, and you should but............... did you know that 50/50 premix Prestone you are using is a Dex-Cool clone!

If you don't believe me get yourself a jug of Dex-Cool and a jug of that Prestone 50/50 premix, now compare the ingredients You will see that they are identical!

All Prestone products are Dex-Cool clones ~ Read the labels and don't use them!

 

To all of you you happy Dex-Cool users. Why??? There are better alternatives.

Many have used Dex-Cool with no problems, and if you service your cooling system regularly and never have any leaks, air pockets, or cooling system problems you should be OK. But if your vette isn't perfect all the time, cooling system wise, you will have problems with Dex-Cool.

Let me explain why. first Dex-Cool was designed by GM to be a five-year or 100K mile coolant. It is neither! Besides eating plastic manifolds, some gaskets, and seals, all in GM vehicles that were designed to use it, Dex-Cool is an OAT type ethylene glycol coolant that does not perform very well in coolant systems that have non pressurized overflow tanks. All early C4's came equipped with non-pressurized overflow tanks open to the atmoshpere.

What happens over time is thick Dex-Cool sludge forms in these open air overflow tanks which then is sucked into your radiator as the coolant expands and contracts during normal cooling system operation. Once this sludge enters your radiator and engine there is really no way to flush it out, even with cooling system flushers containing acid!

Almost all C4's are notorious for air pockets after cooling system service, this cannot be avoided as our vettes sit low to the ground and have be repeatedly burped and "packed" with coolant to remove them.

I used Dex-Cool for several years in my '89 C4, and when I removed my throtle body to replace my injectors and EGR valve, the coolant passages in it were corroded and filled with a sludge that needed a wire brush and metal scraper to remove. Being the highest point on the engine where coolant was supposed to be, I had a small air pocket that the Dex-Cool coolant turned into a corroded mess!

Dex-Cool being a Organic Acid Technology (OAT) is probably not the best type coolant C4 owners could choose for our vettes. I would suggest a HOAT or GO5 type coolant (Hybred Organic Acid Technology) Mercedes has been using this type coolant for over twenty years with excellent results. You can get it from Ford dealers dyed red, Chrysler or Mopar dealers dyed bright orange, (Looks alot like Dex-Cool!!) Zerex makes a GO5 or HOAT type coolant dyed light green~Yellow available at most major auto retailers

Prestone ONLY makes Dex-Cool or Dex-Cool clones, read the label, regardless of what they claim, and doesn't make any coolant I would put in my C4!

For those of you who prefer to use the old type IAT hi-silicate/phosphate "green" ethylene glycol coolant, Peak still manufactures it, as does Zerex, Napas house brand (made by Peak) will also work. This is what GM spec'd for all its vehicles before the introduction of Dex-Cool in '95. If you choose to use it annual flushes are required, as the silicates in it tend to fall out of solution with time leaving a coolant with diminished corrosion protection and green globs of coolant snot clogging your radiator and heater core.

 

I decided to go with Sierra propylene glycol coolant for the less toxic choice. Proplyene glycol is used as a dough conditioner and is non toxic to humans and pets. Ethylene glycol is very toxic, one tablespoon full, is deadly. Sierra has all of the standard corrosion resistant specifications.
We'll see in a few years.

 

Nobody said anything about using deionized water with there choice of antifreeze.

 

Get it at the supermarket, usually <$1 for a gallon.

 

Because I've never had a problem with it in the past 12 years.

 

Prestone is Dexcool? I thought when you mix dexcool and the green stuf that you get a thick sludge. I'm so confused

 

Prestone is green and Dexcool, made by Texaco, is orange. Never mix the two and before replacing Dexcool with green make sure you totally flush the cooling system before installing the good stuff. All this advice comes from a guy who had his 2001 Northstar Cad ruined at 72K miles because Dexcool, that was originally stated to last the life of the car, ate the head gasket and caused overheating on long hill climbs. Dealer mechanic said I needed to replace motor...>$8000.
I raised so much hell with GM that I got a $5000 "GOOD CUSTOMER" discount coupon good on purchase of ANY GM car. I traded the unrepaired Caddie with an unsuspecting dealer for a Malibu Maxx, and then used my coupon after finalizing the the deal price with the dealer. My wife still loves her Maxx after 50K miles after driving a new Cad every 2 years starting in 1974!
I was also part of the Class action suit but never got a penny from that effort. Dexcool is no longer stated to be good for the life of your car and Dexcool was flushed from our Maxx within the first 5K miles.
I'll never buy another Cad and the Maxx will last her forever. Also, after owning a C5 and selling it to buy BEAST2, my 3rd and probably last ZR-1, I'll never need to buy another Vette although after doing Open Road Racing with a friend in his '06 Z06, I'd be tempted to go for a Z06. It's a magnificent Corvette. Check these out..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFxiXBk2CqQ
and this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyRQicGtgIc

 

I put in a new Rad and hoses etc. not to long ago..I use Prestone..never had a problem with it in my Vette or any of my other cars..Just make sure all the old dexcool is flushed out of the system.

 

walk into pepboys, or autozone, etc.
there are 12 different choices of coolant.

PEAK is the only company that still makes the green stuff.

all the other stuff is "mix with any color"