PeteL

Not quite right, Don. DexCool is also EG and will also kill cats and dogs. The difference is the corrosion inhibitor package and the color so folks can tell the difference. Cooling should be very similar.

DON M

Oops! and right you are, Pete. I seem to have confused Dexcool extended life antifreeze with the new environmentally friendly types.

vettenuts

Don, I thought I read somewhere that the Propylene Glycol (eg., Sierra) was also toxic to dogs and cats.

VetteDrmr

Actually, it is toxic, but it requires much higher concentrations than EG, and then tends to make them sick rather than dead. PG spills can be diluted with water and be done with it, plus the preferred method of disposal is to pour it down the sink.

Now, not being a veterinarian, I don't have first hand knowledge of the above, but I did a fair amount of research into it because I can't find anyone to dispose of EG anymore. [img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/frown.gif[/img] That's the main reason I've gone to the PG-based systems.

Have a good one,
Mike

Mikez40

I have a dumb question, How do you get the water/antifreeze back in the radiator after you drain it? Do you have to pull the hose off at the top of the radiator, or can you just put it in at the cap?

vettenuts

No dumb questions here, all are good questions and you should feel comfortable asking anything you want. That is how we all learn.

In answer, when you stand on the passenger's side of the car, the high tank will be right at waist level on the right side of the motor. Simply remove the cap (when cold) and fill right there. On the 90 and up cars, filling the radiator is a little easier because of this tank. It was added in 90 to correct the problem with air entrapment in the radiator of the pre-90 cars.

toejam

That was me, I did a search for the thread but it has been purged - to bad, I had some pretty smart things to say [img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] Anyway the short version of the last post is that, as Pete says, put green in green and orange in orange as the gaskets/seals are developed for a particular fluid and switching fluid is not something the sealing material may be able to handle. Please undertand I'm not saying that switching fluid will create a leak in 300 miles or anything - just that it will negatively impact the life of some (or all) sealing components in the coolant loop.

PeteL

Hey toejam, thanks for posting! Sometimes when I don't save these things I think I don't remember right or am cracking up.

Do you know if this is why GM does not recommend using on pre-94 vehicles? Also is there anything else about this coolant you can share?

Again thanks for posting, saves sanity.

Pete

toejam

No problem, although I don't think Sanity Saver is ever going to make it into the Hall of Justice I do like to help where I can

As for why GM doesn't recommend this coolant in pre-94 vehicles, well I don't have a real good answer unless that is when then went across the board as the factory fill. Hmmmm

Let's see, what else can I share about this coolant . . . . . . . Oh, here is something. I remember seeing material degradation curves (sealing materials that is) that showed that there was a "green" coolant that were actually more harsh on the material than the Dex-Cool. I will have to find that report again.

I just want to re-iterate that running Dex-Cool in a cooling system not designed for it will not make your car explode. Everywhere in the world things are being used outside of their original design parameters and since we aren't talking about bridges, buildings, or space shuttles here, the coolant is probably fine. In general though, it is a good idea to stay within the design parameters for optimum performance and/or life. The only other thing I can share about the coolant is some really good recipes, but you probably don't want those [img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

daisyrock

Hi all, I'm about ready to flush my green stuff also after reading this post. I remember seeing a post that air need to be release near the water outlet or someplace to replace the coolant? I may be wrong but if you just fill it from that bottle, I'm doing it tomorrow. I put it off because I read on previous posts it was so much trouble in refilling the coolant. Thanks.

olephart

I think GM started upgrading engine and component seals for DexCool in 94 - actually started putting it in the vette in 96.

If you switch from green to pink, flush well. The DexCool is thought to gum up if exposed to too much green stuff. This may be an urban legend, but I seen a lot of threads elsewhere on this.

GM & Texaco recommend a center spring (Stant) radiator cap to insure that no air gets in. Supposed to make brown crud if there is an air leak.

They also say to fill the overflow to the Full, Cold mark when the engine is hot. While this would normally be about 2 quarts too much, it keeps a hot engine from sucking the overflow dry leading to air in the system and the brown crud.

vettenuts

OK, I have put this up before, but I guess it is worth putting up again. This is a letter I received from Texaco after I sent an e-mail to them concerned about an article someone on Vettenet saw in the Washington Post. Turned out, Popular Mechanics had previously written the same thing and this is the response to them.