Coolant change
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Instructor
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 128
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From: Delaware
Coolant change
I had my 98 now for 6 months and do not know the last time the coolant was changed. I looked in the resivor and it looks like a orange color? Coolant or rust? What is the best typ of coolant to use. Are there any other things that I should know about before the change? Thanks.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Union City, CA
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2011
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From: Richmond, TX
Dexcool is pinkish/reddish/orangeish.
But not quite as orange as the stupid crap Mopar puts in all of Chrysler's new engines.
As long as it doesn't smell like it's burnt (you'll know it if you smell it), then you're probably fine.
Dexcool, with age, tends to gum up and leave gunky deposits in your water passages. This heats up whatever flows the slowest enough to burn. If you smell that it's burnt, you need to forcibly flush the cooling system to make sure that you don't waste your time with new fluid.
Also, aluminum doesn't rust. At least, not like iron does.
But not quite as orange as the stupid crap Mopar puts in all of Chrysler's new engines.
As long as it doesn't smell like it's burnt (you'll know it if you smell it), then you're probably fine.
Dexcool, with age, tends to gum up and leave gunky deposits in your water passages. This heats up whatever flows the slowest enough to burn. If you smell that it's burnt, you need to forcibly flush the cooling system to make sure that you don't waste your time with new fluid.
Also, aluminum doesn't rust. At least, not like iron does.
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GM recommends 5 years or 100K, any doubt, change it. it's not worth the damage for the cost. Use Dexcool and demineralized water.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2010
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From: Bristol raceway area
+1I keep the coolant changed in all my cars and trucks regular maintenance.
2 gallons of Dex, you use 6 qts. and some distilled water costs me about $ 25.00 total.
Not worth it to me to try to run it longer, i've seen Many cooling systems in bad shape by running coolant to long.
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The Dex-Cool coolant is orange in color. My advice is if you don't know when the coolant was changed, then go ahead and change it. Best to be safe than have problems with the cooling system.
