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another antifreeze question...

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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 11:39 AM
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Default another antifreeze question...

I own a new to me 1998 corvette high mileage unknown maintenance history.

Im in the midst of an overall tune up...

Its coolong system time...I bought new rad hoses, thermostat and waterpump plus belts.

I noticed that the coolant in my system is the grewn stuff.

Do I replace with green stuff? Or switch over to the orange dexcool?
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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 11:55 AM
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The cars were designed for and should use the Dexcool. There are extra additives that help with aluminum anti corrosion properties. THOROUGHLY flush the green stuff out of the system, cross contamination of types is a problem. Then fill with Dexcool at the proper percentage.
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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 12:41 PM
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I agree with the above and if you add water be sure to use distilled water.
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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 12:42 PM
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I agree with CHJ In Virginia the car was designed for use with DEXCOOL, if it were my Vette I would flush every last bit of the green stuff out and replace with new fresh dex cool
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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 12:55 PM
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Thanks gents.....is it ok to flush a few times with tap water?
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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 01:12 PM
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don't use tap water use only distilled water
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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 01:27 PM
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Originally Posted by CHJ In Virginia
The cars were designed for and should use the Dexcool. There are extra additives that help with aluminum anti corrosion properties. THOROUGHLY flush the green stuff out of the system, cross contamination of types is a problem. Then fill with Dexcool at the proper percentage.
I can attest to this. Mixing green and orange creates a mix that becomes acidic enough to eat through gaskets, water pumps, and the internals of the radiator. With this in mind, I can't stress enough to make sure every trace of the green is gone from the system.
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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 01:36 PM
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I hope the new Dexcool is better than the old Dexcool. Might be why previous owner switched to green stuff.
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2011/03/...ol-settlement/

Back in 1995, GM began to use “Dex-Cool” coolant in its vehicles; in fact, you may very well be driving a vehicle that uses Dex-Cool. After GM had Dex-Cool vehicles out on the road, owners began to file complaints regarding engine and radiator problems that turned out to be linked to the Dex-Cool coolant. Despite this, GM kept using the coolant and complaints kept rolling in; then, in 2003, a series of class-action lawsuits were filed due to the coolant problems in model year 1995 to 2004 GM vehicles.
A settlement was reached in 2008, with GM paying out $24 million in fees to cover expenses for the lawyers and owners. In total, GM received 68,114 claims, most of which were paid until GM declared bankruptcy in 2009.

Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2011/03/...#ixzz2s64nMwe2
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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 09:49 PM
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Originally Posted by CHJ In Virginia
The cars were designed for and should use the Dexcool. There are extra additives that help with aluminum anti corrosion properties. THOROUGHLY flush the green stuff out of the system, cross contamination of types is a problem. Then fill with Dexcool at the proper percentage.
Got to wonder why the previous owner went with the green stuff.
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Old Feb 1, 2014 | 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Vetteman Jack
Got to wonder why the previous owner went with the green stuff.
Probably because GM had a lot of problems with Dexcool and a mechanic probably warned him about it.
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Old Feb 2, 2014 | 02:51 AM
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Hmmmm, makes me wonder what I got in mine ? Green or Orange?
I never looked as I never had a reason. I didn't read the article but it makes me think, do any of you guys have any problems ? I sure as hell don't. Is the problem central to one to two model lines or the entire fleet of GM cars and trucks ?
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Old Feb 2, 2014 | 05:19 AM
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Dex-cool, problems are long gone with it. When first used yes it was a problem, for a couple reasons. Came from the factory in my car 16 years ago, change every 5 years, No problem. Put in the dexcool and don't worry about it.
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Old Feb 2, 2014 | 08:15 AM
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I'm happy with the green Prestone. It gets changed every couple years. Owners manual says it's fine. Prestone says it's fine. My car still runs after all the years running it.
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Old Feb 2, 2014 | 09:18 AM
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Originally Posted by FRANK J CARCIA
Dex-cool, problems are long gone with it. When first used yes it was a problem, for a couple reasons. Came from the factory in my car 16 years ago, change every 5 years, No problem. Put in the dexcool and don't worry about it.
Was the formula changed? Seems like all the problems occurred from 97 to 2004.
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Old Feb 2, 2014 | 09:32 AM
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Originally Posted by JR-01
Was the formula changed? Seems like all the problems occurred from 97 to 2004.
Don't know what they did. All I know is in the corvette, I have not had a problem in 16 years. I did have major problems in a 96 impala ss, that I did not buy new so can not say what was done. My understanding is when GM started using it they put some kind of additive in that created the problem. I am not sure that it was a problem into 04.
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Old Feb 2, 2014 | 11:21 AM
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Originally Posted by JR-01
Probably because GM had a lot of problems with Dexcool and a mechanic probably warned him about it.
More like an idiot mechanic. The Dexcool issue only involved a few models with certain engines. I had never heard of any sort of factory-fill Dexcool issues with Corvettes or LT1 or LS1 series engines.

If the old green coolant doesn't show any signs of the brown mess that forms when the green ethlyene glycol coolant is mixed with Dexcool, I would say go ahead and stay with the green stuff. It will be a pain to get all of the green stuff completely out to make the switch back.

The only thing with the green stuff is that he will have to perform a cooling system service every two years instead of the Dexcool recommendation of 5 years/50K miles. Get a good quality green coolant concentrate and some distilled water. Mix it in a 50-50 ratio and make sure the coolant expansion tank is clean and filled to the proper mark.
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Old Feb 2, 2014 | 11:53 AM
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http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...-problems.html
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To another antifreeze question...

Old Feb 2, 2014 | 01:13 PM
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Hahaha, That is 9 years old, How about some new info on this? Been using Dexcool from when car was new and no issues whats so ever.
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Old Feb 2, 2014 | 01:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr.Bill
Hahaha, That is 9 years old, How about some new info on this? Been using Dexcool from when car was new and no issues whats so ever.
That is what I asked before. Did they change the formula? Since GM paid millions out in class action lawsuits, there must have been some problems with it. What is so funny about that? I had to replace my 2003 GMC radiator after 5 years. I am starting to wonder if the Dexcool caused the corrosion that created the leak. Never knew about the problem with dexcool before.

Last edited by JR-01; Feb 2, 2014 at 01:31 PM.
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Old Feb 2, 2014 | 02:58 PM
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Originally Posted by JR-01
That is what I asked before. Did they change the formula? Since GM paid millions out in class action lawsuits, there must have been some problems with it. What is so funny about that? I had to replace my 2003 GMC radiator after 5 years. I am starting to wonder if the Dexcool caused the corrosion that created the leak. Never knew about the problem with dexcool before.
Now that I think about it, Dexcool could have been the reason why my entire cooling system, including any gaskets the Dexcool touched, pretty much melted on my 2003 Monte Carlo. They had to replace the entire cooling system along with replacing the intake manifold and head gaskets. I was told it was because someone put green coolant in, but now I'm not so certain about that. They might have told me that just to cover their ***.
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