Here's my FYI for our group.

My production date 12/93 Vert with 32K mileage.

While checking under the hood I noticed some residue in the coolant over flow tank. Hard to discribe except to say, perhaps, the residue looked like redish rust particle or snow flakes.

So I drained the system per the manuel. The inital coolant was not transparent/ somewhat dirty. After the distilled water flushes, Dexcool added and off I go. I spent a good hour and half to do this job. Material costs less than $20.

Trick: For the radiator petcock, insert a 1/4 drive extension and turn counter clockwise to loosen. Then, with a pliers pull the petcock slightly out until water drains from the hole directly under the petcock area.

Bottomline: Because of the residue in the coolant tank, I humbly suggest that coolant changes be done ahead of the five year schedule.

 

thanks for sharing!

How may gallons of dex-cool? 1 or 2?

Mix 50/50 with distilled water?

 

I wouldn't go beyond 2yr intervals on coolant change. I've seen what a 5 yr coolant interval does on a waterpump and radiator. Changing the coolant is cheaper.

 

You know..I followed all the OEM recommendations on my Impala..but I bent on having the coolant changed. 5 years seems like a hell of a long time to keep the same coolant. I never had heating or freezing problems but at year 3, I just couldn't bear it and had the coolant changed and the engine flushed.
Service guy tried to talk me out of it but it just makes sense to me.

I wonder why the OEMs tell us this stuff....

 

How were the hoses?

 

Do you have any thoughts about using the green coolant? I've been told by several mechanics that the dex-cool is hard on the aluminum radiators, which may explain the particles in the reservoir. If you are going to change it out every couple of years anyway, why not go with the green?

 

Good morning all,
It is my pleasure to answer the questions above.

1) Capacity: Stated is 3.15 gallons. I concur. First, I used a measuring bucket and I placed one gallon and six quarts (50% to 60% mixture) Dex Cool. Second, filled remainder w/ distilled water as per manual directions.

2) Also note, I also flushed the system with distilled water. Piece of cake..highly recommended.

3) Hoses: (Trick: I have used die-electric grease on them periodically) At least from the outside the hose are soft and flexible and have retained a shiney black color. Clamps are OEM, hose ends looked good, no coolant resident/ leaking evident. So, I think they are OK.

May I thank you for this important inspection/ replacement reminder.
I think I will investigate ordering a set.

 

Kenny94945,

Please share your method of flushing the cooling system with distilled water. I plan on doing mine in 5 months. :cool:

 

:cheers:

 

When i changed mine I first removed all the old DexCool and flushed the system with distilled water. I then removed the coolant resivoir and thouroughly cleaned that. Then all I did was replace the DexCool at 60/40 mixture of distilled water. By the way the DexCool is used because the blocks are made of aluminum. It helps preserve the aluminum from oxidation. What I was told anyway.

 

Hello,
In response to Bluestreak.
1) Drain at petcock.
2) Close petcock, fill with water at coolant tank.
3) Start engine idle for one minute.
4) Replace coolant tank cap.
5) Rev engine to 3K rpm maximum in 30 second intervals until coolant temp is 210 degrees.
6) Shut off engine.
7) Loosen coolant tank cap until "hissing" stops.
8) Drain at petcock.
9) Repete until petcock draining is clear water.
10) Once clean, fill with 1.75 Dexcool and remained with water.
11) Start engine idel for one minute.
12) Install cap.
13) Rev engine as above until 210 degree.
14. Top off with water to 1/2 inch above cold level on tank.

 

When Dex-Cool hit the market several years ago I read an article on it. The difference between it and the green stuff, as it was called above lies in the way it prevents corrosion. The green stuff protects by depositing a protective coating on the metal surfaces. The coating acts as an insulator and blocks heat transfer making the cooling system less efficient. The coating continues to build over time. Stripping the coating (deposit build-up) is the reason for the prescribed annual, chemical flush when using the green stuff. Dex-cool prevents corrosion without leaving deposits in the cooling system. Hence the longer service interval. Now if you find debris in the coolant then by all means change it sooner but I would stay with the Dex-cool just for the superior efficiency.


[Modified by SoCal C5, 4:29 PM 12/12/2002]

 

Great timing and tips. My 99 turned 4 years old last month and still has the factory fill. I will be draining and flushing my system this week end.

Tom
USAF Retired

 

I went 5 years almost to the day with my 98 Coupe. Drained coolant looked great, no dirt, no discoloring, so I didn't flush. Got all out but 2 quarts. Used 50/50 Dexicool and distilled water. Used "engine rev" shop manual way to bleed system of air.

One word of warning: the drain plug turns only 90 degrees and pulls out. Turn it further and it will shear a pin and you need a new part.


[Modified by Oldvetter, 5:47 PM 12/13/2002]

 

Great tips! Thanks everybody. Now, I have a dumb question. Why use distilled water and where do I get some?

Tom

 

Good Saturday morning all,

If I may humbly answer another co-member question; distilled water is called for in the manual.

Why? My understanding is that tap water contains minerals and heavy metal elements that can affect aluminum.

Where to buy? Safeway (Grocery Store) Walgreens (and the like). About one dollar a gallon. (Ten gallons would be more than enough...one can make coffee or tea (home brew beer?) with the left over - yee ha :lol: )

Again happy holidays to all.

 

Manny,

Many municipalities within the USA derive their drinking water from well water, normally rich in minerals and usually calcium carbonates. Should you decide to use such drinking water to make your antifreeze mixture, there are good chances there will be coagulation occuring as the mixture ages in the engine. Those particles can be as corrosive as other foreign debris such as grains of sand. So for the very modest cost of distilled water that is free of impurities, it makes very good sense (cents?) to use distilled water over tap or muncipal water. It's one of those pay a little now or pay alot later deals.

 

Its also one of those things that really doesn't prevent a lot of trouble. Have used tap water from water systems fed by wells in my cars for years and never have had a problem. When I put the DRM radiator in my car after 4 years I lost several quarts of coolant and replaced it with new. Now the car is going on 6 years and in the spring I will flush and fill with new tap water and Dex Cool along with giving my Tahoe its five year flush and fill.
Bill

 

How did you dispose of the old coolant and the flushed water?

This is the only thing that keeps me from doing it myself.

 

Y'all might want to read this:

All about Dexcool®


Dexcool is identical to the Chrysler factory fill. Havoline had the original patent on Dexcool and manufacture it for GM. The benefits of Dexcool are:

Lower alkalinity
Longer lasting
Contains NO silicates, resulting in longer lasting water pump and engine seals.

If your vehicle came with the green stuff, you must do a complete flush before switching to Dexcool, but you cannot reap the extended life, as the green antifreeze has already coated the pores in the metal of your cooling system, thus lowering the corrosion protection abilities of Dexcool. In other words, switching from green to red will only cost more money with the only benefit being lower corrosive mineral levels (lower alkalinity). Your best bet is if you started off with green, stick with it and just check the alkalinity more often. Green will keep you protected thermally just as well as red. Remember, there are no thermal protection benefits between green and red, only corrosion protection differences.

As for deciding when to change your antifreeze, don't go by miles or you WILL certainly have seal and mechanical failures. One interesting spec I found is to use a multimeter. You put your negative probe to the negative post on your battery. You then place the positive probe in the neck of your radiator, making sure that the postive probe touches nothing but the antifreeze. Make sure the coolant is warm but not HOT (this is for SAFETY reasons as well as accuracy of your readings. Always be careful when opening the radiator cap on a warm engine). Your readings (regardless of negative symbol on readout) should be:


.2 V to .5 V - antifreeze is still good
.5 V to .7 V - antifreeze is borderline
.7 V or greater - antifreeze is unacceptable.

You can also use test strips (available at a quality auto parts store for $5 or less), they work on both green and red types too. But if you already have a multimeter, why go buy test strips? The multimeter is the more technically accurate method anyway.

As for sludging and early parts failure, it is imperative that you keep the antifreeze topped off or the low fluid level will cause sludging. There is a GM TSB on this matter.

Another way to ensure longer life of parts and get better corrosion protection is to make sure you USE DISTILLED WATER when mixing with antifreeze. By just using regular tap water you contaminate the new Dexcool and drastically lower the corrosion protection. Distilled water barely costs 79¢ a gallon in my area. So there's no excuse for spending $7.99/gallon on Dexcool and then ruining it because you're too lazy to add 79¢ a gallon distilled water to it.

From:http://in-motion.net/~adaniel/maint/dexcool.htm

If not changed as recommended above, Dexcool becomes a corrosive agent.
:eek:
If a different coolant is used instead of Dexcool, possible warranty problems may occur.:eek:

:cheers:


[Modified by Skyguy^^, 11:28 AM 12/16/2002]