Engine Coolant
Racer
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 486
Likes: 2
From: The Villages FL
Racer
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 486
Likes: 2
From: The Villages FL
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
From: Owasso OK
Not all of the coolant can be drained, so you are left with ~4.5 qts of water in the system. That water will remain in the system until your next flush and since tap water contains minerals, which can be corrosive, distilled water is preferred.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,037
Likes: 9,801
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
I use drinkable tap water. Distilled water is an overkill and a hose makes things a lot easier. Been draining and refilling Dex in GM cars since 2002 with no issues using original Texaco Dex Cool or the new Prestone version which is the same thing now that Texaco doesn't own it any more. One thing. If you want a 50/50 mix after you are done do not use a 50/50 pre-mix. Since you can't drain everything out of the block and if you flush the coolant several times with fresh water until the drained coolant runs clear you will get less than a 50/50 mixture in the system if you use a mix to refill it. There are ~ 3 qts of water left in a completely flushed block so on a 12 qt system it is really easy to just add 6 qts of Dex and top off with water. You will have a 50/50 mix. If you use the premix stuff you can't get to a 50/50 mix because you only have 9 qts remaining that can be added. So you end up with a 38/62 mix of antifreeze to water instead. 50/50 premix is only used for topping off if you have some sort of coolant loss.
Bill
Bill
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,202
Likes: 5
Tap water is used at Bowling Green. From what I've read, Dex-Cool will neutralize the minerals from tap water (per GM from what I remember & also a sticky in the C-5/C-6 section). For me, although it's much more expenseive, I use Prestone 50/50 pre-mixed, every three years, plus a bottle of Red Line Water Wetter for additional corrsion protection. I go to a fomer GM dealer that uses Wynn machines + Wynn chemicals.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,202
Likes: 5
I use drinkable tap water. Distilled water is an overkill and a hose makes things a lot easier. Been draining and refilling Dex in GM cars since 2002 with no issues using original Texaco Dex Cool or the new Prestone version which is the same thing now that Texaco doesn't own it any more. One thing. If you want a 50/50 mix after you are done do not use a 50/50 pre-mix. Since you can't drain everything out of the block and if you flush the coolant several times with fresh water until the drained coolant runs clear you will get less than a 50/50 mixture in the system if you use a mix to refill it. There are ~ 3 qts of water left in a completely flushed block so on a 12 qt system it is really easy to just add 6 qts of Dex and top off with water. You will have a 50/50 mix. If you use the premix stuff you can't get to a 50/50 mix because you only have 9 qts remaining that can be added. So you end up with a 38/62 mix of antifreeze to water instead. 50/50 premix is only used for topping off if you have some sort of coolant loss.
Bill
Bill
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,037
Likes: 9,801
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Bill
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,681
Likes: 2
From: Mooresville (Race City USA) NC
Here are my notes that I gathered from the forum:
Change coolant every 5 years or 150,000 miles, which ever comes first.
Buy 2 gals Prestone Dex Cool (Walmart) and 6 gals distilled water. I used 5 gals of distilled water this year and flushed it twice. I think three flushes would have been better.
1) Drain coolant (drain plug is on passenger side). Approx. 8 qts out of 12.6 qts will actually drain.
2) Refill surge tank to the neck with distilled water. It will take a while to replace the 8 qts or whatever was drained.
3) Start engine, idle 4 min
4) Top off surge tank
5) Rev engine at 2000-2500 rpm for 2 more min. (temp should reach ~200 F)
6) Shutoff engine, cool for 20 minutes
7) Repeat steps 1-6 until fluid drains clear (2-4 flushes)
8) Refill with 6.3 qts Dex Cool (it's a slow process) and then top off with distilled water.
9) Repeat steps 3-5, take test drive, refill as necessary with distilled water.
10) Dispose of your old antifreeze at a recycling center.
Change coolant every 5 years or 150,000 miles, which ever comes first.
Buy 2 gals Prestone Dex Cool (Walmart) and 6 gals distilled water. I used 5 gals of distilled water this year and flushed it twice. I think three flushes would have been better.
1) Drain coolant (drain plug is on passenger side). Approx. 8 qts out of 12.6 qts will actually drain.
2) Refill surge tank to the neck with distilled water. It will take a while to replace the 8 qts or whatever was drained.
3) Start engine, idle 4 min
4) Top off surge tank
5) Rev engine at 2000-2500 rpm for 2 more min. (temp should reach ~200 F)
6) Shutoff engine, cool for 20 minutes
7) Repeat steps 1-6 until fluid drains clear (2-4 flushes)
8) Refill with 6.3 qts Dex Cool (it's a slow process) and then top off with distilled water.
9) Repeat steps 3-5, take test drive, refill as necessary with distilled water.
10) Dispose of your old antifreeze at a recycling center.
Do not use tap water, the fact that they use tap water at Bowling Green on the original fill is one reason you frequently read about people here on the Forum having to replace their failed Corvette waterpumps at very low miles (less than 100,000). Dex-Cool doesn't neutralize the minerals in tap water, and these minerals plate out on the dynamic sliding sealing surfaces of the waterpump mechanical face seal, causing seal face seperation and creating leakage paths for the coolant to escape through from the cooling system into the adjacent waterpump bearing (destroying it) and/or leaking out the waterpump drain hole. Incidently, coolant doesn't escape from the system due to evaporation, it is a totally closed system with an overflow recovery system. The only way you loose measureable amounts of coolant from the system is leakage past the waterpump seal, mainly but not totally caused by mineral and anti-freeze constituants plating out on and seperating the dynamic sealing surfaces of the waterpump seal.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 815
Likes: 1
From: Mesa "highlands" AZ
Prestone, or anyone else, cannot use the TM DexCool if it doesn't fit GM's EXACT formula.....unless licensing laws have changed.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,202
Likes: 5
Do not use tap water, the fact that they use tap water at Bowling Green on the original fill is one reason you frequently read about people here on the Forum having to replace their failed Corvette waterpumps at very low miles (less than 100,000). Dex-Cool doesn't neutralize the minerals in tap water, and these minerals plate out on the dynamic sliding sealing surfaces of the waterpump mechanical face seal, causing seal face seperation and creating leakage paths for the coolant to escape through from the cooling system into the adjacent waterpump bearing (destroying it) and/or leaking out the waterpump drain hole.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 168
Likes: 1
Update!
I ended up going to the Chevrolet dealer and paying over $200.
The technician had the radiator drip out the old coolant. Then he washed with a hose the reservoir and then he added new coolant. He didn't use a special vacuum some of you mentioned, nor did he flush the radiator.
Also, the GM coolant he used was already premixed 50/50. I believe he only used 1 gallon. Is this correct?
What am I supposed to do here?
The technician had the radiator drip out the old coolant. Then he washed with a hose the reservoir and then he added new coolant. He didn't use a special vacuum some of you mentioned, nor did he flush the radiator.
Also, the GM coolant he used was already premixed 50/50. I believe he only used 1 gallon. Is this correct?
What am I supposed to do here?
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,681
Likes: 2
From: Mooresville (Race City USA) NC
I don't have a problem with this, but they obviously do; thus all the early waterpump failures their customers experience. They can contact me if they want and I will explain to them why most Japanese automobile manufactures never fill their cooling system with tap water and recommend distilled or deionized water for refills.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 18,090
Likes: 1,574
I ended up going to the Chevrolet dealer and paying over $200.
The technician had the radiator drip out the old coolant. Then he washed with a hose the reservoir and then he added new coolant. He didn't use a special vacuum some of you mentioned, nor did he flush the radiator.
Also, the GM coolant he used was already premixed 50/50. I believe he only used 1 gallon. Is this correct?
What am I supposed to do here?
The technician had the radiator drip out the old coolant. Then he washed with a hose the reservoir and then he added new coolant. He didn't use a special vacuum some of you mentioned, nor did he flush the radiator.
Also, the GM coolant he used was already premixed 50/50. I believe he only used 1 gallon. Is this correct?
What am I supposed to do here?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,202
Likes: 5
I ended up going to the Chevrolet dealer and paying over $200.
The technician had the radiator drip out the old coolant. Then he washed with a hose the reservoir and then he added new coolant. He didn't use a special vacuum some of you mentioned, nor did he flush the radiator.
Also, the GM coolant he used was already premixed 50/50. I believe he only used 1 gallon. Is this correct?
The technician had the radiator drip out the old coolant. Then he washed with a hose the reservoir and then he added new coolant. He didn't use a special vacuum some of you mentioned, nor did he flush the radiator.
Also, the GM coolant he used was already premixed 50/50. I believe he only used 1 gallon. Is this correct?
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,939
Likes: 2
From: Danielsville Georgia
JRFIGO> What you had done was a drain and refill. Thats more then likely what gets done to 90% of the cooling systems. In the Nissan store,Chrysler store and G.M. I ran service depts in that is what was done. Just drain and refill,clean reservoir. That came about with aluminum and plastics being used for radiators. Its also what most repair manuals call for as a p.m. I paid techs 1.0 hours to do such. We charged customers a maintance rate which was about half a repair rate. If repair rate was $88 we charged $45 for a coolant drain and refill. Plus coolant of course. These new fangled coolant machine did a much better job in a fraction the time. 20 to 30 minutes or so from the time tech opened the hood and hooked it up to the time putting coolant back in. I had two trucks one was a diesel done at a Quick lube after they showed me how it worked. I stood over both and watched from start to finish.
Last edited by Ketchum; Apr 21, 2011 at 07:21 PM.
SUBVETTE
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,841
Likes: 93
From: San Diego CA
Here are my notes that I gathered from the forum:
Change coolant every 5 years or 150,000 miles, which ever comes first.
Buy 2 gals Prestone Dex Cool (Walmart) and 6 gals distilled water. I used 5 gals of distilled water this year and flushed it twice. I think three flushes would have been better.
1) Drain coolant (drain plug is on passenger side). Approx. 8 qts out of 12.6 qts will actually drain.
2) Refill surge tank to the neck with distilled water. It will take a while to replace the 8 qts or whatever was drained.
3) Start engine, idle 4 min
4) Top off surge tank
5) Rev engine at 2000-2500 rpm for 2 more min. (temp should reach ~200 F)
6) Shutoff engine, cool for 20 minutes
7) Repeat steps 1-6 until fluid drains clear (2-4 flushes)
8) Refill with 6.3 qts Dex Cool (it's a slow process) and then top off with distilled water.
9) Repeat steps 3-5, take test drive, refill as necessary with distilled water.
10) Dispose of your old antifreeze at a recycling center.
Change coolant every 5 years or 150,000 miles, which ever comes first.
Buy 2 gals Prestone Dex Cool (Walmart) and 6 gals distilled water. I used 5 gals of distilled water this year and flushed it twice. I think three flushes would have been better.
1) Drain coolant (drain plug is on passenger side). Approx. 8 qts out of 12.6 qts will actually drain.
2) Refill surge tank to the neck with distilled water. It will take a while to replace the 8 qts or whatever was drained.
3) Start engine, idle 4 min
4) Top off surge tank
5) Rev engine at 2000-2500 rpm for 2 more min. (temp should reach ~200 F)
6) Shutoff engine, cool for 20 minutes
7) Repeat steps 1-6 until fluid drains clear (2-4 flushes)
8) Refill with 6.3 qts Dex Cool (it's a slow process) and then top off with distilled water.
9) Repeat steps 3-5, take test drive, refill as necessary with distilled water.
10) Dispose of your old antifreeze at a recycling center.
for his detailed instructions. Changed my coolant today and used six quarts of distilled water which was exactly the right amount to get three flushes accomplished as he specified. Walmart material cost: $0.83 per gal for water, $13.84 per gal for Prestone Dex Cool.