flushing out coolant: switch from dexcool to green coolant? (2024)

my mechanic says i have sludgy build-up in my cooling system, so it needs flushing. i'm not questioning that, they are pretty reliable.<BR><BR>the guy suggested that i switch to the regular green coolant after flushing out the current dexcool stuff, since it doesn't gum up as easily.<BR><BR>i'd appreciate any comments or information anyone can point me to.<BR><BR>the car's a 2000 monte carlo ls with 35k miles.

I personally am not a fan of dexcool. It does seem to sludge up after a while, evidenced by my sister's 96 Camaro that she drove home from Arizona... just as she was leaving to go back west, it had cooling problems at which point it was discovered that it had sludged up. A quick flush and refilling with green stuff at a local shop, and off she went.<BR><BR>I believe my dad's 98 Blazer also has had sludging issues, but I'm not sure if he's converted it to the green stuff or not.

Dexcool isn't that great of stuff. I'd run the normal green. If you're asking about flushing it, I'd just drain it, fill it with water, then draing it again and refill with 50/50 antifreeze and distilled water (or a garden hose).

i've been told that dexcool eats seals and stuff too, but i havent had any problems in my car yet

If you want to change over to the traditional coolant from Dexcool (I would, I've gotten to see some of the damage it's done on fairly new vehicles) then you need to flush the system.<BR><BR>How I've seen shops do this is to start the car up and let the engine run a bit to build the coolant pressure. Get a water hose running and take the radiator cap off. Take one of the coolant block plugs out and put the house into the radiator. Let that run until what comes out is clear as water, and then a little longer. Turn the car off and drain the coolant (be careful here, if the car has reached operating temp you'll want to keep the hose running for a bit after the motor is turned off so that the block doesn't over heat due to lack of coolant, or you may want to put the plug in and let it sit for a bit until the motor cools down). After you've drained the block fill it back up with the appropriate mix of water and coolant. Make sure you start the vehicle up again because you will need it running in order to completely fill the block (and not just the radiator).<BR><BR>I did this with my '99 Buick Regal, runs fine.<BR><BR>WingMan

sorry i wasn't clear. i'm not interested in flushing it myself. i just want to know anything about switching coolants.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by yarness:<BR>sorry i wasn't clear. i'm not interested in flushing it myself. i just want to know anything about switching coolants. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Not a big deal for GM's as long as the old stuff is completely flushed out, otherwise they will react with each other in not so nice a way. <BR><BR>WingMan

I would use whatever your owner's manual says.

Hmm. Interesting. I wonder what Nissan has to say, since I switched to Dex-Cool in my Maxima. I'm genuinely curious, although I'm getting the engine swapped next month and they'll probably just fill it with regular green stuff. -- View image here: http://episteme.arstechnica.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif --

I am using P-OAT from Peak in my car (Subaru WRX). Since it works with "Green" coolant, so I don't have to completely flush the system when I changed over. So far so good. Also if you are doing it yourself, add a bottle of water wetter.

If it helps any, I've been using the green stuff in my '99 GMC Jimmy. It hasn't ever had a problem, so I'm not stressing it.

I recently refilled my cooling system with Peak Extended Life coolant after doing a timing belt and water pump on my 2000 Neon as part of routine maintenance.<BR><BR>The Peak Extended Life is yellow in color and according to the the product literature it is compatible with just about every coolant under the Sun.

Speaking of interchangeability, anybody have any knowlege of the "new" green Prestone that's supposedly compatible with any and all coolant types?

Well, if it's a GM and you have any sort of warranty left on the whole cooling system OR engine, it will void it.<BR><BR>End of conversation?

not unless there's some super double-secret warranty i don't know about. 3 years/33k miles are both long past.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by yarness:<BR>not unless there's some super double-secret warranty i don't know about. 3 years/3<B>6</B>k miles are both long past. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<font size="-1">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by reboot:<br>Well, if it's a GM and you have any sort of warranty left on the whole cooling system OR engine, it will void it.<br><br>End of conversation? <hr>
</blockquote>Heh.<br><br>I think my 11 year old GM with 207k miles is a bit out of warranty. -- View image here: http://episteme.arstechnica.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif --

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by yarness:<BR>not unless there's some super double-secret warranty i don't know about. 3 years/33k miles are both long past. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Are you sure? Mine is 4 years / 96k KMs for the engine.