Dexcool

[leggo]

Has anybody switched over to the Dexcool antifreeze.
you know....the pink stuff in G.M.'s.
If so, any problems?

 

[Robert]

Actually the Dexcool I used is orange. I switched over about a month ago when I replaced my radiator hoses due to antifreeze on the lower hose. It turned out that the antifreeze was coming from my waterpump so I just had that replaced last week at a Mercury/Lincoln dealer. I didn't have any problems with the Dexcool in the month that it was in. My reservoir is still full of orange coolant and what I can see in my radiator is still orange. I did mention to the service advisor that I just changed the fluid a month ago and would like them to use the extended life antifreeze if they have it since that is what I had in it. I don't know if they did or if they saved my antifreeze and reused it. They did charge $7.95 for anti-freeze though.

 

[leggo]

Orange? Pink? What do I know? guess thats why the woman gets mad when i cant remember what color nighty she had on last night!! haha I would double check with that dealer cause ,i guess, your not supposed to mix the green with the orange. thanks

Anybody else? any problems or comments?

 

[n5xmt]

I used it in another vehicle, and the warning at that time was to make sure the system was TOTALLY flushed free of the standard green antifreeze, or there would be problems, as they aren't compatible with each other... I was also told that unless the engine is totally flushed and DISTILLED water is used, that the more expensive dexcool has the same life as the cheaper green stuff...

Originally posted by leggo
Orange? Pink? What do I know? guess thats why the woman gets mad when i cant remember what color nighty she had on last night!! haha I would double check with that dealer cause ,i guess, your not supposed to mix the green with the orange. thanks

Anybody else? any problems or comments?

 

[leggo]

Distilled water? Use it with the new stuff or dont?
sorry im confused

 

[n5xmt]

They said to use distilled with the dexcool... Minerals in tap water reduce it's life as well.

Originally posted by leggo
Distilled water? Use it with the new stuff or dont?
sorry im confused

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by leggo
Orange? Pink? What do I know? guess thats why the woman gets mad when i cant remember what color nighty she had on last night!! haha I would double check with that dealer cause ,i guess, your not supposed to mix the green with the orange. thanks

Anybody else? any problems or comments?

The stuff I used was Peak Extende Life antifreeze. On the front it says use anytime Dexcool is required. Also says that it can be mixed with any antifreeze, however you loose the extended life benefits if you mix it with the green stuff. The procedure on the back of the bottle specified to flush cooling system with clean water until it came out clean, fill cooling system with engine flush and run for 15 minutes, drain and refill with a 50% mixture of Peak Extended Life antifreeze and distilled water.

 

[Longs]

The orange products seem to be a hybrid - even though they are extended life antifreeze, they aren't true Dexcool, which is pink/red.

The orange products are compatible with either Dexcool or ethylene glycol based antifreeze.

One benefit of either Dexcool or the orange products is that they don't seem to be as "greasy" as the green - maybe preventing some of the filmy buildups that seem to develop with the green.

I switched to the orange in my '67 GTO when I had to replace the radiator and heater core (Prestone Extended Life, about $8.00 per gallon), but I didn't swap on my Explorer - that gets changed every two years.

 

[Robert]

The orange stuff stains just as well as the green stuff and it smells a lot more potent. I never noticed the leak from my waterpump while I had the green stuff in, but once I put the orange stuff in I smelled coolant everytime I got out after any amount of driving. The smell was coming from a 1/4" wide trail of antifreeze funning out from behind my water pump pulley, not even enough to drip on the ground.

 

[mrboyle]

It is not recomended by Ford to use this in their vehicles. I don't know if it is posted on the Dexcool bottle, but it is designed as an OEM replacement, not a conversion. I don't know the specifics on why or why not, I just have read that it is not recomended to run this in anything other than a vehicle that used it from the factory.

 

[n5xmt]

Most likely because it doesn't have the long-life properties when put in a vehicle that used other stuff...

Originally posted by mrboyle
It is not recomended by Ford to use this in their vehicles. I don't know if it is posted on the Dexcool bottle, but it is designed as an OEM replacement, not a conversion. I don't know the specifics on why or why not, I just have read that it is not recomended to run this in anything other than a vehicle that used it from the factory.

 

[COMMOCOZY]

i think i can help here

Before I had my EXPLORER I owned a 1996 Chevy Beretta Z26. This had Dexcool in it. I was Also a member of Beretta. net. Most of the members with cars older then 96 went from Green to Orange coolant with no problems! The orange is far better then green because it has no SAND in it to mess with the water pump. If anyone would like more detail i can E-mail my friend who knows a lot more about Dexcool -VS- Green stuff..


have a nice night

 

[leggo]

Just by glancing I did not see anything that said not to use it on Ford products? The only thing it said was just to make sure you flush ALL of the old stuff out!I will double check tomorrow.

 

[glenn233]

I SWITCHED FROM THE GREEN TO TEXACO EXTENDED LIFE(ORANG) Iv had no problems so far just be sure to do a good flush with water first.