[v8villain]

Your cooling system should be flushed and new coolant put in at 30,000 miles as well. Coolant works through metal parts as well, and does get dirty. Some of the newer cars (mostly General Motors) use the Dex-Cool coolant (which is pink in color) instead of the old standard green anti-freeze mixture. The two types of coolant are NOT INTERCHANGEABLE !!! If your car uses the green coolant that's what you use. Cars requiring a Dex-Cool approved coolant have a sticker on them, near the coolant overflow reservoir, that states to use Dex-Cool only. Some of the Euro-cars have a pink coolant in their reservoirs that is NOT Dex-Cool. If the car does not have a Dex-Cool sticker on it, and the coolant is pink, contact your dealership's parts counter for advice. And remember also that RV anti-freeze is pink in color, but is not Dex-Cool





someone posted this msg saying not to use dexcool just wondering why???what does it do diffenerent ect?

 

[Cobra'03]

Do a Search

I posted on this in depth a week or so ago (also on Stangnet).

Short version - do not use Dex Cool in Mustangs - however, there are better greens than Ford's - Honda's Type 1 and Type 2 are much better, as they avoid damaging silicates/borates.

 

[v8villain]

Re: Do a Search

I posted on this in depth a week or so ago (also on Stangnet).

Short version - do not use Dex Cool in Mustangs - however, there are better greens than Ford's - Honda's Type 1 and Type 2 are much better, as they avoid damaging silicates/borates.

So your saying honda's coolant is the best where can I get some at the dealership?

Is there a better brand that I can get at kragens or a local autoparts store?

 

[blown282]

Cobra 03 what is your reason for not using Dex or A Dex like coolant.Prestone has one out now and I hear its good.

 

[Snake Bit]

The package states it meets EVERY U.S. manufacturers warranty requirements. So why not use it? Had it in my '97 for two years now. No problems. Used it in my '89 GT. No problems. Used it in the Wife's '96 Explorer. No problems.

 

[Cobra'03]

1) Honda is available at any Honda/Acura dealer. Type 2 is pre-mixed with de-mineralized water. Type 1 is "straight". I am not aware of any store cheapiue brand (Peak, Prestone, etc.) that can compare to Honda's formulation, which uses no OATs (a la Dex Cool) nor silicates/borates

2) There is increasing evidence that OAT's are not 100% compatible, no matter what GM says. Reports of premature head gasket failure, incompatibility with some solders, etc. I spoke with the eng'g head of Zerex and we discussed the issue at length

3) GM has backed off of its 5 year/100k due to sludge probems in some GM cars. If they were wrong about that, they might be wrong about compatibility.

There is enough evidence for me not to endorse this for Cobra use.

The fact that some (including me in my wife's car) have used it with no apparent side effects is interesting, but not strong enough endorsement for me to risk it. Still, I flushed out her car and went with Honda Type 2, which is what i recommend.

 

[AV99GT]

Also OATs are not as effective as glycol antifreeze.

 

[Scott Williams]

The package states it meets EVERY U.S. manufacturers warranty requirements. So why not use it? Had it in my '97 for two years now. No problems. Used it in my '89 GT. No problems. Used it in the Wife's '96 Explorer. No problems.

First off, I did use Prestone's extended life orange antifreeze (i.e. Dex-Cool) for a year or two in my '89 LX with no apparent problems, however....

I have heard pretty much the same thing that Cobra'03 posted above from several different sources. In fact, this month's Car and Driver has a small 1-page editorial on the issue.

Supposedly one of the biggest problems is that DexCool is more prone to "erosion-corrosion" in water pumps that were not specifically designed to use DexCool. Due to the lack of silicates (if I remember right), DexCool is less resistant to cavitation (the formation of tiny bubbles in the coolant due to low pressure) on the "back" side of the impeller in the water pump. When these bubbles collapse they cause tiny pits in the impeller which are unfortunately excellent sites for corrosion to take hold. Systems designed to run DexCool have redesigned impellers which are less likely to cause cavitation, so the erosion-corrosion cycle never begins.

For what it's worth, the cap on the degas bottle (which is the 4.6L version of a radiator cap) in my '00 GT is clearly marked with a symbol that cautions against using the orange DexCool antifreeze. I don't know if earlier 4.6L models had this marking or not, but Ford obviously thought the problem was a big enough warranty risk to justify a symbol cautioning against the use of DexCool.