Newer coolant... ?? (red stuff) Now a warning post.

What is the deal with this stuff? I have it in my 99 s-10 and it turns to mud after a lot of miles. Someone told me that you can't mix the two which I didn't, but I did flush the system and then used glycol(sp?) (green stuff). Actually its MOSTLY water and some glycol.
Is this bad? Should I flush it again and put the red stuff in?

 

It also eats freeze plugs. My nephew replaced two. The green never rusted a plug out. The only advantage is it's supposed to last 100K miles, but I usually rebuild mine before that.

 

It's called Dexcool. GM has had plenty of recalls and probs with the stuff, it's*****. Do a complete flush and use green stuff. It makes no difference.

 

I thought you could'nd mix the two? It will eat all of your seals and gaskets I think?

 

JUNK!That stuff will eat up/ruin everything it touches! Gaskets,freeze plugs,as said it will turn to mud,screw radiators...........JUNK!

 

I've seen that the stuff sux! But can I flush it out with water and put the green stuff in without F-ing it all up? Which I've already done...

 

just flush it good, add the green stuff and go, you'll be alright. Did it last year in my 97 s-10 when I had to change an intake gasket. No problems yet.

 

Dex-Cool isn't what it's cracked up to be. We've done a lot of change overs from Dex-Cool to Glycol at work.
It does seem to gum up and get*****ty after a few years and miles.
Like the rest said, flush it real good, and just use the green stuff.
It'll be fine.

Rat.....

 

Well*****...that red stuff is what GM said to use with my crate motor in my 32. Man, something else to do now...it never ends does it?

 

No it dosn't..
When i built my '32, i used Dex-cool.
It was relatively new then and didn't have any negative feedback yet..

Well, mine is still clean but i have to get it out before it screws up either the rad or softplugs..

Live and learn

Rat....

 

How long have you had it in?

 

Believe it or not, i built the motor in '98.
It's been in thier since then..too long IMO.
I've only put around 4500 miles on it since because i drive my 33 p-up more.
I think thats why it hasn't really gotten gummy.

I'm glad this post came up. It reminded me about it.
I'll get it changed real soon.

Rat...

 

Hmmmm, so no need to panic on my part it sound like...it has only been in the car since last June...a year.

I was guessing that the truck by your name was a 32, but you just said it was a 33. You got good pics of your truck and 32 you can post or PM me...just wondering.

 

This stuff was MUD! when I looked at it. Prolly a bunch of miles on it as I this truck was used when I got it. Now it may work for those who change it normally. This truck had about 110k before I got to look at it, and it ran cool the whole time.
But I took the cap off and there was mud there. Didn't seem right too me, so I flushed it and put what I knew in.

 

You won't have a problem for a while.

[ QUOTE ]
I was guessing that the truck by your name was a 32, but you just said it was a 33. You got good pics of your truck and 32 you can post or PM me...just wondering.



[/ QUOTE ]

I'll throw another post up with the pics for you.
I don't wanna 'highjack' this one.

Rat.....

 

<font color="green">MAMA RASH's 2000 Blazer quit blowing heat so I took it in.

The core was clogged with the Dex-Cool***** so they took it out and flushed it.

So they charged us extra to flush the system and I told them I wanted the Green***** put back in it.

They said that they could only rplace it with the original stuff.

I don't think they flushed the system at all.

The heater core is plugged again.

I hate the*****.

At least now I know what the problem was, I thought it was a vac door or some*****, didn't think a core would be clogged on something that new.

If you want something done right.....

Anyway, I was told to flush it, fill it with just water, run it a bit, then flush it again and fill with green.

Just to get all of it out.

RASHY </font>

 

Krupanuts 97 Blazer had a plugged heater core...!

We reversed flushed it with a Kit from Auto-zone and it got the heater core working again just before it developed a leak...!

Now I'm starting to think this was that***** that caused it.

Why else would a perfectly good heater core plug up after only 60,000 miles???

I've had cars with 300,000 miles on them that had their original heater cores and radiators in them and still functioning just fine!!!!

Thanks for posting this information for us!

Mark

 

Dexcool nightmares are well-documented. (check out www.dexcoolcase.com). A lawsuit is in order, but...

...according to GM, the only time "issues" arise with Dexcool is when the coolant level gets low.

I bought a used '96 S-10 pickup for use as a daily driver in May '02.

So far, I've changed:

All four freezeplugs (corrosion and subsequent leakage at the worst-possible time), the head gasket (rotted out and leaked coolant into the cylinders), and now the heater core (leaking rust-colored coolant into the passenger compartment).

This truck had 65K on it when I got it, and now has 87K under it.

It has been a nightmare since the 65th day I owned it, when the first freeze plug began leaking (on a 60-day warranty, no less.)

Since then, It's left me high and dry and hot (literally) on several occasions.

I will not purchase another vehicle using Dexcool coolant. They say if you overfill it, the odds are better you won't have corrosion issues. I've chosen (like others) to flush the system completely and run traditional "green" glycol. Still, the damage had been done and, as I mentioned, my heater core is currently shot.

I've contacted many people about this, and there's no solution to "making" Dexcool work beyond the overfilling I mentioned earlier.

This issue has only begun to make GM look bad. It's far from over.

There have been local news stories about it here in LA, and I anticipate further media coverage as more vehicles with Dexcool continue to fail.

S-10s, Blazers, and their GMC variants seem especially suceptible to these issues. I suspect it's the cooling system design, which honestly doesn't carry much coolant (with its two-core all-aluminum radiator) and this allows the coolant level to live precariously close to the "limit" at which the Dexcool stops cooling and starts corroding.

I bought the "new" truck to ease my concerns about driving older cars everyday. I wanted better fuel economy and the safety of ABS and airbags.

What I got was an expensive nightmare of rusty leaks and seemingly never-ending problems with the cooling/heating system.

I now drive a '67 Chevelle wagon everyday instead. It's proven to be more reliable. No airbags, no ABS, but I've got killer 12-inch drilled rotors and multi-piston calipers. I've got 17-inch wheels/tires for grip, and I've got a trick suspension system for road-race confidence in an old wagon.

Fuck new GM cars/trucks. Dexcool*****s, so***** Dexcool too. All I wanted was a reliable driver, and the damn thing couldn't get to 67K miles before self-destructing from the inside out.

After repairing all I could find that is wrong with this truck, I'm selling it. I only hope I get enough to pay off what I owe on it. All the time, effort, and parts I've invested to keep it going are a complete waste.

I hate this truck.

Scotch!

 

All I can add here is that DEXCOOL*****s, we are still running it in Mama's 02 Grand AM GT because of warranty issues but it does have the unique ability to eat gaskets of metal.
Flush with water amd fill back with old green if you dont have a warranty to deal with.GM buys a bunch of engines and warranty service due to DEXCOOL.
Did I mention.....DEXCOOL*****S?

 

If this stuff is so bad, why are they making it?
Is it cheaper?
Is it some "environmentally friendly" excuse?
Does it have a timed release failure mode that makes it self-destruct in 13 months if you don't change it every 12 months?
Is it to deal with electrolosis in aluminum engines but doesn't like iron engines?

I really don't understand why it's being made and pushed?

 

I had the red***** in my 97 blazer and after reading Parkhurst's dealio about his truck in PHR, I changed my blazer over the next week. The f*cking day after the swap to the Green Stuff( less than 20 miles), the water pump seal took a sh*t.

Since then, it has been trouble free.

Green=Good, Red=Bad.

 

[ QUOTE ]
If this stuff is so bad, why are they making it?
Is it cheaper?
Is it some "environmentally friendly" excuse?
Does it have a timed release failure mode that makes it self-destruct in 13 months if you don't change it every 12 months?
Is it to deal with electrolosis in aluminum engines but doesn't like iron engines?

I really don't understand why it's being made and pushed?

[/ QUOTE ] <font color="green">

I think they thought they came up with something great and like most things these days, failed to test it in a real world environment to the full extent.

Why do they keep making it?

Because if they quit making it after telling everyone there is nothing wrong with it, they will open themselves to alot of lawsuits.

That and they probably contracted to have a bijillion gallons of the***** produced.

My guess now is that they are working on something that looks alot like it but actually works that they will slip in under the radar and it will all go away.

RASHY </font>

 

The only advantage that I knew of is that if Fido drinks the stuff he won't stiffen up.

I just purchased me a nice new Chevy truck a few months back, good thing I picked up the extended waranty.

 

Same story as everyone else. I got a used 01 s-10 a year ago with about 27k on it. Popped the radiator cap and couldn't even see the spring on it from all the mud. Flushed it and refilled with the green. I also work the shop counter at a Chevy dealer, so I see this***** all day long. For the most part just about all the GM stuff seems to tolerate it OK except for all the s series vehicles. They ALL turn to mud at some point and cause all kinds of damn problems as stated above.

 

[ QUOTE ]

Why do they keep making it?

Because if they quit making it after telling everyone there is nothing wrong with it, they will open themselves to alot of lawsuits.

That and they probably contracted to have a bijillion gallons of the***** produced.

My guess now is that they are working on something that looks alot like it but actually works that they will slip in under the radar and it will all go away.

RASHY </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this investigation is a job for ROBOCOP!

 

Wifes 98 full size Chev PU has 60K, I have replaced water pump, have new intake gaskets, waiting til get shop finished replace. I hear it is more harsh on aluminum. Put it in my 32, ran it a few hours, heard about this, drained &amp; flushed 6 months ago. GM should be repairing out of warranty stuff caused by this long life coolant.

 

acually, no, the red***** eats up plastic intakes on FWD stuff too.
vortec chevy pu's intake gaskets don't like the***** either.

keep up the good work GM, i LIKE fixing your dexcool problems...

 

It's the built in "failure" factor all auto makers put in. Bad fuild is safer than failure of ball joints. Less lawsuits.
It ensures you will be back, either to service dept. or to buy a new car.Just after their 7yr/60,000 mile warranty runs out.
It's designed to FAIL!!!
What if (they probally already can) General Electric could make light bulbs that never burn out? If they sold them, they'd be out of business within a year.
Same theory, different industry.
My '04 Dodge 4x4 has 6000 miles and now has bad front wheel bearings and an exhaust manifold leak. It just failed more sooner than later.
Dodge: built**** backwards and meant to stay that way.

 

Why hasn't there been a major recall...?

Apparently every S10 I was interested in either had a problem in the cooling system or the repairs were already made and the repairs were used as a selling factor!!!! WTF!!

I shyed away from buying these vehicles because I thought it was an engineering problem that wasn't being delt with...!

I would think that they would get that***** off the market...., but apparently the after market parts must be driving the industry!!

Mark

 

is it used in all gm products? we had a 97 saturn that constantly ran hot as hell. i drained all the coolant out, and changed the thermostat. it had green coolant in it. but when i was doing it, i noticed everything looked like freaking mud. i was going to have the system flushed, but after 5 months of owning it, and being pissed off, i traded it on my bronco. i love those damn things

trey