Have'nt noticed any sled manufactures running Dex-cool yet. WHY?

Maybe ethylene glycol is cheaper to buy in bulk? Also, the benefits of using Dex-Cool are long after the warranty period is over. Any other thoughts?

I would hope it is because DEXCOOL is pure evil.
It causes more problems in automobiles than I can count. We just had a late 90's GM product in the shop and the DEXCOOL turned gelatinous, we could spoon it out of the resovoir. It is way more trouble than its worth. Most manufacturers today are not using DEXCOOL any more, they are using a different version of prop glycol.
Also, most mom and pop stores in the boonies sell standard antifreeze, they might not sell DEXCOOL and since they are not compatable - well, maybe the engineers are thinking ahead.
What ever you do, never mix DEXCOOL with standard antifreeze, it turns very acidic.
Vman

What a good question. Now I always thought that Dex-Cool was a superior antifreeze designed for todays aluminum based engines.

Water wetter?????? Redline???

what are your thoughts on using that is the sleds cooling system :huh:

My 2000 K2500 pickup used Dex-Cool & when I sold it after 4 years & 100,000 klicks (62,000 miles) the coolant still looked OK in my books. Next week I'll see what we're filling our trucks w/ @ work.

174000 mile on my 2000 Silerado with the original Dex-cool in her. still goin great...G

I also ran it in my 98 zr 500 with no problems for 2000 miles before I crashed her.

I had the same thoughts a Cory. If this stuff is supposed to be so great on aluminum I would have thought seeing that a snowmobile engine and its exchangers are 99% then why is it not in there?
Freeze, I have tried wetter water on 2 sleds now and seen a big fat 0 in temp change. Personally I think is is just another gimmick to lighten your wallet of $15.00.
MXZWFO has a different opinion on this subject, he swears by it I swear at it!

I use dexcool in all my cars and never had a problem. I've heard of it gelling up but what do these people do for maintance on there cars ect. I know I like it but haven't put it in the sled yet. Its funny I read this post though, I was thinking of changing it this morning on the drive home from VT.

Originally posted by Mikadoo@Mar 13 2005, 05:11 PM
Freeze, I have tried wetter water on 2 sleds now and seen a big fat 0 in temp change. Personally I think is is just another gimmick to lighten your wallet of $15.00.
MXZWFO has a different opinion on this subject, he swears by it I swear at it!
410715


My '94 K1500 Chevy ran hot when the AC was on. The water temp did drop after adding Water Wetter. As for needing it in a sled, most sleds don't have a temp gauge, so how can you quantify any drop in temp? If you're runnning in marginal snow conditions, I don't think Water Wetter going to help.

I tried out the Dex-Cool in my sled a few years ago. It seems I was always overheating when I ran that stuff. Most 500-600 cc twins that run cool won't ever notice the difference.

The green stuff and Water Wetter for me. (at least the green stuff comes in a yellow bottle..)

There's an article here about using water wetter in a asphalt drag sled:

http://www.off-road.com/snowmobile/reviews...aterwetter.html (http://www.off-road.com/snowmobile/reviews/2001/waterwetter/waterwetter.html)

As said above Dex-Cool is junk.

If you get 100,000 miles out of it then your lucky. It should be replaced in your vehicles every 2 years no matter what it looks like.

I have a '98 GMC Jimmy and it should have been replaced but ended up pluggin up my heater core. This happened before I purchased it and it looked ok when I wrote the big check.

Now several months later I needed heat and all I got was cold. $200 in parts and 7 hours of labor later I have heat and new dexcool. While I doubt I will change it to regular anti-freeze I will replace it every year. A couple gallons of dexcool is much cheaper than replacing radiators or heater coils.

As far as my usually cool running 600cc Yamaha. A 50/50 premix of prestone RTU anti-freeze is all it gets.

Originally posted by versatileman@Mar 12 2005, 09:18 PM
I would hope it is because DEXCOOL is pure evil.
It causes more problems in automobiles than I can count.
Yep. It's junk. Talk to mechanics about it and you will find it aint what it's cracked up to be.

Originally posted by revrnd@Mar 13 2005, 12:21 PM
Next week I'll see what we're filling our trucks w/ @ work.
410670


I checked the '05s & we're still filling them from the factory w/ Dex-Cool. So I guess my brother who just bought a new K2500HD should drain the stuff & put Prestone in it?

That would be my recomendation.
Vman

It is amazing the amount of misinformation that exists on the Net.

One thing that is true, Dexcool is NOT for people that don't maintain their vehicles well. If you are one of those people that don't keep your coolant at the proper level, or don't follow the proper fill procedures, stick to the regular antifreeze.

Dexcool CAN gum if too much air is allowed into the coolant system OR the system is allowed to run too hot (due to low coolant level). Both can cause the system to develop a sludge mixture.

Contrary to popular belief, the world doesn't end if you mix Dexcool and standard antifreeze. While the practice is not recommended, the manufacturer even states that you simply negate the benefits of the extended life antifreeze once you mix the two. Contaminated systems are to be considered as "filled with standard" coolant if the two are mixed. Only a few small independant tests showed SOME increase it acidity, but none of which could be repeated in further studies.

For every single person here that will name a person or friend that has problems with Dexcool, another can be named that has easy seen 150,000+ miles and beyond. There is a reason OTHER than chance why some get low mileage and some get high.

Bottom line: If your vehicle is relatively maintained properly, Dexcool with outperform standard coolant 3 to 1 every time.

BTW, you shouldn't use ANY extended antifreeze in a system not designed for it. The cooling system components are selected based on what type of coolant will be used and there are some differences, right down to the type of welds and fittings used. Leave the extended life antifreezes' for the systems designed to use it.

:withstupid: In my opinion, unless you have a very good reason to do otherwise, you should use the manufacturer recommended antifreeze for your vehicle. The manufacturer has chemists and engineers on staff to figure out the exact best formula to use with the components in your particular vehicle. It's absurd to think that either you or an automotive technician could second guess them in ordinary circumstances.

Dexcool is JUNK. The autos that have 100,000 miles with dexcool will have a water pump or intake gaskets replaced usually with some new dexcool. Mixing green and red antifreeze turns to mud.Leaving it in the system for more than 4 years it goes to jello. There is a new prestone called celcus, that can be used in both types.I recomend it if you want a better grade of antifreeze for the dexcool systems.

Originally posted by SWWebmaster@Mar 16 2005, 04:53 PM
It is amazing the amount of misinformation that exists on the Net.

One thing that is true, Dexcool is NOT for people that don't maintain their vehicles well. If you are one of those people that don't keep your coolant at the proper level, or don't follow the proper fill prcedures, stick to the regular antifreeze.

Dexcool CAN gum if too much air is allowed into the collant system OR the system is allowed to run too hot (due to low coolant level). Both can cause the system to develop a sludge mixture.

Contrary to popular belief, the world doesn't end if you mix Dexcool and standard antifreeze. While the practice is not recommended, the manufacturer even states that you simply negate the benefits of the extended life antifreeze once you mix the two. Contaminated systems are to be considered as "filled with standard" coolant if the two are mixed. Only a few small independant tests showed SOME increase it acidity, but none of which could be repeated in further studies.

For every single person here that will name a person or friend that has problems with Dexcool,* we can name another that has easy seen 100,000+ miles and beyond. There is a reason OTHER than chance why some get low mileage and some get high.

Bottom line: If your vehicle is relatively maintained properly, Dexcool with outperform standard coolant 3 to 1 every time.

BTW, you shouldn't use ANY extended antifreeze in a system not designed for it. The cooling system components are selected based on what type of coolant will be used and there are some differences, right down to the type of welds and fittings used. Leave the extended life antifreezes' for the systems designed to use it.
411526



Ditto's Webmaster, I couldn't have explained it better. I run Dexcool in everything with no problems.

Originally posted by Valley runner@Mar 16 2005, 10:23 PM
Dexcool is JUNK.* The autos that have 100,000 miles with dexcool will have a water pump or intake gaskets* replaced* usually with some new dexcool. Mixing green and red antifreeze turns to mud.Leaving it in the system for more than 4 years it goes to jello. There is a new prestone called celcus, that can be used in both types.I recomend it if you want a better grade of antifreeze for the dexcool systems.
411607


Sorry Valley Runner, but this is just bad information.

Forget the colors of antifreeze, they just cause more confusion. The end result is that Dexcool and most standard antifreezes are ethylene glycol based, just with different performance additives and chemical inhibitors. The problem with mixing the two is that you quickly change the additive packages, rendering much of the benefits of extended-life fluid useless. Again, ANY system that is filled with Dexcool that has been contaminated by standard antifreeze should be considered "filled with standard". It is no longer a 5 year / 150,000 mile fluid.

It has also been said in this thread that most manufactures no longer use a Dexcool type fluid. Again this is wrong. Even the latest and greatest Zerex G-05, approved by Ford and Daimler-Chrysler, is an ethylene glycol based fluid using the same Organic Acid Technology (OAT) that Dexcool uses. It's only main difference is the addition of hybrid OAT that utilizes both organic and inorganic acids to protect metal, which allows back-words compatibility with older, standard coolant systems. You still shouldn't mix the two though, it will again render these additive packages useless.

I feel it is important to also address another incorrect statement. Manufacturers are not rushing to propylene glycol. While it is less toxic that ethylene glycol, once used it picks up heavy metals like any other coolant, making it toxic. I agree that it is better for the environment and generally much less toxic in virgin form (in low amounts), but it also has it's pros and cons. Just remember, most manufacturers caution on the use of propylene glycol due to its low thermal transfer coefficient.

BTW Valley Runner, Prestone's latest and greatest long life coolant uses the same Organic Acid Technology as Dexcool.

Wow guys this really turned high tech!
And here I just thought the reason for the switch was mainly for being enviromentaly save and maybe a better cooling fluid.... :cool:

SWWebmaster here is some more bad information (http://www.wcpo.com/wcpo/localshows/dontwasteyourmoney/20299ce7.html) also check out the lawsuits at the bottom of the page.

I don't think that you can blame all the failed GM intake gaskets on Dex-Cool. I do probably 3 or 4 intake jobs a month, some with nasty looking Dex-Cool and some with perfectly fine looking Dex-Cool. I think that most of the problem is in the design of the plastic/rubber gaskets not the coolant used. The 150,000 "lifespan" does not mean that you don't have to check it occasionly. Just my .02

Failed intake gaskets? We started seeing them in the early eighties as soon as the manufacturers went to aluminum intake manifolds, long before Dex-Cool came along.

Thats true, I was talking about the plastic ones used on the newer GM's like the 3.8s, 4.3s & the small blocks.

Intake gasket leaking/breaking I know nothing about that except a $600 bill :p

BTW when I got my oil change the other day the technician noted that i should be running Dexcool

Yet when I got my rad flushed I had regular before and they put regular back in ,then when I got my intake gasket replaced they put the regualr green stuff and said it was better for my engine then Dexcool when I inquired about Dexcool

Originally posted by Valley runner@Mar 17 2005, 07:27 PM
SWWebmaster here is some more bad information (http://www.wcpo.com/wcpo/localshows/dontwasteyourmoney/20299ce7.html) also check out the lawsuits at the bottom of the page.
411844

LOL. And since it is on a local news channel and a few attorneys are looking for a payday, it MUST be true. Did you skip over the 40 million vehicles currently running this fluid?

With that many vehicles, you are ALWAYS bound to have a few problems. Noone is questioning that. But all manufacturers have a few issues with vehicles when they sell that many, with all kinds of components. Engine, trans, AC, suspension, etc.

Just find me ONE real study that proves your stance. If there really is a big problem and this fluid is "junk" as you say, it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to prove. Unfortunately, none are out there. Nearly all of this so called "expert testimony" comes from users on Internet message forums.

BTW, much of this misinformation was promoted by oil technicians at quick lube locations to begin with. You'll hear the Dexcool story, along with many other fluid stories, countless times at certain mechanics and quick lubes. It is one heck of a sales tool for selling you a $75.00 radiator flush.

Maintain your vehicle properly, check it over at the recommended service intervals, and take a deep breath. You'll be find. And to those that keep having coolant issues I issue another important reminder:

Make sure that you keep your engine oil at the proper level. We wouldn't want to see a "huge" motor issue due to bad oil. :cool:

FYI: Here is a few excerpts from a study on Dexcool. I can find some, can you?

A Review of GM’s DEX-COOL® Video by John Brunner

While most conventional “green” coolants contain silicates in their inhibitor chemistry, DEX-COOL is a non-silicated coolant. General Motors first started installing it at some of their assembly plants after the 1995 Memorial Day shut down. With the exception of Saturn, the rest of the 1996 models were filled with DEX-COOL following the year-end changeover.

Extended life advantage. The recommended change period for those vehicles factory filled with DEX-COOL in 1995 and 1996 model years is 5 years or 100,000 miles, whichever came first. For 1997 models and later the change interval is 5 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Inspecting for coolant contamination. General Motors and Texaco engineers obtained the data contained in this report while examining the coolant in about two thousand 2, 3, and 4 year old GM returned lease vehicles. Note that though the engineers did observe limited coolant contamination in certain models, the vast majority of them were contaminant free.

The culprit: low coolant! All vehicles that showed contaminated cooling systems shared one common condition: low coolant. Low coolant level in the radiator allows a “beachhead” type of deposit accumulation in much the same way that ocean waves deposit sand on the beach. This material can collect on the drop-center valve at the bottom of the radiator cap and prevent it from sealing. Without that seal, the coolant boiling temperature is reduced to 226°F. Sealed to 15 psi, it will not boil before 265°F. The lack of pressure and premature boiling allow an already under filled coolant reservoir to completely empty itself and leave the radiator tank with a substantial air pocket or beachhead. Always test the pressure cap and replace it if it fails to hold proper pressure...

... GM’s Jay Dankovich and Equilon Enterprises’ (Texaco) Stede Granger directed a 2-year study of thousands of DEX-COOL cooled vehicles. Armed with the results, they really didn’t have anything bad to say about the coolant. In fact, they strongly defended the product’s reputation. What they revealed to the audience is that specific models of GM vehicles have specific cooling system contamination problems. And essentially, that DEX-COOL is not the culprit!

Their presentation started with a 14-minute video that is now being circulated to technicians at GM dealers nationwide. In the video, GM’s trainers succinctly described the problems that have been found and the corresponding corrective actions to be taken by technicians...

...Besides the video, Jay and Stede included their personal observations about the study. At the end, they fielded several questions from the audience. Here’s a recap of their entire presentation.

1. Keep the cooling system filled. In fact, fill the reservoir bottle to “Hot” level when the system is cold. Problems arise when a system’s coolant level is not maintained. (Fleet vehicles receiving regular maintenance, and with reservoirs kept slightly above normal, do not show signs of contamination. This even applies to the specific “problem” vehicles.)

2. The coolant problems found in this study were caused by system contamination, and not due to the breakdown of DEX-COOL.

3. Check and keep the pressure cap clean and functioning. A contaminated and/or malfunctioning cap causes low coolant levels, which in turn causes overheating and a greater loss of coolant: the notorious vicious cycle. No matter what the vehicle, if the cooling system acts suspiciously, test the pressure cap.

4. On the ST vehicle models mentioned in the GM DEX-COOL video, you “must” replace all suspect radiator caps, especially those with a Drop-Center design, with a Stant Model 10230 or 11230 (Spring-Center type). (Just do it.)

5. Make sure that the coolant is at a 50-50 mix. Often, the flush water was not being removed from the engine block. Consequently, when a 50-50 mix is added to the system the resultant mixture could approach 30-70. Like any fluid that has been diluted beyond its recommended levels, the lowered level of inhibitors will not be able to protect the coolant system effectively. Low levels of inhibitors can cause pitting on aluminum surfaces and general corrosion of cooling system metals.

6. A safe method of achieving a true 50-50 mix is to first determine the actual capacity of the system (use the owner’s manual). Then add 50% of “that” amount of undiluted DEX-COOL (or any coolant), and top it off with water.

7. Mixing a “green” coolant with DEX-COOL reduces the batch’s change interval to 2 years or 30,000 miles, but will otherwise cause no damage to the engine. In order to change back to DEX-COOL however, the cooling system must first be thoroughly drained and flushed.

8. Bacteria cannot live in a hot, Ethylene Glycol environment and is therefore not a threat to DEX-COOL.

9. While there have been intake gasket failures on CK Series, V8 powered vehicles for various reasons, DEX-COOL has never been found as a cause.

10. Use a refractometer to check the condition of DEX-COOL. Its inhibitor package is strong enough that if the batch still provides proper freeze protection, it is probably still providing proper corrosion protection as well.

11. DEX-COOL can handle the minerals in hard water better than silicated conventional chemistry coolants. Drinkable water is suitable for top off....

There are about [40] million GM vehicles on the road with factory installed DEX-COOL. This study affirmed that in the vast majority of these vehicles, it is truly delivering the promised long service life. Keep the system cleaned and pressurized and any vehicle can achieve that level of performance.

--END STUDY EXCERPTS* * *

Its a more "aggressive" than regular coolant. I don't like it, and I run the service dept. in a big Chrysler dealer. I use Prestone in my stuff with water wetter.

Excerpts from a Ford study on dexcool[quote]The inhibitor 2-EHA poses another issue: It's a plasticizer (softens plastic), so it has been blamed for coolant passage gasket leakage. Softening (and the resulting distortion) was reported by Ford, which encountered gasket leakage problems when it tested a DexCool-type formula on its V8 engines. Ford also saw similar issues with other gasket materials... Ford and Chrysler Group use G-05, a low-silicate, no-phosphate formula long specified by Mercedes, even for its passenger car diesels. End quote. Doesn't it make you wonder why the other manufactures don't use dexcool? Nuff said.

Originally posted by Valley runner@Mar 18 2005, 08:31 PM
Excerpts from a Ford study on dexcool

The inhibitor 2-EHA poses another issue: It's a plasticizer (softens plastic), so it has been blamed for coolant passage gasket leakage. Softening (and the resulting distortion) was reported by Ford, which encountered gasket leakage problems when it tested a DexCool-type formula on its V8 engines. Ford also saw similar issues with other gasket materials... Ford and Chrysler Group use G-05, a low-silicate, no-phosphate formula long specified by Mercedes, even for its passenger car diesels.
412142


You forgot to include the rest of this "so-called" study:

...Could that inhibitor be responsible for the intake manifold coolant gasket leakage on GM 60° V6 engines? Or is there some other service issue involved? (After all, GM isn't the only one with coolant gasket leakage problems.) The experts are still working on it....

and

... The original radiator cap design was blamed for some of the issue, but there probably are a number of causes, including owner neglect and normal seepage...


BTW, this is not a study. It is simply an article written by someone for a magazine.