I have read of numerous problems with DexCool. Our Vs have DexCool from the factory which is not scheduled to be changed until 50000 miles or 5 years. Leaking gaskets, sludge in the cooling system and other problems. Has anyone here experienced problems with DexCool?
I have not and actually switched a 97 dodge truck over to it at around 60,000 and after 300,000 miles have not had one cooling system problem. Thing is with dexcool is to not let it get diluted or contaminated in my experiance. (That goes for any type)
Dexcool got a bad rep in some 3100-3800 series V6 engines in various pontiac's buicks and chevrolet vehicles.
The problem was that the I/M gaskets were poorly designed and were in constant contact with the coolant, when they leaked, they leaked into the I/M essentially(and owners neglected to fix the problem), the coolant acted as a plastizier and screwed up a lot of stuff.
Since then formulation revisions have been made and engineering choices taken to reduce this occurance, but the bad rep sticks to the brand it seems, no matter how many 100K vehicles run fine on the initial fill as the years go on.
The truth is, Dexcool red-tint is as good as G12 from VAG (which is just about as good as it gets aside from maybe BMW's OAT coolant or the stuff from Caterpillar) .
Does it still contain plasticiers that may conduce to problems? Yes. Have I seen anyone post acutal experiences in a normally running engine aside from the problem V6's? No.
Don't run your engine into the ground, fix the leaks as they occur and change your coolant every 3 years at a maximum, and you will never have a problem running dexcool.
M5
You mention Caterpillar ELC do you happen to know if Cat Elc is compatible with dexcool?
I can get Cat Elc much cheaper through work and would like to use that if I could in the V
Would I need to drain all the dexcool and flush it out all together or can I just drain the radiator as much as possible and then just add Cat Elc to the system with the remaining dexcool still in there?
If I can use the Cat I can do a partial drain and fill once a year with not much cost
Thanks for any help
SBB
.
Generally, most OAT phosphate coolants work with each other, for a while.
As a measure of good practice however, I would not try to use ELC and Dexcool in any measurable concentration if you were going to make a switch.
I would highly suggest if going the ELC route to invest in some kind of home-made flushing kit and buy a lot of distilled water.
ELC is a fantastic coolant, I have no doubt that you could very nearly run the stuff for the life-time of the vehicle when done(pre flushing) properly and the engine is maintained, because they both contain the 2-EHA plasticizers.
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