What is a good brand coolant to use in a C2 these days? I see a Prestone that claims to be Dex-Cool compatible butis recommended for ALL aluminum radiator applications. Before I dump some chemical in my car, I figured I'd put it out there for discussion....
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Re: C2 Antifreeze / Coolant
Michael-----
I think that you'll find quite a bit of discussion on this subject in the recent archives.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: C2 Antifreeze / Coolant
Michael-----
I think that you'll find quite a bit of discussion on this subject in the recent archives.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: C2 Antifreeze / Coolant
Use Zerex G05. This is a "hybrid" anti-freeze product - ethylene glycol based, of course, with primarily an organic corrosion inhibitor package with a small amount of inorganics including a small dose of silicates.
There is some industry concern that pure organic corrosion inhibitor packages such as in Dexcool will not provide adequate protection for conventional solder joints such as in vintage Corvette heater cores.
Conventional inorganic corrosion inhibitor package "green" antifreeze is being phased out of production since it is no longer used by OEMs for new cars.
The industry consensus appears to be that older cars that were OE filled with the green stuff should now use a hybrid like Zerex G-05.
Ford, Daimler Chrysler, and most of the European OEMs are using G-05 for all new cars. Like GM, the Japanese OEs also use a pure organic inhibitor package, but it has a different formulation than Dexcool, which has one component they don't like for a reason I haven't been able to figure out.
Honda is very upset that GM will be using Dexcool in the engines they sell to GM for Saturn. I guess they didn't cover that in the contract negotiations!
DukeComment
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Re: C2 Antifreeze / Coolant
Use Zerex G05. This is a "hybrid" anti-freeze product - ethylene glycol based, of course, with primarily an organic corrosion inhibitor package with a small amount of inorganics including a small dose of silicates.
There is some industry concern that pure organic corrosion inhibitor packages such as in Dexcool will not provide adequate protection for conventional solder joints such as in vintage Corvette heater cores.
Conventional inorganic corrosion inhibitor package "green" antifreeze is being phased out of production since it is no longer used by OEMs for new cars.
The industry consensus appears to be that older cars that were OE filled with the green stuff should now use a hybrid like Zerex G-05.
Ford, Daimler Chrysler, and most of the European OEMs are using G-05 for all new cars. Like GM, the Japanese OEs also use a pure organic inhibitor package, but it has a different formulation than Dexcool, which has one component they don't like for a reason I haven't been able to figure out.
Honda is very upset that GM will be using Dexcool in the engines they sell to GM for Saturn. I guess they didn't cover that in the contract negotiations!
DukeComment
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Thanks!
Thanks for a most informative answer... Zerex it is! I used to work in the automotive chemical industry but I'm now about as dated as green anti freeze....Comment
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Thanks!
Thanks for a most informative answer... Zerex it is! I used to work in the automotive chemical industry but I'm now about as dated as green anti freeze....Comment
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Re: C2 Antifreeze / Coolant
Recently my 2001 impala had an intake gasket leak at 75,000 mi. The car uses Dexcool. Searched the net to find there are some claims Dexcool is causing some problems with gaskets, several cases had noted milage of around 75,000 miles when the problem occurred. There are two pending lawsuits against GM. Spoke to a friend who was a GM mechanic and now teaches mechanics. He claims there is no problem with Dexcool and gaskets.
Anyone have further information re Dexcool? Gasket failure due to other problems? Newer vettes reporting problems?
Just changed antifreeze on the 63 to G05 as per recomendations on this board.
Thanks,
JComment
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Re: C2 Antifreeze / Coolant
Recently my 2001 impala had an intake gasket leak at 75,000 mi. The car uses Dexcool. Searched the net to find there are some claims Dexcool is causing some problems with gaskets, several cases had noted milage of around 75,000 miles when the problem occurred. There are two pending lawsuits against GM. Spoke to a friend who was a GM mechanic and now teaches mechanics. He claims there is no problem with Dexcool and gaskets.
Anyone have further information re Dexcool? Gasket failure due to other problems? Newer vettes reporting problems?
Just changed antifreeze on the 63 to G05 as per recomendations on this board.
Thanks,
JComment
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Re: C2 Antifreeze / Coolant
There is some controversy and lots of Dexcool Web bashing. One early problem was sludging and rust that GM blamed on running low coolant level for extended mileage. GM wrote a couple of service bulletins on the problem back about four or five years ago.
I've not heard of Dexcool causing gasket failures, but Dexcool has been blamed for just about anything that can go wrong with a car.
I've been using it in all my cars since 1996 with no significant problems, but I will switch the vintage cars and my '88 Mercedes to G-05 at the next coolant change. The one exception is the '91 MR2. I will either use Dexcool or switch it to Toyota antifreeze, which has a pure organic inhibitor package that is different than Dexcool.
The one problem I've had that might be Dexcool related are some minor leaks at hose clamps. Since Dexcool has no inorganic salts it will not deposit precipitates that will tend to plug seeps like green stuff does. Of course, for similar reasons, it will not clog up radiator tubes. I'd rather deal with some minor seeps than have to rebuilt or replace the radiator twice as often.
The OEMs throw a couple of Bar's Leak tablets in the cooling system at initial fill, but I've never added any Bar's Leak tablets to my coolant systems.
My recommendation for GM cars originally filled with Dexcool is to keep using it, but I also see no harm in switching to G-05 on GM cars that were originally filled with Dexcool.
DukeComment
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Re: C2 Antifreeze / Coolant
There is some controversy and lots of Dexcool Web bashing. One early problem was sludging and rust that GM blamed on running low coolant level for extended mileage. GM wrote a couple of service bulletins on the problem back about four or five years ago.
I've not heard of Dexcool causing gasket failures, but Dexcool has been blamed for just about anything that can go wrong with a car.
I've been using it in all my cars since 1996 with no significant problems, but I will switch the vintage cars and my '88 Mercedes to G-05 at the next coolant change. The one exception is the '91 MR2. I will either use Dexcool or switch it to Toyota antifreeze, which has a pure organic inhibitor package that is different than Dexcool.
The one problem I've had that might be Dexcool related are some minor leaks at hose clamps. Since Dexcool has no inorganic salts it will not deposit precipitates that will tend to plug seeps like green stuff does. Of course, for similar reasons, it will not clog up radiator tubes. I'd rather deal with some minor seeps than have to rebuilt or replace the radiator twice as often.
The OEMs throw a couple of Bar's Leak tablets in the cooling system at initial fill, but I've never added any Bar's Leak tablets to my coolant systems.
My recommendation for GM cars originally filled with Dexcool is to keep using it, but I also see no harm in switching to G-05 on GM cars that were originally filled with Dexcool.
DukeComment
Comment