I really need to change the antifreeze in several vehicles, most of which have the original green prestone but also a "new" 97 Chevy PU with 454 and some red colored liquid that looks like water wetter or something. I was reading the hype on the bottles at my local WalMart yesterday and opted not to buy anything till I checked a bit. BTW - I still have 6 gallons of unused Prestone DexCool orange stored, for about 4 years, that I have never used but bought when Duke was suggesting that a few years ago. Seems like I saw Duke talking about G05 or something here.....but found no reference to that number on the new yellow Prestone that says mix with any color....etc. Prestone still sells DexCool for GM....but the labels read the same pretty much as the new yellow. All of the cars I intend to use this in are aluminum radiator and/or engine/head vehicles....and it seems all of them are now suggested for aluminum radiators. I think I remember Duke saying Zerex was different, but not sure, and WalMart didn't carry that. I would rather just use one antifreeze in everything if it is appropriate, but that is secondary to using the best in each. I also remember Duke saying that the clock ticks on antifreeze even when not driven....is that true of new antifreeze still sealed in the jug? Just wondering it the 6 gallons of DexCool style need to go in the trash? ......Thx, Craig
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
It's real simple. Use Dexcool in GM vehicles that had it from the factory.
Use Zerex G-05 in vehicles originally equipped with green antifreeze. If you want to switch a GM Dexcool vehicle to G-05, go ahead, but do a thorough system flush to get all the Dexcool out.
Dexcool has a long shelf life because it has no silicates. Any antifreeze that has silicate has a shelf life - two years for green stuff - probably longer for G-05 since it has a very low silicate concentration.
Duke -
Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
Thx Duke - do you know if a 97 GM truck would have had Dexcool origianlly.....not sure what the clear red is in there now. I will use the Dexcool jugs in that if appropriate, and the G-05 Zerex in the others. Is the Prestone yellow different? It says it mixes with all others.....just curious and thx....CraigComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
IIRC all GM except Saturn switched to Dexcool in '96 or '97. (Saturn switched a year or two later.) Look in your owner's manual.
Prestone sells Dexcool, but I'm not sure what their "yellow" is. Look at their web site.
Dexcool through the plastic expansion tanks looks like Merlot, but it doesn't taste as good.
DukeComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
Hi Craig
I have a 1997 Chevy PU with a 350..A few years ago I had to have the water pumped changed. I had a Radiator shop that I deal with alot do it. He recommened using the green prestone.He said something about the original redish color stuff from the factory tends to gum up and mess up the coolant flow and has taken care of that problem for people by flushing the system and using the GREEN PRESTONE. Since he has been in business for many years and thats his job, I trust him and I switched. I have no problems. If you have doubts, then talk to a reputable Radiator Shop.
JohnComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
Maybe that's why it looks "red" CraigComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
Thx John - I had seen some posting elsewhere about issues with DexCool, but I think Duke mentioned it may have had something to do with stop leak additives on top of the DecCool. Now the green is gone.......new yellow, and maybe Prestone is different than the new Zerex G05......thx!......CraigComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
GM blames the sludging and corrosion issues on running for extended time and mileage with low coolant level.
Consider that GM has now built on the order of 40-50 millions vehicles with Dexcool and they still stand by it. To me that carries more weight that what any radiator shop says or any other body of anecdotal evidence. A radiator shop that rebuilt the radiator in my Cosworth Vega (excellent job - it was actually a restoration) took no stand on the issue.
There was some incompatibility with Bar's Leak and Dexcool when it was first introduced. Bar's Leak ended up making a different formulation for Dexcool, but it's my understanding that they have one product that works with all antifreezes.
DukeComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
Thx Duke - I will probably just use the Prestone branded DexCool product I bought and stored a couple years ago when I do change the coolant in the 97 truck.......and use G05 on the other vehicles that had green in them......CraigComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
That sounds like a good plan. BTW, I'm not picky about Dexcool brand name. It's a patented formulation, and as long as it says "Dexcool" on the label, the vendor has paid the license, and it should be the real McCoy.
I'm changing the antifreeze in my '88 Mercedes 190E 2.6 this week, and I'm replacing the installed Dexcool (which I've been using since 1996) with Zerex G-05.
For years I tried to find out what was "special" about the Mercedes Benz antifreeze that they recommended, but it wasn't until about two or three years ago that I found out it was HOAT - about the time that Ford and Chrysler brands switched to it, and that's about the time Zerex G-05 came on the market. Before that Mercedes was the only supplier, and it was not commercially sold that I know of under any aftermarket brand names.
Mercedes has been using this HOAT formulation for over 20 years. I know it was in my first 190 - an '84, but I'm not sure when they started using it.
GM's recommended change interval for Dexcool is still 5 years/150K miles. Mercedes recommends (with their product or equivalent like G-05) every three years with no mileage limit.
DukeComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
Duke,
sorry I'm going to beat this horse again
on a web site http://www.englefieldoil.com/PDF/Zerex_chart.pdf they list a product called (maxlife) this antifreeze says for (older)vehicles)plus the
G-05 under main applications lists Ford, Daimler-Chrysler and Mmercedes G.M. is not listed, so do you feel that G-05 would be a better choice for C1 vettes with brass radiators even over maxlife thanks for your imput
paulComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
Those "recommendations" are for recent vintage cars, not 40 year old cars.
Once again here is what I recommend:
1. For GM cars originally equipped with Dexcool, continue to use it, however, if you absolutely refuse to use it, thoroughly flush out the system and use Zerex G-05.
2. For ANY car originally equipped with "green antifreeze", which includes all C1-C3 and some C4 Corvettes use Zerex G-05.
The market is FLOODED with various automotive fluids - long life, old car, new car,... whatever, and I can neither keep up with all this market segmentation, nor to I care to.
I do whatever research is necessary to sort out the science while ignoring the marketing hype to find the products that are best for my applications.
One and two above are what I recommend for GM cars of various vintage, and it will remain so unless or until some better science comes along.
The product they call "Maxlife" appears to be conventional green antifreeze, which I consider obsolete and have not used for nearly ten years. The conventional inorganic corrosion inhibitors precipitate out in radiator and heater core tubes and clogs them up. That's why OEs not longer use it, and it will probably disappear from shelfs in the not to distant future.
My research indicates that the hybrid organic acid technology (HOAT) corrosion inhibitor package in Zerex G-05 is superior in both corrosion protection compared to green and has much less tendency to precipitate out deposits that will clog up the tubes. It may also protect solder better than Dexcool, which is why I am switching from Dexcool to G-05 in my older cars that have had Dexcool (with no problems) since the mid-nineties.
Be sure to thoroughly flush systems to remove all traces of the old antifreeze when you are switching to a different technology product.
Duke
DukeComment
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Re: Antifreeze again - Duke?
thanks Duke for clarifying that as to older verus ventage cars, I'm lucky in that my rebuild has just straight h20 in it right now so all I have to do is mix in the antifreeze
paulComment
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