GM Van Drivers.....

[R W]

Are you switching out your "pink" anti-freeze for the good green stuff after warrantee is up? Most car talk shows are saying to dump the GM Dexicool ASAP for the more traditional green coolant made for the newer GM engines. The Dexi is said to gum up the works after many miles of heat and driving. I've got 66000 on my 03 Express, and it still seems to cool well, and the coolant isn't sludgy.

 

[The Great Oz]

We change out the orange/pink crap as soon as we take delivery. Having to replace radiators (cheaper than having them rodded) gets old fast, and we've never had an issue with Prestone at the dealership. I'm pretty sure the dealer mechanics would tell you, maybe off the record, that they'd do the same thing.

 

[floorguy]

my neighbor brought this up to me...he has 2, astro and savannah. And I have 2, express, and my box..

he had to replace a radiator, i have yet to in mine..(van i have had 5 yrs, box 1.5) van has 240k on it, and looking inside (what you can see anyway) it looks a "little" thick..But it does have the lubricating properties in it right??? And it feels a little slimy...so fook it...

granted i am wanting to sell the express i think...get a bike or something for bid runs..

 

[Scott S.]

coolant is supposed to be changed after so many miles, it doesnt last forever no matter what type it its.. i cant remember what the schedual is for it. but read your owners manual and it will tell you..

 

[Chris A]

Are you switching out your "pink" anti-freeze for the good green stuff after warrantee is up? Most car talk shows are saying to dump the GM Dexicool ASAP for the more traditional green coolant made for the newer GM engines. The Dexi is said to gum up the works after many miles of heat and driving. I've got 66000 on my 03 Express, and it still seems to cool well, and the coolant isn't sludgy.

So does my 09 Express still use Dex-Cool?

 

[Jimmy L]

Switched it out in the spring and I sleep alittle better after reading all the horror stories about
DeXcOOl.

 

[Fletch]

Pink fluid/ green fluid...

Don't worry, a Government panel will decide for you soon! :?

 

[sweendogg]

Here is the problem with the radiator fluids. Most people do not attempt to maintain their fluid levels on a regular basis or even change them until they have a problem where they have low coolant and then grad whatever they can get their hands on to "fix" the problem. The probem is when they start mixing the green and the red. The Dexcool in itself is very stable if you maintain it with dexcool. And likewise with the green stuff. However mixing the two creates the gummy mess that shuts down radiators and cracks and cooling systems. 90% of the time the people who have complained about that issue are the ones who have inadvertanly mixed the stuff. So whatever stuff you want to use, pick it, and stick with it. But make sure if you switch to flush the bejeezus out of it first.

 

[Willy P]

Get rid of that crap ASAP- the rad is the cheapest thing to replace.Intake manifold gaskets, head gaskets and LOTS of other problems with that crap. Enough to warrant a class action suit:
http://www.girardgibbs.com/dexcool.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automoti ... xcool.html

 

[The Great Oz]

A similar coolant (labeled as "G12") is used in many other cars and is promoted as a lifetime product made specifically for engines that use a lot of aluminum. It turns to an orange sludge instead of the gray grainy Dex sludge.

Prestone Prime is also formulated for aluminum and does not turn to sludge, although Prestone recommends changing it out at 50k.

 

[Loren Egland]

Leaking manifold gasket so when it was fixed the mechanic put in the green stuff instead. Happend on my GM van and my Pontiac minivan.

 

[The Magician]

Hey RW that crap caused my intake manifold to leak. My mcechanic changed over to the green stuff. When you change it make sure its proplerly all flushed out or you will have problems with the 2 different types.

 

[-JB-]

or you will have problems with the 2 different types.

...and that right there is why I don't recommend any certain type of carpets to customers, once I explained all the benefits of oly and nylon to a customer, so he did the "smart thing", and went out n bought a blend of both so he would get all the benefits.

Thing is, he got all the problems too!

Within less than a year all the oly went "flat" and the nylon stayed up, looked like a runway in all the traffic ares in no time.

 

[blaisesdaddy]

changed mine last summer...unfortunately, I also had to change the radiator, water pump, and the head gasket. my van is a 2004. I have never mixed the orange with green coolants. I maintain my vehicles meticulously (changing coolant yearly). now I am getting ready to change out the two cats closest the front of the van. The way I understand it is, the cats are damaged when the dexcool blows thru the exhaust system (head gasket). I only had 34k miles and 960 hours (Butler) when I did all the repairs. dexcool sucks.

 

[KevinL]

I had to replace my heater core on my Blazer at a cost of $950 after 2 years of no heat.
I read about the class action law suit after it was over. Over 40 million cars affected but only 100,000 people involved in lawsuit because GM didn't bother to notify anyone including their dealers. GM sucks.