# "Dex Cool" - the 'red' Antifreeze....



## Slug-Gunner

If your vehicle has the "red" DexCool antifreeze in it.... read this link !

Suggestion: 
Be sitting down and have any blood pressure meds handy as you read the link.

BTW:
There is a "class-action" law-suite pending regarding "Dex-Cool".
'Google' "Dex-Cool coolant" for more info.


Slug-gunner


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## CAL

Man,I am holding my breath till I can check all my radiator equipment.This could be a horror story.


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## tylernext

i changed mine back to the green coolant.no problems with the sludge.


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## BBQBOSS

haven't had any problems with my '99 silverado.  i have 150K miles on it and have always used the red stuff...  maybe it will tear up soon so i can get a new truck!  haha


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## Oldstick

tylernext said:


> i changed mine back to the green coolant.no problems with the sludge.



That is what you need to do as soon as possible if you have this "Dex Cool" stuff.  My brother in law had his Pontiac minvan ruined by it, just like those described in those stories.  Apparently it has some sort of acid properties that causes rust and corrosion.


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## bull0ne

Been waiting on the other shoe to drop.............that stuff is toxic to your vehicle!


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## AccUbonD

97 chevy here with dex-coolant. In 04 had to replace radiator.Starting leaking bad on the bottom of the radiator.It was ate slap up.


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## Davans

Dex-Cool is used in MANY manufacturesr vehicles under Many different brand names.

The problems is not Dex-Cool or GM's

Dex-Cool is an Organic Acid base formula.
It is pre-mixed with Distilled ( mineral-free water )

The problem accures when shops and vehical owners mix tap water with the coolant.

Tap water renders the corrosive qualities of an Organ Acid based coolant ineffective.

I don't use it or any other organic acid based coolants in anything that that I own and have to service. However Dex-Cool will work fine for years in any vehical as long as it is mixed properly with Distilled water.

If you own a vehical with these type of coolants there is no need to drain it unless you or someone else has added tap water.

Ethylene Glycol ( The Green Stuff ) still works great and can be mixed with tap water.


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## AccUbonD

Davans said:


> Dex-Cool is used in MANY manufacturesr vehicles under Many different brand names.
> 
> The problems is not Dex-Cool or GM's
> 
> Dex-Cool is an Organic Acid base formula.
> It is pre-mixed with Distilled ( mineral-free water )
> 
> The problem accures when shops and vehical owners mix tap water with the coolant.
> 
> Tap water renders the corrosive qualities of an Organ Acid based coolant ineffective.
> 
> I don't use it or any other organic acid based coolants in anything that that I own and have to service. However Dex-Cool will work fine for years in any vehical as long as it is mixed properly with Distilled water.
> 
> If you own a vehical with these type of coolants there is no need to drain it unless you or someone else has added tap water.
> 
> Ethylene Glycol ( The Green Stuff ) still works great and can be mixed with tap water.



You might be right.After reading your post I went out and took cap off to see if I could see any corrosion or build up that was present before my first radiator was replaced.There was none visible, but at the same time I can't remember ever adding tap water to my radiator before the replacement.


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## Oldstick

How much tap water does it take to cause that?  

And about how many years does it work fine if you don't touch it?


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## Davans

I believe it is rated @ 5 years / 100.000 miles.

I can't recall what amount of tap water it takes to brake down the corrosion protection. But it seems like it is around 1/3 cooling system capacity but i'm not sure.

I'll e-mail a buddy that will have that info and get back with you.


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## GoldDot40

Slug-Gunner said:


> If your vehicle has the "red" DexCool antifreeze in it.... read this link !
> 
> Suggestion:
> Be sitting down and have any blood pressure meds handy as you read the link.
> 
> BTW:
> There is a "class-action" law-suite pending regarding "Dex-Cool".
> 'Google' "Dex-Cool coolant" for more info.
> 
> 
> Slug-gunner


You just now hearing about this??? Dex-Cool problems have been around since it was introduced in late '96.

In all the years I was in auto service, I received/read TSB after TSB from GM about the cause of the 'sludge' and the corrosive transformation of 'Dex-Cool' extended-life antifreeze/coolant. The most conclusive investigation that was ever found was the chemical reaction this coolant has when consistently exposed to oxygen. The problem was ultimately traced down to a faulty radiator cap that wouldn't leak....but would allow outside air into the system. I've heard it all from 'mechanics' who think they know what causes the sludge. Here are some of the 'myths' some of you have heard before:

Mixing green and orange coolant causes sludge.....FALSE
The only thing this will do is shorten the life expectancy of the extended life coolant to that of the conventional green. It will definitely cause the coolant to have an unpleasant appearance, but it DOES NOT cause sludge.

Mixing orange coolant with tap water causes sludge.....FALSE
There have been NUMEROUS instances where sludge formed when there was NEVER anything added to the cooling system. That being said, tap water was never introduced into some of these troublesome cooling systems that produced sludge.

Extended life coolant is non-toxic.....FALSE. Anyone who wants to test this, go ahead a drink a glass full and report back on how it went....or not. 

I have flushed the cooling systems on HUNDREDS of GM vehicles using 'Dex-Cool' over the duration that I was in automotive service. I've seen plenty of Dex-Cool equipped vehicles with 80K+ miles on them with NO problems whatsoever. On the other hand, I've seen just as many with less than 30K miles on them with clogged radiators, leaking gaskets/components, and corrosion inside the overflow tanks. I can tell you this, if I had a GM product with Dex-Cool that's under warranty, I'd replace the coolant with conventional green coolant as soon as the warranty was up. You may or may not ever have problems with this stuff. But if/when you do, it can get expensive. It's certainly not worth the risk in my opinion.


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## BBQBOSS

ive always added more orange stuff to mine when it needed it.  i cant remember adding water, ever.  I did have it flushed at 100k though.


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## Slug-Gunner

*More related information on Dex-Cool....*

Here's a quote from a reply on another forum where I posted this same subject on their automotive forum. 




> Camdad wrote:
> If I'm not mistaken, Dex-Cool contains two-ethylhexanoate which is OATs{organic acid technology, Texaco's terminology.} This is a plasticizer, which if anyone has ever done GM intake gaskets, radiator and such you'll notice that they use plastic gaskets with rubber seals or in the radiator plastic side tanks with rubber seals. The two-ethylhexanoate breaks down the plastic and rubber after some time and shops have replaced thousands of them. I've been out of the field for a little while now but I'm pretty sure after market replacement gaskets are available with a better construction. As far as I know, replacing the Dex-Cool with the green has'nt been a problem for me.



Here's a link to the "Dex-Cool discussion" on that forum.

Slug-Gunner


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## ranger1977

I have heard for a while that Dex cool will eventually make gaskets leak.  Is this true or not?


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## matthewsman

*that stuff is the devil*

I had an Isuzu NPR ,99 model I think,with a GM 5.7 or 5.0.Been awhile so I don't remember for sure,I posted on here about it...Water pump went out,velvet coated thanks to dexcool..Then radiator,same thing,couldn't be rodded out gunked up with residue,Intake manifold gasket failed,pinging,sparkknocking whatever you call it...replaced that.(I was at a depot with 11 other bread guys with similar trucks from 97-2006 models,5 of us had the intake manifold gaskets replaced350-400 each)GM and Isuzu said they had no problems with that elsewhere,it was just my bad luck

Finally,after all that,around 70000 miles give or take a few,catastrophic engine failure...said crankshaft broke on a diagonal would crank but not run...rattling, knocking...

New(rebuilt)engine and labor,3 weeks truck rental..5100$


Dexcool,GM,no thank you...I've enjoyed all that I can stand already..........


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## outdoorsman52

the dex cool is bad news i replace intake gaskets and radiators on a weekly basis due to the corrozin from dex cool


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