The 96's came with the pink dexcool stuff correct?......I think so but it has been 10 years since I worked at the ole chevy garage so I may just be confused.....but my question is can I safely swap to the old green coolant?....If I completely drain the old stuff?....problem is mine looks more like muddy water and I live in Germany and can't get dexcool.....[:@] also I'm thinking about chnging my rear diff oil for some new and was wondering what to use....GL5? 80w90?......thanks for the advice

 

Yes you can swap in the green stuff. Just make sure you completely flush the radiaotr, engine, and heater.

 

Sweet! I was wondering the same thing. I've heard nasty nasty things about dexcool and if you get a leak. Something about a rusting engine block. Something I don't wanna be involved with in my New used Blazer. How do you flush the heater???

 

Your rear diff. uses 80W-90 GL5, probably 2-3qts will do. You may want to ck and see if you need the diff additive. There is some gear oil that you do not have to add the additive. The bottle should tell you.


As for the lovely[:@] dexcool, I remember there being a few lawsuits due to the dexcool pitting/ damaging the engine. I would definitely switch to the "green". Make sure you do a real good flush, I did a power flush on mine and still get the rust color so you might get the same.

 

I believe the addative to teh rear axle is if you have a limited slip.

The Dexcool "issue" is from people who don't maintain the system. Its a 5 year fluid, not a 5 year maintenance free system. You still have to make sure it has the proper amount of fluid in it. The "problems" occur when air gets trapped in the system. Its the air that causes the problems, not the Dexcool.

You can put in the green stuff, however it is only good for 3 years.

to flush teh heater it needs to be on

 

Just as a follow up the additive is for limited slip. Most of the higher quality gear oils offer this additive protection so you do not have to worry about the additive.

Here are some things about DexCool I have found;


This site has a large amount of testimonials from consumers and replies from GM regarding DexCool. I highly reccomend this site http://www.consumeraffairs.com/autom...m_dexcool.html


"Girard Gibbs & De Bartolomeo is investigating claims in connection with a class action against General Motors Corporation concerning DEX-COOL.
Customers complain that DEX-COOL forms a sludge-like substance that clogs their vehicles' cooling systems causing them to overheat, and that DEX-COOL corrodes all parts of the engine it comes in contact with including the heater core, water pump, hoses, cap, upper and lower intake manifold gaskets, thermostat, and engine block."
http://www.girardgibbs.com

 

I knew someone was going to bring up that site. It's only the first link on a google search for 'GM Dexcool'.

Here's something STRAIGHT from Texaco & GM:
MACS 2001: GM and Texaco “Bare All� about DEX-COOL

If you are up for some more reading:
Dexcool FAQ

You can find people complaining about the stuff all over the net. Hell, just look at the class-action suit. You will always find people complaining. What you will NEVER hear is how many of those people actually maintained their vehicle. Or how many of them use their garden hose to fill up their radiator. Hard water will cause problems as well. I wouldn't use anything but distilled water in my cooling system.

 

So how often should you flush a vehicle that does use dexcool coolant? All I've seen is "ask your dealer about the specific conditions in your area"

I'm replacing the coolant in my blazer this weekend [b]EDIT:[b] with DEXCOOL coolant. I'm just wondering how often I should do it being that my tag say it should be alright for 5 years, but I know it hasn't been changed in that long, which worries me.

Also, I hear about doing an acid flush to clean out the system, what does this entail, being I know my coolant system has not been very well maintained due to the muddy coolant in the overflow tank, I would like to clean the gunk out of the system.

 

I know where you are comming from Kyle. The only reason I brought it up is due to my personal and the dealerships,(3 won law suits), negative experiences with the stuff. I always follow the 3yr rule, granted the problems did not occur on all DexCool vehicles but the same procedure was used on all of them, so I can not explain why this happens to some and not others, maybe some factors in between visits, I do not think anyone will ever really know unless they follow the customers veh around (LOL), but none the less I have had more problems with the DexCool product than any others, even using the "power" flush and distilled water.

 

well i'm sure that mine wasn't maintained correctly I however want to change that it's just that you can't get dex-cool in Gemrany and no place will ship it to me since it's a hazzardous substance....I don't really mind the 3 years rule anyway.....I have alway flushed mine once a year just to be safe.....it's a pretty cold climate arpund here and block freeze and crack pretty often so to me it's cheap insureance.....thanks for the info guys....I'm going to get that muddy water out today