one point i would like to bring up that no one else did, how many of these problems were cause by people topping off a dex cool system with green coolant?? they dont mix well as far as i know

 

There are VERY FEW old type coolants out there and most of them are not available at autoparts stores. EG coolant is getting phased out due to the toxicity of it.

 

what about the the Peak Orginal Green Formula antifreeze? if you go to advance auto and look at it, it says "original green formula" on it. i called Peak's techinal dept. today and they said it has 236-250 PPM's of silicates in it which is rather low right? they also said its a EG based coolant. so is this a good anti freeze to replace my dex cool with? should i have asked them any other techinal questions?

 

1996 Blazer here with 190,000 miles, and a 2002 Corvette Both with Dexcool and the inside of the engines and the inside of the radiators look like brand new. So does the coolant.

Blazer coolant was changed 3 times and the Corvette was changed once. Both using distilled water to mix.

 

IMO, there is no benefit to EG coolants any longer. They wear out much more quickly and do not cool as well as the OAT coolants do.

 

well the only benefit im looking for is that it wont corrode or sludge up my cooling system. i can replace the antifreeze every 2 years no problem. and i cant even get my temperature high anyway . it always stays at that big line between the starting big line and the 210 big line....so will this Peak original formula not sludge up my system?

 

Well this thread has been dead for a couple of month's but I am new so I must add my story. I have a 2002 blazer xtreme. About a year ago I noticed a leak in the top tank of my radiator so I had my mechanic replace the radiator with that he performed a flush of the system and refilled the system. Approx. 2 months ago I started noticing my truck would over heat when sitting at a light or a drive through if I had it in gear once I place it in Neutral from Drive it would go back down to normal operating temperature. I quickly checked my coolant levels and though I was low in the reserve tank it was still about a quarter way above bone dry. I topped it off with 50/50 mix of dexcool. I continued having the overheating problem I the cap still maintained pressure so I knew I did not have cap failure. I also watched the vehicle suck and blow fluid in and out of the reserve tank when operating and cooling off. Finally it got to the point I could not stand watching my truck over heat. Now I remind you this was 10 months after having the radiator replaced and I replaced the thermostat and cap within days of the radiator being replaced.

I opended the radiator and to the horror of my eyes my 10 month old radiator looked like that of which was in those pictures someone posted at the beginning of this thread. I ran 5 radiator flushes back to back and replaced the cap AGAIN which looked just like that of which was in those pictures which was only 10 months old as well. I also had Thermostat failure which was caked and frozen from dex mud. After I flushed the system trying to get rid of all traces of the now Maroon colored old dexcool. I finally refilled the system with dexcool and distilled water 50/50 mix I am on the verge of flushing it again and we will see where I go from there.

 

My truck has Dex-Cool in it. I changed it out almost immediately after I bought it. It was all dark, and nasty with some mud in the radiator, and residue in overflow. I had it flushed clean, and Dex-Cooled again. It still looks pretty good after six months. But I check all my fluids every week, so I will see when it starts to get mucky again. .

 

I HATE DEX-CRAP SOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was buying a water pump every other year because the gaskets on them were EATEN-THROUGH until my mechanic friend told me the problem!!!!!!!!!!!! Switched to the green and haven't had a lick of trouble in years. I HATE DEX-CRAP DEATH-COOL DEATH-CRAP SOOO MUCH!!!!!!!! THAT STUFF IS ACID!!!! NEVER, EVER, EVER AGAIN!!!

Regards,

Thomas

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, but your problem was not due to dexcool which much of the information in this thread, had you read it all, points out. And contrary to your rant above, Dexcool does not turn to acid. That is pure FUD talking. Something else was causing the issue especially considering that most coolants now available (yes, even the green stuff) is a very similar OAT type coolant (as was also pointed out earlier in this thread).