this link is a little old, may of this year

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...605230333/1014

 

OK people having finally read all of this thread I feel it's time for my 2 cents. I have worked for a Chevy dealer since 1997. I have also owned several G.M. vehicles equipped with dex-cool engine coolant,(96 Corsica, 96 Grand-Prix, 97 Cavalier, 98 K-1500 pickup) and still own one (97 T-Blazer). ALL of these vehicles were also equipped with an ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE GAUGE, which is intended to warn the operator of malfunctions with the cooling system, and they tend to do a good job of this. I change the oil and filter every 3000 miles on all my vehicles and when I do I lube the chassis, (where applicable) check and correct the tire pressures, air filter, lube all of the door hinges and latches and check and TOP-OFF all fluid levels. I NEVER open my hood any other time unless one of my gauges indicates a problem or there is some driveability concern, which never happens on G.M. vehicles, that's why I love-em'. Notice that I did not state that I flush my cooling systems.

My 96 Corsica I bought new at Zanesville Chevrolet in June of 1996 it was a 3100 V6 with a 4t60E transaxle. In December 2001 the car had accumulated 120,000 miles and the water pump started leaking. The car still had the factory filled dex-cool and I never had to add a drop to it. When I drained the radiator that day to replace the water pump the dex-cool still looked like orange kool-aid and there was absolutely no other concerns with the cooling system. That's 5.5 years and 120,000 miles and absolutely no problems!!
I have also personally had NO concerns with any dex-cool filled system on my own vehicles. I have to say that I have seen MANY MANY problems with dex-cool where I work, but here is a very interesting fact; Of all of the litterally thousands of G.M. cars and trucks that we service day-in and day-out, I have ONLY seen the MUD/SLUGE problem in the 4.3 equipped S and T trucks (blazer,s-10,sonoma,jimmy,bravada etc.) I have never seen any kind of sediment build up in ANY other type of vehicle including the 2.2 s trucks. Therefor I believe (and this is only one man's opinion) that it is a problem with heat disipation or something along those lines with the S and T trucks with a 4.3 engine. We all know how tight things are under these hoods. But that being said and as far as the maintenance thing goes, my brother bought my 97 blazer new and I have serviced it for him and myself ever since. The dex-cool in it was NEVER changed (I did top it off a couple of times at service intervals) until my sister-in-law rear-ended someone in late 2003 when it had 99,112 miles on it, this is when I bought it from my brother and replaced the front sheet-metal,radiator, condenser etc.. The dex-cool still looked like new just like my Corsica did.

Now that you have read the long story, (sorry) here's the short one, Dex-cool is no worse than the old stuff! I mean honestly guys how many times have you opened the cooling system on an ethelyne-glycol (green) equipped vehicle and saw a dirty, rust-brown colored liquid that used to be bright green? The supposed law-suits are just a result of EXPECTED LIFE of the coolant. I say keep em' full and watch those gauges!

 

Now that you have read the long story, (sorry) here's the short one, Dex-cool is no worse than the old stuff! I mean honestly guys how many times have you opened the cooling system on an ethelyne-glycol (green) equipped vehicle and saw a dirty, rust-brown colored liquid that used to be bright green? The supposed law-suits are just a result of EXPECTED LIFE of the coolant. I say keep em' full and watch those gauges!



Does the green stuff turn into acid and then start eating all the cooling system metal and intake gaskets when air get's into it like Deathcool does?
Also, I don't think that the "supposed law-suits are just a result of EXPECTED LIFE of the coolant" People don't file class action law-suites because their deathcool did'nt last the whole 5 years. But this is only my Opinion, and 20,000 other people's too.

 

Ok, I've read through this post and kept up with it and I guess I'll throw my 1 cent in..lol. I have had moderate problems with the fluid in the overflow container becoming brownish, and a heater core that is partially plugged with hardened dexcool, but I dont completely blame GM, I'm sure there has been air in the system at one point, it happens, no matter how good you keep your maintenance. I had to replace my radiator recently because of a small leak, it also had a brown film, but I'm not going to sue or complain to the dealership for the $200. With as many miles I have put on my Blazer, I consider that relatively normal wear and tear. I probably contributed to it by converting to green without having a complete 5 min. chemical flush, who knows. The simple fact is air will get into the system at some point - consider that your 50/50 mix is half water. Water + Air + Steel or Iron = Rust. If you top off your radiator with the garden hose your are adding the metals in your tap water to the system also.

On the other hand, those owners with cars with only say 20,000 miles that are filled with brown sludge or sand have every right to complain. 20,000 is an awfully short useful life span of any coolant, that is a sign of a defect with the cooling system in that specific vehicle. Those owners should get compensation. But if it turns to sludge at 99,900 miles and you report it at the end of the usefull life and expect full compensation, thats asking an awful lot, a lot can happen in 99,900 miles, including bad maintenance.

These problems dont just happen overnight, the film builds up over time, giving you time to notice it before you need a new engine. Typically the first places for buildup are in the overflow tank, and at the cap, the two places that most people check, you have several thousand miles to catch it in most cases. And for those that dont do your own maintenance, most oil change places check your coolant levels and air filter and let you know if it needs topped up or changed.

 

And 20,000 divided by the total number of vehicles produced with dexcool is... Exactly.

And please do-tell where you got the information that Dexcool turns into acid when in the presence of air... The problem stems from the fact that dexcool does not coat the internal metals like ethelyne-glycol (which reduces said coolants cooling capacity I might add - I can elaborate if necessary). As a result, there is not a protective film if air is allowed into the system. If air is allowed to remain in the system, corrosion will set in.

Dexcool does not eat gaskets. That is completely false. Do not blame a poor gasket design on a coolant. GM has had a problem with intake manifold gaskets LONG before they switched to Dexcool. And it is quite possible that a blown intake gasket has caused air to be introduced into the cooling system, yada-yada-yada.

 

It really is simple, water and steel need air before the oxidation process begins. My dad had a 96 C2500 that blew an intake manifold gasket at 75K, it only had Dexcool for 30 miles of its life, it was almost instantly changed to the Prestone environmentally-friendly stuff that was being produced at the time, I agree with Kyle on the intake manifold gasket debate, it was a poor design, not a very precise fitment at the location where most fail.

 

Customers have complained of problems ranging from small coolant leaks to complete radiator and engine failure. Court documents show that GM has received tens of thousands of repair requests related to Dex-Cool and engine gaskets in the affected models and considered recalls for some models.

The company has issued several technical bulletins to its dealers about cooling-related problems in the engines, but says it prefers to handle customer complaints on a case-by-case basis.
The troubles blamed on Dex-Cool range from leaking coolant to blown engines, and often include failed intake manifold gaskets, pieces that rest between the engine block and the air intake to prevent coolant and oil from leaking. Replacing a gasket usually runs about $700, but a bad gasket can cause enough damage that the engine has to be replaced.

Mark Reynolds, a radiator repair shop owner in San Carlos, Calif., says he sees one or two GM vehicles a week with Dex-Cool problems. A typical repair requires flushing the cooling system and in some cases taking the radiator apart.

"It's a shame -- vehicles in their fourth or fifth year with this awful, gooey mud attacking the top of the radiator cap and fouling up the radiator,"

 

And you can quote from the article linked to above... What's the point?

 

The intake manifold gasket is a problem of not enough material around where the water neck enters the top/front of the engine, the gasket breaks out on its side and floods the closest cylinder, and its a chain reaction from there. This is what the head tech told us at the local dealership, and showed us the gasket that came out of my dad's truck. This problem has been present in the 262 (4.3), 305, and 350 for years now.

 

I didn't take time to read all the posts here, but i figured I'd chime in as well. I bought my 99 4wd blazer from my sister who got it new from gm. I bought it in 2001 and it had 32000 miles on it. I had all the fluids changed at the local dealer and the service advisor pointed out some "abnormal" corrosion in my radiator. The trans cooler, the part visible when you take the cap off, was RED and fuzzy looking. YEP, it was rust. They said they'd powerflush blah, blah, blah ad nauseum.....but no warranty replacement. Anyway, I've had the system flushed a half dozen times since then, and if it wasn't for the fact that my 94 Toyota p/u was sooooooo dependable, I'd have driven the blazer more and probably flushed the system a dozen more times. Anyway, i've replaced every cooling system part except the radiator a time or two because I was just too lazy or stupid to do it all at once, maybe I should have said too poor??? Well, i just installed a Visteon and a new heater core and new hoses and the water pump is awaiting. I guess the fault may have been my sisters for not taking the time to monitor the coolant properly, but then again, I've been taking care of my cars for years, for better or worse and I've never seen the Green do this kind of damage to a relatively new, low mileage vehicle. I personally will never put dexcool in anything I own.