Okay, Chevy pickup experts, I need your help! I bought a 1988 Chevy C1500 a few years ago. I have been having issues with my truck's performance and bought the manual to finally start learning about this truck. When reading about antifreeze/coolant, it says a 1988 should be using green antifreeze/coolant, however the previous owner was using orange antifreeze/coolant. I think my truck is suffering because of this. I plan on flushing the radiator including the heater core and put in new antifreeze/coolant, but I am afraid to switch it to the green without confirming that this is the kind that should actually be in the system. I don't want to mess things up.

My question is: WHAT TYPE DO I USE? Please be specific. The more detailed the better, so that I can understand... thanks for your help.

 

Back in 1988 there was only one kind of coolant and its color was green. Orange coolant is called DexCool. Its a GM product and is designed for aluminum and plastics found in newer engines. More modern coolant will not hurt any of the components in your cast iron block as long as ALL of the old green coolant was removed before the DexCool was used., In my opinion. Its easier and less expensive to stay with whats in there now, as long as its not contaminated with green coolant and is not older than 5 years. . I cant understand why orange coolant will hurt anything.

 

Thanks for the quick response. One person that I came across said that having the orange coolant instead of the green was too harsh on my components and could erode things such as seals - that older models weren't designed for the orange. It was so long ago, I don't even remember who. Another guy told me as long as I keep the same type consistent, then my truck would be okay. I have not been able to find a mechanic in my area that knows a lot about old Chevy trucks either, so I thought this forum would be a good place.
It needs to be flushed out, since what's in there is pretty old. I'm wondering if I should replace it with the green type or not?

 

If you remove all of whats in there and thats not easy to do. You can use the DexCool. I stick with the green in my 88 since thats what was in there when I purchased it 17 years ago and the only advantage to the DC is less frequent replacement. Green needs to be swapped out every 2 years. Green is designed for steel and copper. Orange is for plastic and aluminum, but orange works just as well on steel and copper.. You can go either way and you will be fine.

 

Thanks for this explanation. I will keep it in mind. I'm up for the challenge of clearing the system out and switching back to the green coolant.

 

I had the Orange Coolant and i switched to the Green Prestone brand.. Why. The orange is fine. but after i did a major overhaul on my from head gaskets, front gaskets on the main block i switched over to the green stuff.
I did a complete flush and switched over.. Never had any problems with the green .. No problems and happier for it...
One catch... Label the Reserve tank with a label stating you use on the GREEN antifreeze so some mechanics gets a hold of you car they know that they need to use the green stuff instead and warn them.
Orange is not bad if you stick with it since they made so modifications with the coolant so it does not eat your gaskets as much over time. But,, its a choice...

 

Hey there, new here. My 89 has green in it and I've personally never had a problem with anything coolant system related from it. I've been around the block a time or two and owned a lot of these trucks. The only time I've ever seen coolant systems that ran green have issues is A. The engine was overheated B. The vehicle had a bad coolant leak at some point (or still does) and the owner ran a lot of straight water through it. I've seen both before and let me tell you I've cascaded and flushes these things out upwards of 10-15 times before they quit pushing rust out. Seem like if you service the green at least once every couple years they stay good and clean and protected. Green seems extra slick to me too so you know the pumps love it. My .02

Matt

 

Its my understanding that green coolant doesn't degrade from a temperature control perspective. Freeze perspective doesnt wear out. The lubricant for the water pump degrades. It is possible to keep green coolant for longer than 2 years, simply by adding a bottle of water pump lubricant to the radiator.