Had to replace the intake gaskets in my Malibu because of this coolant. Is this stuff going to hurt my 06 Impala (3.5)like it did the 3.1 in my Malibu? Or should I just flush out the factory juice and put in good ol' Prestone? Anyone have any experience along these lines?

 

theres a thing in court about how that chex-dex-mex-cool...ex caused issues. i cannot remember where it is in here but GM pays for the repairs up to like 800 dollars if your vehicles is in the specified year and mileage and type of vehicle. its real specific but yea... if it were me... just to be safe id pump that stuff out an put in prestone or be like my friend and run 100% water lol.

 

GM WATER PUMPS AND OTHER COOLING COMPONETS ARE DEGIGNED TO WORK WITH DEXI-COOL. THOSE ITEMS WILL LAST LONGER WIL DEXI-COOL. YOU MUST CHANGE THE RAD CAP EVERY YEAR TO PRVENT ANY AIR FROM ENTERING COOLING SYSTEM . YOU ALSO NEED TO HAVE ANY LEAKS REPAIRED ASAP. AIR MIXING WITH DEXI -COOL CAUSES DEXI SLUDGE. ALSO THE 5 YEARS OR A 150,000 MILES IS FOR IDEA CONTIONS ONLY, IF YOU READ IT IT ACTUALLY SAYS UP TO 150,000
MILES. IF YOU FLUSH THE COOLANT EVERY 2 YEARS OR 24,000 MILES AND REPLACE THE CAP YOU WILL NEVER HAVE DEXI -SLUDGE. IF YOU CHANGE TO GREEN COOLANT YOU WILL MOST LIKELY HAVE PREMATURE FAILURE. IT IS UNLIKELY THAT DEXI-COOL CAUSED YOUR INTAKE GASKETS TO FAIL. GM HAS HAD MANY PROBLEMS WITH 3.1,3.4 AND 3.8 GASKETS. MANY OF THEM HAVE HAD UPDATED GASKETS / ASSEMBLY PROCEDURES.

 

Thanks for the advice MD. Was thinking of using the Prestone "yellow" which says it will mix with the Dex-Cool. Hadn't heard about the replacement of the cap to prevent air infilteration and Dex-slime(crud), but it sure makes sense. And you're right about the Green ethylene. Since I'm an old person, I can remember changing that stuff once a year (for many years) and the newer mixes are surely an improvement. I appreciate your sharing your knowledgeand your candor.

 

In vehicles that use a seperate coolant reservoir, it is important that the radiator cap works properly. DEX-COOL doesn't protect a cooling system properly if there is air in the system. The air pocket exposes bare metal and allows oxidation of the surface. That is where the sludge comes from, a massive accumulation of oxidized metal from exposed cooling system components. This happens over many thousands of miles and if a person is checking fluid levels reqularly then this underfilled radiator would be discovered. The most common failure of the radiator cap in these systems is the cap properly allows coolant to flow into the reservoir when the system is up to operating temperature, BUT the cap prevents the flow of the coolant back into the radiator when the system cools. This is what causes the air pocket. GM just plain had some bad gaskets. Only the greedy lawyers can twist the facts andconfuse the masses and make them think the DEX-COOL was the cause of the failure. Many cooling systems today do not use an overflow reservoir so the previous failure of the cap is not an issue. If your system is designed for DEX-COOL that is what you should use. I PERSONALLY do not want a coolant that says it mixes with all other coolants because I feel it must be a compromise for compatability. I get my DEX-COOL from my local Chevrolet dealer and I change it every 3 years. I just drain and refill and never saw a need for a flush in a system that is clean.
Note to MDTAHOE, did you know your Caps Lock is stuck ON!?!