Coolant/radiator question
 

I noticed that my coolant reservior was dry and had a layer of crust on the bottom of it...also my radiator was really low on coolant. So last night I drained the radiator...which consisted of what looked like a mud colored substance coming out...I then started the truck and ran hot water through the radiator and the block for about 15 minutes while it was running...I did this until the water started coming out as close to clear as I could get it.

After that I put some Peak radiator flush in, started the truck filled the radiator the rest of the way with water and drove it home...I then drove it to work this morning, so when I got here I popped the hood and looked in the reservior bottle...the stuff in there looks like mud again...so tonight I'm going to drain again and refill with coolant.

Why all the muck?

I guess now that I think about it...sounds like it's just the flush product doing it's job...we'll see how it looks in a few days.

What year is your vehicle? sounds like the original dexcool fluid was mixed with something else. It cant be mixed with other coolants, causes that mud stuff.

If air mixes with dexicool for a long period of time mud happens. This can be cause by a bad rad cap or from a slow long term coolant leak.

I didnt know air could do that too, Thanks MDTAHOE! You are very valueable to this forum, Thanks again for all your input in the threads.:cool:

I hate dex cool. What is the benefit of deathcool besides extended use periods? I love the green antifreeze. Dex always creates that mud crap in every vehicle I've ever seen. I've never had a problem with the green stuff.

Seriously? If so Id rather change it more often than do long term damage to the system. I have just used it since it was purchased and its always fine, it ran low once and I filled it with water since I was in the middle of noware which caused it to mud up, but I repaired the leak and flushed it out and put 100% dex in and its been fine since. What kind of damage does Dexcool cause?

I've heard that dexcool is corrosive and can actually eat away at the gaskets and such...is this true?

Also, I drained my system yesterday, put a new reservior on and refilled the system...I actually used BMW blue coolant...I did this because A) the BMW stuff is the best coolant I've ever seen...period. BMW's tend to run hot and this stuff is just amazing...and B) I work for a BMW dealer and get as much of it as I want for the most part for free through all the techs at work that have extra from warranty jobs that don't require a full gallon.

I have too , I just want to know if it is a fact or just a problem if you add anything to it. I know its expensive but my truck says to only use it, and I know thats not just a sales pitch.

I removed it from my S-10 when I owned it based upon advice from a long time friend/mechanic...and did it again with my current truck.

Both vehicles said to use it...HOWEVER...I've never known ONE person...not ONE single person that said to keep dexcool in their cooling system.

There's even a class action law suit against the stuff:

http://www.girardgibbs.com/dexcool.html