Dexcool or ?

[300sflyer]

Hey folks,

Bought a 42' 2003 Cruisers with 2 Crusader HO 8.1's in it. They have just over 300 hrs, and I suspect the coolant in the engines has never been changed. The overflow bottle has pink antifreeze in it, which I am told is Dexcool. I want to change out the antifreeze in both engines, and am not crazy about Dexcool. Can I use Prestone "mix with anything" antifreeze instead after draining all the old stuff out?

Thanks

 

[gm280]

300sflyer, In my opinion, I would think that if you flushed the old antifreeze out, you could use most anything you like. As far as mixing them, I personally would rather flush and refill myself. JMHO!

 

[bruceb58]

I would just use Dex-Cool which is what GM recommends. The problems people were having was probably not the coolant's fault.

When mixing 50/50 with water, use distilled water.

You don't have to go to GM to buy it. Just go buy the stuff at the autoparts store which is made to DexCool specs.

 

[alldodge]

I would stick with Dex but you can use another type so long as you get all the Dex out. Other types don't play nice together.

 

[300sflyer]

Thanks guys. Think I will flush it all out, and go with the green stuff.

 

[bruceb58]

No matter what type you go with, use distilled water to get the 50/50 mix.

BTW, Dex-cool should be orange, not pink.

 

[robert graham]

My experience is that the Dexcool is a superior coolant/corrosion inhibitor to the old green stuff....must be why GM started using it...

 

[300sflyer]

GM had a class action lawsuit launched against them regarding Dexcool. I personally had 2 GM vehicles that I had to change the intake gaskets, from what I believe was the result of Dexcool in the cooling system.

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

I think I will take my chances with Prestone.

 

[bruceb58]

The dex-cool wasn't the reasons those gaskets failed. They were faulty intake gaskets and only on certain engines. Your engine doesn't have coolant going through the intake so you wouldn't have that issue anyway.
http://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com...gine-problems/

The overheating was a completely different issue and that was caused by people running their cooling systems half full. As usual, a bogus lawsuit caused by owners who didn't maintain their vehicles.

I replaced the coolant in my 5.3L Chevy engine in my truck. I used the Dex-cool. They still use it in all GM cars and trucks still do but since they fixed the intake gasket issue you don't hear about it anymore.

 

[Buoybill]

I would stick with the Dex-cool. If you did switch over, flush and flush. Corvette had a problem with the mixing of the two, resulting is a sludge that is hard to remove. It actually blocked cooling passages

 

[300sflyer]

Prestone mixes with any other antifreeze, including Dexcool. I will be doing a complete flush anyway.

http://prestone.com/enca/products/antifreeze/coolant

 

[bruceb58]

Your 8.1 engine has aluminum heads. It has DexCool in it because of that. Same reason Toyota and Honda also use their own coolants.

 

[300sflyer]

Are you suggesting that Dexcool is the only antifreeze to be used with aluminum heads?

 

[alldodge]

Prestone mixes with any other antifreeze, including Dexcool. I will be doing a complete flush anyway.

I think you will be fine

Switched over my International Dump truck over to the green and it's been fine for years now

 

[bruceb58]

Are you suggesting that Dexcool is the only antifreeze to be used with aluminum heads?

DexCool came out because of aluminum heads. I would put DexCool back in. I did the same research you are doing when it came to replacing the coolant in my truck. I chose Dexcool.

Pretty much all the car manufacturers have switched over to an OAT type anti-freeze like DexCool because of the aluminum in the engine.

http://www.crusaderengines.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/L510001-10.pdf
Page 50

 

[Scott Danforth]

I agree the coolant needs to be OAT or HOAT if you have aluminum heads or anything else aluminum that comes in contact with the fluid. no iffs ands or butts about it. the standard green EG and aluminum do not get along.

DexCool and other OAT/HOAT coolants do not mix with straight EG (green) and form a mud-like sludge which is in the manuals from Mercruiser, Volvo-Penta, Crusaders, Ilmor, Indmar, GM, Honda, Toyota, Audi, VW, Chrysler, Hyundai, Suzuki, Mazda, etc. (not read by the people that did mix coolants and had cooling problems).

Also, any coolant used starts to break down after about 5 years, and is the reason you change coolant every 5 years as part of the preventative maintenance cycle.

 

[300sflyer]

DexCool came out because of aluminum heads. I would put DexCool back in. I did the same research you are doing when it came to replacing the coolant in my truck. I chose Dexcool.

Pretty much all the car manufacturers have switched over to an OAT type anti-freeze like DexCool because of the aluminum in the engine.

http://www.crusaderengines.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/L510001-10.pdf
Page 50

My Ford 6.8L v10 powered f350 has aluminum heads too.... No Dexcool in there.


"Prestone[SUP]?[/SUP] Concentrate Antifreeze/Coolant is compatible with ANY antifreeze/ coolant ? regardless of color ? for use in ALL makes and models of cars and light duty trucks. This patented formula provides a high degree of performance durability and carefully balanced protection against temperature extremes and rust corrosion of all cooling system metals, including aluminum."

Nuff said.

 

[gm280]

I too pasted up on the DexCool antifreeze recently when I emptied the engine, radiator and heater core and replaced the intake gaskets on my '98 4.3 Blazer. I figured the newer antifreezes will work without issues in any engine. If not, there would be some serious news about any antifreeze that doesn't work or damages steel/aluminum type engines. :noidea: JMHO!

 

[StarTed]

Not being an antifreeze expert my vote would be to stay away from the green stuff.

Prestone has made other claims in the past such as the anti-leak stuff that was good for plugging up the systems. My Duramax calls for DexCool and that's what I use but it must be changed out regularly. It's important to keep the overflow tank filled and seal out air from the system.

It's your boat, do what suits you best. Proper and clean maintenance is probably the most important piece of the puzzle, more so than the part.

 

[bruceb58]

Use what you want. You came on here asking if you should use DexCool or not. Your Owners Manual says to use DexCool.

If you don't want to use it, why come on here and even ask the question?