Any body using Dex-Cool or similar orange coolant? I want to know if it is ok in our trucks. I know it is a GM product so no flames please. But, I understand that it is easier on the H2O pump and is more thermally efficient. Not to mention the longer life.

 

Read your owner's manual. It states that you should NOT use orange coolant in your truck.

 

Actually I was looking for a legitimate reason like some incompatibility in the cooling system. I suspect if you asked the guys that wrote the manual to put in writing their recommendations for aftermarket chips, air boxes, rear ends, etc, etc, etc. You'd get the standard answer to use only Ford products in your Ford product.

So back to the original question, why not?

 

A friend of mine ownes a radiator repair shop. He told me that the two coolants can't be mixed because of a chemical reaction between the two. Apparently it will cause exissive corrosion prematuraly therefore restricting flow.

 

I work in a auto parts store and have had people do the swtich over. You cannot mix the two and you can not put the green stuff in a newer orange type system because the green stuff can eat away at some of the newr parts they are using in some of the newr cars (at least the eating away part is what I have been told)but you can put the orange in a older green type system if you flush everything 100%. IMO it's not worth it I would much rather change the green stuff out every 2 years or so. I think changing it every 2 years and checking it everynow and then with a antifreeze tester is more than fine for most.

 

KYFORDFREAK

I agree, with the cost of the orange considered it is not worth it just to increase mileage/time between changes. However, I have read that the orange is much easire on the water pump and transfers heat more efficiently. I tend to agree. I can't ee any reason it would hurt a clean flushed system. Naturally I would only do it post warranty. I'm sure the dealer would have a conniption if I had a engine warranty claim and he saw the orange.

 

I'm getting into this kind of late but...

I have a 99 and my manual specs out the type of coolant you can use and it specifically says that long life coolant can be used if it meets a particular Ford spec, which is listed in the manual. I used Havoline long life coolant, which lists the Ford spec on the front label, in mine the past 20,000 miles and it's fine. I really did flush the hell out of it though with Prestone Superflush... A buddy of mine works for Navistar and he says that the orange stuff is the way to go. It's better on water pump seals, and maybe more importantly can be used with up to a 70/30 ratio which keeps blocks from freezing down to -50 and below... Using green coolant at those ratios would actually cause corrosion and scaling. With the orange you would not have that problem. He also did say that the 2 products are not compatible and that you should just flush the thing out real good. He says change it after 5 years or 100,000 miles !

It was worth it to me because changing it was kind of a pain if you want to be sure your ratio is correct... I don't believe hydrometers. I have three, from different eras in my life, and all three give different readings of the same coolant... Weird... I'd rather measure and be correct at this point...

 

Thanks RONHOP, You ar basically confirming what I believed. I had read it was much easier on the pump also.

 

Just to offer a different opinion. My '96 Impala SS had the orange coolant from the factory. My Impala and almost every other one made had the heater core clog up. Had to be flushed out every 6 months or so. The heater would just quit working. You know what a lot of the guys did to solve that problem? Yup. Put in green coolant. Flushed the heck out of it and got rid of all that orange stuff. Clogging problem went away. So the orange stuff IMHO isn't all it is cracked up to be. I believe there must be a reason that Ford specifically says not to use orange coolant in their trucks. They use it in cars, why not trucks? To tell you the truth I was happy to see that my L used the green stuff. Too many bad experiences with the orange. Off my soap box now.

 

Well, heres how I look at it. The green stuff has been around for years and everyone got along fine with it. Espesically if you switch it every two years. I have read the same information (some from the chevy dealership to where I deliver parts) on that the orange stuff is safer to the engine and various componets. Also, I am pretty sure it stated somewhere tha in some vehicles the use the orange stuff if you were to use the green stuff it would attack some alum. parts and actually do very bad damage. That could be just a wisecrack from the stupid Chevy dealer parts guy.

 

I would strongly advise against using that orange coolant.
Two trucks ago, I had a 92 Chevy 1500 with the 350. At 70,000 miles, after thoroughly flushing the old coolant, I replaced the green with orange. Within a year I had coolant leaking from the radiator cap / core junction, and seeping from hose connections. Even after replacing the radiator, hoses, and clamps with top-quality stuff, I got more leaks. Finally it started leaking coolant down the side of the block from the right head gasket. At that point I unloaded the truck. I have heard of experiences similar to mine. I take VERY good care of my vehicles, and until I put that orange crap in it, I'd never had a problem with that truck. Anyway, do what you will, but I recommend using a high-quality, good old fashioned green coolant.

 

Check out this product at www.evanscooling.com
It's a waterless formula called NPG that lasts the lifetime of the vehicle and doesn't require a radiator cap due to no increase in volume of the coolant. It's environmentally friendly but expensive. It supposedly eliminates corrosion as well.

 

Interesting stuff GAH, good research. Worth investigating further. I might try it in my wife's van first.

 

Has anyone else noticed that there are actually 2 different types of orange long life coolant? One that is actually called "Dex-Cool" and one that you can "add to" Dex-Cool? Prestone actually has both types on the shelf right now. Interestingly both types meet the Ford long-life coolant spec while the former is the only one that can be used to refill a GM system.

When I flushed the cooling system on my Stealth Turbo I used the latter type from Peak. On the bottle it says that it can be used to convert any cooling system to long-life status after a complete flush.

Supposedly the difference between the two is that the real Dex-Cool stuff eats certain types of radiator solder. Ironically this solder was primarially used in pre-'94 or so GM products. It also isn't good for brass radiators. Go figure! That might explain why KGL's Chevy C/K cooling system self destructed! The universal stuff says it is safe for brass and all solders.

FWIW, I changed to the long-life stuff due to it's lack of silicates. This property means that it is much much easier on the water pump seals. And since on the engine in the Stealth the water pump is buried behind the timing belt (and actually driven by it) keeping that pump in good condition saves big dollars in repair expenses. As such, I don't actually plan to use it's extended drain interval...I'll change it after 3/36 like the green stuff. After the warranty is up on my F150 I'll probably switch that as well, even though the waterpump on it is significantly cheaper and easier to replace!

 

RPFB, very interesting on the Dex-Cool eating the solder on the radiator, that might explain quite a bit. Too bad they didn't mention that on the bottle, as had I been privy to that little factoid, chances are I wouldn't have purchased the stuff.