Hi there, just a coolant question?

[knivee14]

Hi, I drained completely my coolant (havent flushed it with distilled water) and planned on changing the coolant. I have bought a Prestone, dexcool antifreeze.It is silicate and phosphate free and compatible with aluminum engine, but the thing that stopped me from using it is it is color orange, the manual ( and any other thread say green). Is it okay to use it? Im not sure, Im confused,, my head hurts now I have provided pictures. Please help I dont wanna mess up my beloved bike. Thank you in advance

[taz]

Yes you can use it, it is better than the traditional green stiff and less corrosive too.

[Dave Wolfe]

I had dexcool turn into brown sludge in a truck I owned years back. I would only use it in an engine which specifically requires dexcool. Return it.

[Ghostt]

You'll be fine, green, orange, blue, etc... As long as its antifreeze, I prefer the premix stuff in my bikes, easier to mix it right, and I don't have to worry about mixing, distilled water, etc... And the fact the Ninjette only needs a small amount.

[corksil]

Mister wolf probably experienced "the silicate falling out of suspension." Someone explained it to me once in a way that I was able to understand it, yet not grasp the concept thoroughly enough to explain it to someone else.

In simple terms -- the tiny particles which were responsible for conducting the highest degree of heat transfer in the fluid; absorbed contaminants and settled at the low points in the cooling system. Then they bonded to the trace amounts of sand left in the engine block as a result of it's manufacturing process and a thick mixture formed. Not good. Either or, a previous owner used a "stop leak" product in hopes of fixing an unrelated or underlying issue and it caused the coolant to gel over time.




Kevin -- I'm perfectly content to keep running a mixture of distilled water and "water wetter" in my 250 cooling system. I haven't had any problems in the last 35 thousand miles on the 250. The labels keep changing due to the nature of the industry but this is what it looks like. Read the instructions on the label.

[Dave Wolfe]

This was back in about 2001 when it happened to me (brand new off the lot '97 pickup). Nothing had been added to the coolant, the cooling system had been maintained per owners manual - i.e.., dont open rad cap, only check and add to the reservoir.

Anyway years later I did some research on it. Turned out that use of dex cool required some material changes in the cooling system as the coolant wasnt compatible with all materials typically used. Secondly dex cool was susceptible to turning to sludge if there is any trapped air in the cooling system. Also there were a few other changes needed to make the dex cool work with engines of the era. I think there was also a problem with the stuff being put in an engine and having the engine sit for months before being used?

From what I understand GM knows how to make the stuff work pretty well now. But I certainly wouldnt put it in a vehicle made for green coolant.

[CrazyCanuckGoat]

Do NOT put that junk in your bike.

When it gets old, it gets quite corrosive. As stated above, it turns muddy, especially if mixed with good old green coolant.

Thousands of failed GM V6 lower intake gaskets can't be wrong right?? lol, Granted, there were also gasket mfg. issues, but the amount of corroded coolant ports.......wow.

Been a licensed mechanic for 20 years and I avoid Dexcool like the plague.....seen WAY too many issues/corroded aluminum.

[Snake]

Originally Posted by corksil

Mister wolf probably experienced "the silicate falling out of suspension." Someone explained it to me once in a way that I was able to understand it, yet not grasp the concept thoroughly enough to explain it to someone else.

In simple terms -- the tiny particles which were responsible for conducting the highest degree of heat transfer in the fluid; absorbed contaminants and settled at the low points in the cooling system. Then they bonded to the trace amounts of sand left in the engine block as a result of it's manufacturing process and a thick mixture formed. Not good. Either or, a previous owner used a "stop leak" product in hopes of fixing an unrelated or underlying issue and it caused the coolant to gel over time


Kevin -- I'm perfectly content to keep running a mixture of distilled water and "water wetter" in my 250 cooling system. I haven't had any problems in the last 35 thousand miles on the 250. The labels keep changing due to the nature of the industry but this is what it looks like. Read the instructions on the label.

+1 for Water Wetter! Mixed with distilled water works great! No overheating issues.

[Triple Jim]

According to Redline:

Red Line WaterWetter® does not significantly reduce the freezing point of water. If the vehicle will see freezing temperatures, an antifreeze must be used.

From the information on Redline's site, it looks like you use it instead of water when mixing 50-50 with antifreeze. It might be fine in Hawaii, but...