Thread: Pick Your Poison - Coolant Color?

I'm really curious to know what the results of this are going to be - I honestly couldn't guess who the winner will be.

What color coolant do you run in your car?

I’m running Dex (by default) because of how new my car is. I see myself going to green when my coolant is due to be changed. I’m not a Dex hater but the stuff does make a nasty mess of anything it touches. Also, I think Havoline saw them coming with this one. I’ll bet GM has lost thousands of consumers over this on going fiasco.

I run the the green stuff, with a rather high concentration over winter because of the snow/ice, now it's been flushed, with a 30/70mix or so in it now.

green... **** dexcool.

old school green.

Wow, this is pretty close between Green vs. Dex-Cool. I have a good amount of people telling me to ditch the Dex-Cool and run green, but then I have just as many telling me to keep the Dex-Cool because green is just as corrosive.

I know the HOAT coolant in my Jeep is supposed to be all famous for having powerful corrosion inhibitors (5yr coolant too), I've wondered if I could get away with running that stuff. The only drawback is that it's very very hard to find stuff.

At the end of the day I just really don't know what to do. Opinions seem split (closely at least) right down the middle.

Originally Posted by cerick08GP

Also, I think Havoline saw them coming with this one.

Explain s'il vouz plait. I'm out of the loop on that one I guess.

Originally Posted by nawarkk

I have dexcool.. I think I might change, but then again I don't know. Too many opinions.

Amen.

its also fairly hard to find non-dexcool coolant. the only reason dexcool goes bad is because there is air in the system and it starts to oxidize and gum up. make sure your coolant system is up to par and the dexcool will run just as well as the old school green.

Dexcool is only a problem when air is introduced into the cooling system, or when you have a LIM gasket leak, etc. Dexcool is also the cause of the plastic LIM gasket failure.

From what I understand dexcool was reformulated a few years back (after the lawsuit) and is a different (better) animal now. So dexcool on the store shelves is the good stuff.

Switching coolant from dexcool to conventional is difficult because if you dont get every last drop of dexcool out of your system and install the green, you can turn you cooling system into jelly.


My vote is for dexcool, only because I am going to be running aluminum LIM gaskets.

Edit: Damn bio you beat me by a minute.

Originally Posted by Bio248

its also fairly hard to find non-dexcool coolant. the only reason dexcool goes bad is because there is air in the system and it starts to oxidize and gum up. make sure your coolant system is up to par and the dexcool will run just as well as the old school green.

Good to know guys, thanks!

sneaky like a ninja.

Speaking of air in the system, can I ask you guys an almost unrelated question? I had to take my top radiator hose off last night and want to make sure I bleed out any air that might have got in there (I'm running Dex-cool). When I look at the bleeder, it's like there is a small screw inside of a bigger one! I don't know how else to explain it so I hope you know what I'm talking about. Do I open the little one to bleed or the big one?

If everyone is clueless as to what I'm talking about, I can snap a pic if needs be.

G-05. This is what Ford and Chrysler are using now, and it's a very good coolant. The main downside of Dex is that the corrosion inhibitors take a long time to build up a barrier on the metal, G-05 uses some silicates to fill in that gap.

Don't be fooled by color, either. The "Yellow ("Universal")" is pretty much Dex, as is some of the "green" on the market. Look for formulations, not color. Color has become meaningless.

Originally Posted by SliceTheRice

I know the HOAT coolant in my Jeep is supposed to be all famous for having powerful corrosion inhibitors (5yr coolant too), I've wondered if I could get away with running that stuff. The only drawback is that it's very very hard to find stuff.

This is G-05. It can be had at any Chrysler or Ford dealership, or Napa usually carries it made by Zerex.

Originally Posted by SuperSport

Switching coolant from dexcool to conventional is difficult because if you dont get every last drop of dexcool out of your system and install the green, you can turn you cooling system into jelly.

Not true. Switching from conventional to Dex-Cool, it's very important to get all of the conventional out. Going the other way doesn't matter a bit. This is why Prestone can market Dex-Cool as "Universal", because it can be used to top off a conventional system without any problems.

Originally Posted by SliceTheRice

When I look at the bleeder, it's like there is a small screw inside of a bigger one! I don't know how else to explain it so I hope you know what I'm talking about. Do I open the little one to bleed or the big one?

The little one.

Originally Posted by Scimmia

This is G-05. It can be had at any Chrysler or Ford dealership, or Napa usually carries it made by Zerex.

Yeah, that's it. AutoZone and Checker don't carry it and I guess Pep Boys just stopped. I finally found a Napa that had some and I took their last case.

Originally Posted by Scimmia

The little one.

Sweet, thanks. Any idea what size wrench opens that thing?

i went green after my build ive seen a lot of nasty dexcool mess tearing into gm engines
i triple flushed my system n went green never had issue with green

Green stuff for me. Less crud and bull**** floating around.

well I use Yellow now ... however when I was working for Toyota I could get Toyota Pink long life for free so my '95 I had and Blazer both ran Toyota Pink Coolant.

Originally Posted by TorqueAutoMotiv

i went green after my build ive seen a lot of nasty dexcool mess tearing into gm engines
i triple flushed my system n went green never had issue with green

x2 did the same thing and its alot better IMO. no gunk anymore.