Extended coolant changes

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

ram_man

Joined
Mar 15, 2013
Messages
4,023
These newer cars recommended flushes every 100 up to 150,000 miles or ten years in a lot of cases. My moms focus for example has 95,000 and is 7yrs old and we changed the coolant at 50,000 . I'm shocked that the heater core was clogged on such a maintained car. But I see this pretty often at work. Maybe we should go back to Changing coolant every 30,000 like the old days given how hard heater cores are to change these days.
I can honestly say I'm not letting my dart go 100,000 before a change. Anyone else agree or maybe I am crazy?
 
I've had the opposite experience. I just changed out the original dexcool from my 06 chevy and it looked so good inside I'm not sure it was necessary.
 
I've had the opposite experience. I just changed out the original dexcool from my 06 chevy and it looked so good inside I'm not sure it was necessary.

dang double post
 
Last edited:
Cooling system problems might just be the number one killer of engines. Changing it a bit more often is cheap insurance.

Getting the correct type of coolant is helpful, too.
 
Originally Posted By: ram_man
These newer cars recommended flushes every 100 up to 150,000 miles or ten years in a lot of cases. My moms focus for example has 95,000 and is 7yrs old and we changed the coolant at 50,000 . I'm shocked that the heater core was clogged on such a maintained car. But I see this pretty often at work. Maybe we should go back to Changing coolant every 30,000 like the old days given how hard heater cores are to change these days.
I can honestly say I'm not letting my dart go 100,000 before a change. Anyone else agree or maybe I am crazy?

Well if you're seeing it often, make a point of changing it more often. Either their recommendation is incorrect, or it's formulated so Ford won't have to warranty it for when it's estimated to fail. An ounce of prevention and a pound of cure.
 
Originally Posted By: ram_man
These newer cars recommended flushes every 100 up to 150,000 miles or ten years in a lot of cases. My moms focus for example has 95,000 and is 7yrs old and we changed the coolant at 50,000 . I'm shocked that the heater core was clogged on such a maintained car.
Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
I've had the opposite experience. I just changed out the original dexcool from my 06 chevy and it looked so good inside I'm not sure it was necessary.

Me too.

I changed coolant in my 2004 S2000 last year, after 11 years and 5x,xxx miles the coolant was so good I think I changed it too early, it may be good for anther 10 years.
 
I changed mine at 150k miles then 100k miles. So far, so good.

I'm not that picky about the correct type, either. As long as it says "compatible". I mixed two colors together in my Rav4 and they are not miscible. The green (compatible with all colors) sits on top of the yellow (compatible with all colors) in the overflow tank. Seems to work just fine. I'll change it out when it hits 350k miles.
 
Coolant was fine on my Focus when it came out at 58000 miles. I had it completely flushed when I had the thermostat changed for good measure.
 
I believe my Jeep is every 5 years/ 100k.

My current fill has about 80k/ 5.5 years on it.

Not sure if antifreeze knows time or not, but I do plan on doing a flush this summer.
 
I would agree. The coolant was the only thing that I did not change on time in my 2010 FX4 (150K instead of 100K). There were some "floaters" and slight sludge in the overflow tank when I did change it. My PSD has to be checked regularly with a refractometer and because it is a diesel, I definitely will not let it "lapse".
 
In 2012 I changed the Dexcool coolant upon purchasing my 1999 with 12K miles. I was pretty sure the coolant had never been changed...after all, it was good for 100K miles...which based on 1500 miles per year, would last until the year 2070, lol. It was a mucky looking brown and the charge on it was way out of spec. But I was surprised that the radiator core was spotless with no signs of sludge.

How long your coolant lasts is highly dependent on how much air you get into the system. Cars with air leaks can severely shorten the coolant life. In the future I won't go more than 3-5 years on coolant regardless of mileage.
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
In 2012 I changed the Dexcool coolant upon purchasing my 1999 with 12K miles. I was pretty sure the coolant had never been changed...after all, it was good for 100K miles...




Don't forget the 'which comes first wording'......5years/100,000 miles
 
Originally Posted By: 2015_PSD
I would agree. The coolant was the only thing that I did not change on time in my 2010 FX4 (150K instead of 100K). There were some "floaters" and slight sludge in the overflow tank when I did change it. My PSD has to be checked regularly with a refractometer and because it is a diesel, I definitely will not let it "lapse".


I'll be towing with the focus quite a bit (if everything goes to plan) this summer - wanted the cooling system to be as good as it can be. I don't think they do torture tests on Focii cooling systems
 
Some vehicles have cooling system plugging issues documented by the manufacturer. It does happen.

Others, like modern GM V8s, not so much.

Ad I have mentioned before, I was told by a GM tech to never touch the cooling system at all except for mechanical repair. I've sent vans to retirement with more than 300k miles having never had a cooling flush or problem.
 
I first did a coolant drain and fill at 155k miles on my 03 matrix. Coolant still looked good and no issues. Since that first drain I've dumped it two more times when I did other maintenance items, so I don't need to worry about it for awhile at least.

I have a friend with a 05 corolla who had less mileage on factory fill than I did, but had to flush his heater core due to no heat from passenger vents. I guess it's a hit or miss sometimes.
 
Another important factor is to completely flush out the old/original coolant with the extended runs. Also distilled water if your tap has heavy mineral or metal content.
 
I could buy into lifetime coolant before lifetime diff or transmission fill. Coolant stays clean so I don't see the need. Maybe a quart of booster at 100k or 10 years?
 
I prematurely changed Toyota's pink SLLC at 60,000 miles - but some of them had problems with water pump seals weeping, I pulled the OEM water pump on my parent's Prius at 106K and it was starting to seep. I'll change the pink stuff at 50-60K intervals from now on.

On the Subaru that's mine to maintain, I'll stick to the 100K recommendation. I just think the Japanese have their act together for long-life coolant, followed by the Europeans - but VW's G12 is more or less Dex-Cool and there's leakage issues on those.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

SupremePossum
How important is coolant flush/change?
2
Replies
31
Views
4K
The motor guy
O
The coolant I used to use is no longer available and my stash has ran dry.
Replies
8
Views
357
oil pan 4
S
Trouble adding coolant/water to empty cooling system 3800
Replies
15
Views
1K
slacktide_bitog
R
coolant to water ratio for 5.9 cummins
2
Replies
37
Views
4K
ruSSrt
garageman402
Is Dexcool Really That Bad?
2
Replies
28
Views
5K
Plawan
Back
Top