Dex Vs. the all in ones....

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: asand1
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Dex has a bad rep, but never deserved it. Then the Internet has blown it up to outrageous levels of hyperbole,


I've replaced leaking intake gaskets on 4 or five GMs with Dex Cool. I've seen the pitting left behind on the aluminum manifold, and the eaten silicone embossing on gaskets. I don't need the internet to tell me Dex Cool is junk. I base my opinions on my own experience not on the opinions of "spec" sheep.


There's some of that hyperbole I was talking about! Good job.

We own a fleet. Simply put for idjits, we would use whatever gave us an economical advantage.

Many GM products here, never a Dex issue. Never. We run to component failure, that is routinely 200k miles or more.

It is not as simple as it seems. But only some of us will be able to figure that out.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: asand1
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Dex has a bad rep, but never deserved it. Then the Internet has blown it up to outrageous levels of hyperbole,


I've replaced leaking intake gaskets on 4 or five GMs with Dex Cool. I've seen the pitting left behind on the aluminum manifold, and the eaten silicone embossing on gaskets. I don't need the internet to tell me Dex Cool is junk. I base my opinions on my own experience not on the opinions of "spec" sheep.


There's some of that hyperbole I was talking about! Good job.

We own a fleet. Simply put for idjits, we would use whatever gave us an economical advantage.

Many GM products here, never a Dex issue. Never. We run to component failure, that is routinely 200k miles or more.

It is not as simple as it seems. But only some of us will be able to figure that out.

As far as I've heard, the issue with Dex-Cool is that it only protects one way, through the organic acid corrosion inhibitors. Pretty much all of the "all makes" type coolants are the same since the only way to do it without phosphates, silicates, etc that can make it "universal" to the various requirements that say NO to this, that, or the other.

As long as the cooling system is properly bled without air in the system, it should be fine. A lot of people want to blame Dex-Cool issues on the OAT inhibitors, but pretty much all modern coolants contain these inhibitors. Other inhibitors like silicates or phosphates are supposed to provide better protection if the system has air in it. The Japanese manufacturers mostly shy away from silicates except maybe Subaru. The Europeans are used to people using groundwater in coolant mixtures and don't want the phosphates.

If there are any problems with using Dex-Cool, they're more maintenance issues than a problem with using the coolant itself. I had to do an emergency coolant add once when my rad hose burst, and Dex-Cool was what I had in the garage. The radiator did eventually crack (it had a plastic tank), but I can't attribute that to Dex-Cool.

 

[daves87rs]

Ran with some Napa Dexcool and a flush..and the car is doing quite well now....

 

[ufbbc]

127000mi in my Chevy 5.3L with dex cool. No issues. Personal experience. I have had it changed once or twice.