I tried searching before posting , but out of curiosity could Dexcool be used in a 1990 Chevrolet 350 ? The engine was rebuilt about 10 years ago and I understand it came filled with an green IAT coolant. I've always used regular AMAM Prestone in it since the rebuild and it's close to being due for a change. None of the cooling system components are original.
Dexcool in 1990 C1500 ?
- Thread starter JN94
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I do believe Dex-Cool is only to be used in an airtight system.
That's the primary reason for asking. I was wondering about it. Apart from color is there any major differences between Dexcool and Universal Prestone ?
I seem to remember dex cool eating gaskets on some models some time ago.
No, my S10 4.3 calls for Dexcool and it is not an airtight system. I personally use Prestone All Vehicles though.
Even when rebuilt with modern gaskets ?
Mine is definitely not an airtight system.
It's had regular Prestone AMAM for the past decade.
Not sure.
Dexcool was reformulated to solve the issues of the past.
In the past it would cause corrosion, eat away at gaskets and gel up even in cases where different coolants were not mixed, this is not the case no more for a properly maintained cooling systems. Of course the issue of mixing still stands though.
Me personally on older GM vehicles Prestone All Vehicles is my choice. I do not like the idea of running Dexcool in a system that was not designed with Dexcool in mind and the universal coolants covers it.
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Stick with that...it's all you need.
I'll stick with it. Asked about Dexcool out of curiosity.
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I should have explained further. Prestone AMAM is chemically the same as Dexcool, except it's dyed yellow/green and has a small amount of phosphates in it. Switching to Dexcool would be a very slight step backwards with respect to corrosion protection, but really you'd be fine either way. I'm not a fan of Dexcool's color, because it makes it harder to see if rust is starting to form or if something else is going wrong like exhaust gases making their way into the coolant. Prestone and other universal Dexclones' yellow color makes it easy to see if something is amiss.
