PRODUCT DETAILS. ACDelco GM OE Dex-Cool Antifreeze Extended Life Coolant Concentrate is an orange, silicate and phosphate free, premium-grade coolant/antifreeze that is formulated with a chemical composition that minimizes breakdown of metal components in contact with the fluid.
What’s the difference between Dexcool and regular antifreeze?
The main way to tell the difference between Dex-Cool and regular antifreeze is that Dex-Cool is typically orange, whereas antifreeze is usually green. Are there advantages to Dex-Cool? Why did Chevy and GM make the change over to Dex-Cool? The idea was simple really Dex-Cool lasts longer than traditional antifreeze.
What vehicles use Dexcool coolant?
Designed to work with all GM ® vehicles 1995 & newer (GM ®-approved), most Ford ® vehicles 2011-2018 and most Chrysler ® vehicles 2013 & newer.
Why does GM use Dexcool?
Unless a previous owner has used traditional green coolant in your vehicle, using DEX-COOL for an aluminum engine will help minimize corrosion. While traditional green coolant is designed to change color due to corrosion, it does not change color due to corrosion occurring in aluminum engines.
Does Dexcool damage your engine?
Ten years after General Motors began using Dex-Cool as an antifreeze in most of its cars and light trucks, GM car and truck owners continue to complain that the coolant corrodes and clogs radiators and radiator caps, erodes water pumps, rots radiator hoses, causes chronic overheating and engine damage while leading to
What happens if I put a different coolant in my car?
Using the wrong engine coolant can gradually lead to corrosion and damage to the water pump, radiator, radiator hoses and cylinder gasket. This can lead to damage to the engine in the worst case.
Can I use universal coolant with Dexcool?
Do not mix Dex-Cool with regular anti-freeze! Dex-Cool is a specially formulated GM coolant which will not mix with traditional coolants, and was used in various GM applications up through the 2004 model year.
Can I switch from orange to green antifreeze?
Can You Mix Orange and Green Antifreeze? It’s never a good idea to mix two different colors or types of antifreeze. Mixing two formulas won’t cause any dangerous reactions or explosions, but it could turn your coolant into a sludgy chemical mixture that won’t be able to flow properly through your cooling system.
Is green antifreeze better than Dexcool?
Dex-Cool uses a combination of organic acids as its corrosion inhibitors (OAT – Organic Acid Technology). GM believes that it provides better corrosion protection than regular green coolant for cooling system composed of different metals (primarily iron, aluminum, and brass), and provides a longer 5-year service life.
What does Dex-cool look like?
To differentiate DEX-COOL coolant from regular coolants, the manufacturers often produce the coolant in a different color. Regular coolant is often green while DEX-COOL is orange or red. Due to the orange color of DEX-COOL, it is harder to visually tell when the coolant must be replaced.
How often should DexCool be changed?
No problems experienced with the cooling system and plenty of heat from the heater core. GM says that DEX-COOL is only good for five years / 150,000 miles before it must be changed out.
Does DexCool turn green?
The new DexCool in newer vehicles is fine. DexCool should not be used in older engines and should not be mixed with the green stuff. Rather than take a chance, I continue to use the green stuff in my Yanmar without problem.
What year did GM switch to Dexcool?
Back in 1995, GM began to use “Dex-Cool” coolant in its vehicles; in fact, you may very well be driving a vehicle that uses Dex-Cool.
How long is Dexcool good for?
In the 1990s, GM introduced an engine coolant called Dexcool. It’s supposed to last 5 years or 150,000 miles, but there have been problems with this coolant. Cooling systems that use Dexcool exhibit more acid buildup and rust in the system when the coolant level gets low and oxygen is allowed to enter the system.
What color is GM coolant?
GM, for example, uses orange-colored Dex-Cool antifreeze, while VW’s preferred coolants are typically yellow- or blue-colored, Hemmings reports. These different types of antifreeze all do broadly the same things.
