great white
Retirement countdown!
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- Jan 21, 2012
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Corrosion around the rad hose neck isn't the coolant at all. It's corrosion sneaking it's way back up under the hose from the exterior.
Dex will bite you if you have a sealed system and don't keep it sealed. When it reacts with air, it tends to crystallize or (in layman's terms) gunk up. Some call it "mud" some call it "brown slime" some call it "drop out". What it really is is a neglected cooling system and the liquid is evaporating leaving the OAT (organic acids) components behind.
Green just leaks out onto the ground and poisons your dog.
Dex also protects the interior surfaces/seals better than green.
Dex doesn't respond well to dumping in other coolants either. Most dex info sheets say it can be mixed but to flush it out when you can. I just avoid mixing it all together. I carry a spare jug in the back for top off's if needed. But if the system is sealed, you don't need to top off.....hey where's it going?
Oops, time for maintenance.
Most people just top off and don't think about it. That's what you do with green, right? Nope, you should be finding out where it's going.....
Of course, I may be a little over the top for most in my maintenance. I check my coolant with PH strips, a multimeter and a refractometer. But then again, I've never had cooling troubles either....
I also don't mix because of the silicates in green/yellow. Dex is silicate free, so I prefer not to mix. Some say it sludge with silicate coolants. I couldn't say either way. I just avoid it.
Ya pays ya money, ya takes yer chances.....
DEX reading:
http://www.acdelco.com.au/PDFs/Specs_ACDelco_DexCool.pdf
http://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/tsb/tsb_04D-J-054.pdf
I don't push DEX on people. There's lots of negative stuff out there too. Mostly from owners or "experts", not industry. Lot's of people point at DEX and scream their lungs out. They're usually the ones that their vehicle popped a gasket or died on them. I'm willing to bet if I looked at those vehicles, I could point out why it wasn't DEX....
I just put out the info and let people decide for themselves.
Yellow, green or orange, it doesn't really matter. It's more about maintaining it. Despite what some may say, you can't ignore the cooling system for 5 years (dex claim) and not have problems. You have to check it like everything else. Oil, filters, brake fluid, transmission, axles, coolant, battery fluid, etc. it all has a service life. It all has to be checked regularly and changed as required.
"Maintenance free" is probably the biggest lie there is in the industry today. It's right up there with "lubbed for life".....that just means no way to grease it until it fails.....
My current fill of DEX is coming up to it's 5 year mark. It gets worked hard (very hard) towing hot and heavy and never skips a beat cooling. Anyone that has one will tell you the 6.5 engine is VERY hard on a cooling system when pushed. If everything isn't in top shape, you're popping a cap. Coolant is as big a part of it as anything.
So when the 5 years are up (and/or the ph, multimeter and refractometer say so), DEX is going back in.
It's proved itself to me and that's good enough for this Joe.
Although I have looked into CAT ELC coolants.
You'll have to decide which is best for yourself.
Whatever you use, you have to maintain it. That's the key.
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