After learning that silicates (powdered quartz) in coolant kill Honda bike
waterpumps, I have been running Dexcool in all my vehicles, not wanting to
spend $30 for Hondaline pre-mix once a year.
I didn't think too much about it when my VW diesel blew a headgasket last
fall with less that .0015 In. warpage. I have ben running Dexcool in my
Goldwing for 3 years, and it blew a headgasket last month. I found less than
..001 In. warpage and the gaskets where they were free-standing in coolant
had all the material either gone or blistered up badly. A short Google turns
out that lots of people have had similar problems.
I changed the coolant in the other 6 vehicles.

--
Stupendous Man,
Defender of Freedom, Advocate of Liberty

Stupendous Man writes:

So, professor, you're saying that this product contains powdered quartz?

I'm not a Professor, just a Master Mechanic, so you may refer to me as
"Master". lol
"Normal" modern coolants contain silicates to scour the cooling system clean
of corrosion, and are fine for most engines. It's really tough on pre-1930s
packing gland style pumps. Some of the new types of coolant are free of
silicates.
A coolant that actually eats the engine or gaskets through chemical action
or electrolysis is kinda bad.
--
Stupendous Man,
Defender of Freedom, Advocate of Liberty

I put Honda Genuine premix in both my Hondas, a 2002 CR-V and a 1999 Civic
HX. The Civic came new with green antifreeze, probably identical to the
Zerex Green that you can still get at Autozone, but I am not taking any
chances. Ten bucks a gallon for premix seems a lot, but that is enough to
change the entire cooling system in the Civic and a gallon and a half for
the CR-V. The bad part is I have to drive 135 miles one way to get it.

Afaik, Dexcool is for GM vehicles. "DEX-COOL is a registered trademark of
General Motors Corporation." What don't people understand about this?

The auto industry is seriously out of control on the coolant issue. I have
four different vehicles and this requires three different coolant types.
But if you mix and match or even try to save money by using a sensible
alternative you are looking for trouble.

Earle

"Stupendous Man" <spam (AT) trap (DOT) com> wrote

"Richard J Kinch" <kinch (AT) truetex (DOT) com> wrote

More like chalk. When I was a kid they caught a dairy near me putting it in
milk, so it can't be that bad, heh.

Earle

Stupendous Man writes:

I think you're confusing "silicates" (cleaning agents) with "silica" (quartz).
The former is in your dishwasher detergent, the latter at the beach.

Actually, I don't know that Dex-Cool even contains silicates:

http://www.havoline.com/images/produ...nti_exlife.pdf

http://www.pzlqs.com/Tech/Pdsheet/Do...merCoolant.PDF

You may want to read this
http://pages.infinit.net/mcrides/eng...ne_coolant.htm

Coasty


"Stupendous Man" <spam (AT) trap (DOT) com> wrote

Preston makes a universal for all makes and models which meets all
manufacturer specifications.
http://www.prestone.com/products/antifreezeCoolant.php I have been using it
in all my vehicles and jeeps one size fits all you got to love it.

Coasty



"Earle Horton" <earle (AT) angloburgues (DOT) usa> wrote

I believe that this is the same as the end-of-the-aisle one-size-fits-all
coolant sold as SuperTech by Walmart. I posted the ingredients here and
someone told me it was DexCool, or a blend of DexCool ingredients and
something else. I put it in my GM vehicle but I am not taking chances with
my Hondas or my Jeep. If you would like to look at the thread, the subject
is "Coolant Surprise" from December 2006, pretty easy to find in Google
Groups. It is also explained there why a single formula cannot meet the
CONFLICTING OEM requirements for IAT, OAT and HOAT coolants.

Here is the relevant response, that made me not use it in my Jeep.

"Incidentally, presense of 2-EHA (sodium 2-ethyl hexanoate) in the coolant
you've examined means you're looking at Dex-cool. If you put this in a
Jeep, I don't want to hear you whining like a spoiled 3-yr. old later when
you have to replace the entire cooling system."

Outatime posted that.

I wouldn't use the Prestone stuff you are using in Jeep unless it says
"meets Jeep specifications" or lists the ingredients.

Earle

"Coasty" <uscg_ret@ no spam comcast.net> wrote

For DECADES we used the same green ethylene glycol coolant. The price
was reasonable, it worked well, and was harmless to the environment as
long as you didn't let critters get to it.

Then the government screwed everything up (as they do SO well).

Does anyone still make the good old fashioned coolant anymore? I want
to use it in my 96 Cherokee and my Studebakers.

Or is real coolant considered an environmental hate crime these days?

Jeff DeWitt

Stupendous Man wrote: