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Coolant Swap

R

RichardL12

New member
I am planning on doing a coolant swap on my 2002 Grand Prix GT. Currently it has the "green stuff in it" and I bought dexcool to put in it and I have a couple questions about the process. Is there any major problems with switching from the green to dexcool? What is the best way to get all of the old coolant out of the system?
 


Does it really matter whether I use dexcool or the green stuff? Opinions are split on what coolant to use and if dexcool is that bad why would it still be on the market?
 


well actually i was reading in a post the other day that dexcool is alot better now but i'm sure mostly everyone on here would recommend staying with the green stuff
 
Alright well thank you for your opinion. Does anyone else think switching would be a bad idea? What is the best way to completly flush the cooling system?
 
I still say stick with green, but heres what you should do.

drain rad, by pulling lower rad hose off

then pull the front knock sensor, let the coolant drain out of the hole and put it back inand the rad hose back on.

fill with water till full, then run the car untill the themostat opens and add more water, then let it run a min or two longer and shut it off.

then pull the lower rad hose again and drain, then pull the knock sensor again.

do it one more time if need be to get the extra coolant out.

Now have everything hooked back up and fill the rad with coolant. then open the bleeder valve on top of the thermostat houseing. turn the car on and let it run till the themo opens and add more coolant untill full, then wait a little bit while it go's into the motor and starts to carry out the air. You will see bubbles out of the bleeder valve .

wait for the bubbles to stop and then it should be straight coolant coming out. Close the bleeder and put the rad cap back on and your done.

wait a few days and check the level and the mix to see if if is right, depending on where you live will determine if it needs to be stronger or not, for winters and such.
 
Fivefingerdeathpunch said:
I still say stick with green, but heres what you should do.

drain rad, by pulling lower rad hose off

then pull the front knock sensor, let the coolant drain out of the hole and put it back inand the rad hose back on.

fill with water till full, then run the car untill the themostat opens and add more water, then let it run a min or two longer and shut it off.

then pull the lower rad hose again and drain, then pull the knock sensor again.

do it one more time if need be to get the extra coolant out.

Now have everything hooked back up and fill the rad with coolant. then open the bleeder valve on top of the thermostat houseing. turn the car on and let it run till the themo opens and add more coolant untill full, then wait a little bit while it go's into the motor and starts to carry out the air. You will see bubbles out of the bleeder valve .

wait for the bubbles to stop and then it should be straight coolant coming out. Close the bleeder and put the rad cap back on and your done.

wait a few days and check the level and the mix to see if if is right, depending on where you live will determine if it needs to be stronger or not, for winters and such.
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Thank you! How important is taking the sensor off? Won't that be flushed when the water is run through the system?
 
pulling the sensor will help to drain your block. Radiator holds about a gallon and the whole system is +12 qts., so you're only getting 1/3 of the coolant out by draining the radiator.
 


If you really have conventional coolant in there now, it's imperative that you get it ALL out before going back to Dex-Cool. I wouldn't do it without doing a chemical flush, personally. If you've read any of my posts on coolant, you'll know that I'm one of the more vocal people saying there's nothing wrong with Dex, but in this case, it's not worth it. I vote take it back and get conventional or G-05.

That's if you really have conventional. Color is meaningless anymore, there are OAT coolants on the market that are dyed green.
 
Im Anti dex cool its tempermental and eats seals NUFF Said

My gm sponsored auto tech school doesnt even use it for these reasons
 
TorqueAutoMotiv said:
Im Anti dex cool its tempermental and eats seals NUFF Said
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No, not "NUFF Said". I have seen no evidence anywhere that indicates that Dex or 2eha are responsible for the gasket failures. Crappy gasket design happens, and I have seen a number of these failures on conventional coolant systems.
 
Well I know what ive seen with dex cool and cars ive worked on SO for me I wont use it period

It gunks up with the slightest contamination and There have been many lawsuits regaurding it aswell

GO ahead use dex its all personal choice same as with gas and motor oil MY choice is anything but dex
 
i vote green...

the way i flush is with the 4 dollar prestone flush kit which includes different size T fittings an adapter/one way for a garden hose and a nozzle that you stick in where the cap goes to angle the flow of coolant away from important stuff. you simply cut one of your heater core hoses, add the correct size T with the hose clamps, hook up your garden hose, take cap off and run til its hot and the tstat opens with the heat on full blast, then turn the hose on and let it fly out the top til it looks halfway clear, turn hose off til it gets hot and opens again, repeat 3-5 times til water is crystal clear. then either take off the lower rad hose or open the drain and that should take out enough water to get you to 60/40ish, i run 70/30 or less here in oklahoma. if its the first time to do it to a car i run the flush additive a few days before the flush too. and most importantly bleed the system like ffdp said
 


Scimmia said:
If you really have conventional coolant in there now, it's imperative that you get it ALL out before going back to Dex-Cool. I wouldn't do it without doing a chemical flush, personally. If you've read any of my posts on coolant, you'll know that I'm one of the more vocal people saying there's nothing wrong with Dex, but in this case, it's not worth it. I vote take it back and get conventional or G-05.

That's if you really have conventional. Color is meaningless anymore, there are OAT coolants on the market that are dyed green.
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How do I tell if I have conventional coolant in there? I got dexcool because when I looked at the coolant in the reservoir it was redish brown, but after I got the coolant I found out that the stuff in the radiator was green
 
More then likely the old owners swapped coolant but never clleaned out the overflow all the way
if its green stick with green BUT clean that over flow out as well as you can
 
RichardL12 said:
How do I tell if I have conventional coolant in there? I got dexcool because when I looked at the coolant in the reservoir it was redish brown, but after I got the coolant I found out that the stuff in the radiator was green
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I don't really know of any way to tell for sure. The safe route is to assume you've got silicates and phospates in the system and not use an OAT coolant like Dex.

TorqueAutoMotiv said:
if its green stick with green
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Once again, COLOR IS MEANINGLESS. Honda has an OAT coolant that's dyed green. Some of the store brand "universal" coolants are green, and are also OAT based.
 
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