Wicked-Z

Hey wats up guys, quick question. When i got the car it came with regular green coolant. After the first rebuild I started using dex-cool, for about 2 years until i need to rebuild again. Now i have the LE setup, and I have been running straight water since the build, which was 6 months ago. Which coolant should I use? I can see red build up on the rad coils, but it doesnt come off, is it ok to run a rad flush before the coolant is added. I kinda dont like the dex-cool stuff. Thanks guys.

rbaksi

I run half green half water in my 95. Id say do the same. Have heard some bad things about dex cool like it gumming up the system. The red stuff you see might be rust. If you were to run straight water you should use water wetter or some other additive that prevents rust. Flushing the radiator seems like a good idea

sscott

Your going to have to flush no matter what. I would use Dex-cool after that, I believe that's what the manufacturer suggests.

roadwarrior

death cool. I switched to the green and mixed it with distilled water, I got allot of salts and minerals in the water in my area.

seawolf06

You definitely need to flush your system. If you want to run straight water, make sure you use distilled water and some type of additive like water wetter or purple ice. I use about 60/40 green coolant to water.

Wicked-Z

thanks for the replies guys. So its ok to add rad flush? Yes change back to green? Its not going to corrode no more with either the flush agent or flipin back and forth on the coolant. All that matters to me is the rust, is it better to run straight water with the wetter stuff? Thanks again guys.

97_camz28

Just flush the radiator and go back to using the "green" stuff dex cool is junk and does nothing but tears **** up.

Wicked-Z

thanks guys, "Green" it is.

bowtiekid

Technically all you need to run is distilled water and a bottle of water wetter or some kind of additive. Straight water has better cooling properties that anti-freeze. Dex-cool and most other coolants are to lubricate water pump parts, protect seals, and just like its name: anti freeze. It keeps the water in the block in the winter from freezing. So if you live somewhere cold run some antifreeze, if your like me in AZ don't need to lol

Injuneer

Everyone needs "coolant". Coolant elevates the boiling point of the mixture, reducing the chances of localized boiling in the heads. Water Wetter is a surfactent, and is not a corrosion inhibitor or a water pump lubricant, both of which are provided by the "coolant".

I've been running Dex-Cool since I converted in 1995, with no problems.

NukeFPE

X2 with Fred on the Dex-Cool ~ I run it in everything I own including my 69 Z/28 with no problems.

Wicked-Z

dex-cool hmm, the car gets parked in winter, so basically it sits for 6 months or more. Dex cool doesnt start gettin all funky if it isnt run? Maybe my mixture was off, it is supposed to be a 50/50 correct? All of a sudden it has become a voting scenario lol. I assume all the gurus are running dex?

Injuneer

My 94 is a "track only" car. It hasn't been to the track in 3 years. Started occaisionally, and driven long enough to get the oil up to full operating temperature. Cooling system has been trouble free since the engine was built in 2000. And it was fine for the 5 years before that, with Dex-Cool. I gave my original 6-year old radiator (5 years on Dex-Cool) to a friend who couldn't believe how much cooler his 95 T/A ran with it. Currently running a Griffin.

I didn't post to complicate your decision... you already indicated in the original post you didn't "like the dex-cool stuff".

mzgp5x

How about Evans NPG coolant??? Better than Glycol based cooling media. Dex Cool is and acidic based Glycol that helps with scale formation and particulate precipatation. But, it is also attacks some gaskets. Pick up HP books 1425 cooling systems by Ray Bohacz. A good read.

maverickmk

I think the problems with dex-cool getting "funky" is when you mix it with the "green" coolant, from either not flushing it well enough or just flat out combining the two