Mizz96Z28

I know the orange coolant that comes in our cars is a 5 year/100,000 coolant (or so they say) but how else is it different then the green stuff? The reason i ask is my heater core keeps getting clogged cos I have heat for a week after I flush it then it slowly gets lukewarm again and I think its due to the car sitting for a day here and there and would like to put the green stuff in my car instead cos I never had a problem with that kind. Has anyone else changed it without any problems? Is the only reason they put the orange stuff in because its a 5 year coolant? Thanks ahead of time, any info would be helpful

Myles

NiteRider

Maybe you need to dilute the orange stuff more? Add more water next time infact forget the whole coolent idea and go straight to water.

RamAir95TA

I never had any luck with the orange stuff.

Personally, I think it's easier to discern rust and foreign particles in a green medium than it is in an orange medium. I always run the green stuff, and never get above 170, no matter the conditions.

Just don't mix orange and green. Use a 50/50 mix of distilled water and coolant.

Mizz96Z28

I did dilute it pretty much mostly with water. I don't want to go straight water though, its been too cold here lately, like 8 degree's during the day off and on. I just want to make sure it wont mess with anything, not sure what it would mess with but never know if they actually use it for another reason.

Myles

SnkEatr

Holy Sheeyit man did you just tell a guy in MA to use straight water..... Do you want him to crack his block or blow out the freeze plugs???? Good thing he's smarter than the average bear.

Buttercup

Something tells me "he" is a "she", oops, "Myles", maybe not

I switched to DexCool from the green stuff, but everyone has an opinion on this topic. The biggest problem with DexCool is air trapped in the system. I would make sure that the cooling system is full, bled, and that it is holding 18 psi. With most vehicles the problem has been traced back to a faulty radiator cap.

Mizz96Z28

I'm a guy. I know the SN is a bit misleading. Mizz is one of my nicknames for some reason, it has nothing to do with "Miss" or "Misses" or any of that. Just a weird nickname a friend gave me and its stuck since. I just replaced the radiator cap 2 weeks ago, bled the system fully a few times just to make sure, and it is completely full so I dunno wy exactly its doing this but it is, kinda aggrevating. I think I fix the problem cos I get heat for a week then it slowly gets colder. I notice this happen when I'm not able to drive the car for a day or so (due to snow) and its really cold so I think it has something to do with it sitting in the garage. Dunno

Myles

moparman

Could you have diluted it too much? Could it be that when it sits in cold weather, the coolant is acutally icing up, that is turning to the icy slushy stuff, and having to be thawed out by the heat of the engine before you get any heat? Just a guess, because if a heater core stops up, you will not get any heat at all, no matter how hot the engine is.

Hyperspeed97z28

just dont mix orange and green, its sa-lid-i-fies however you spell that. bad move to mix! that will surely clog stuff up!

Laymaster

So many mixed opinions on mixing orange and green. Here's what I've learned through the years reading this forum:

• Green is good for two years
• Orange is good for five years
• Mixing orange and green reduce the "extended life" and make it good for two years

96 WS6

Just remember not to put too little coolant in the mixture or there will no be enough additives and rust will build up faster. You don't want a freeze plug to get eaten away.

magius231

wow my experience is that green + orange =serious sludge...even GM warns against mixing green and orange. People that have drained Dexcool out without fluching properly and just added green stuff have run into serious problems with sludge gumming up radiators and heater cores...

dave1w41

In your "experience".
Total myth and urban legend. What kind of experience is that?

Mixing the two does nothing as far as sludging is concerned. GM does NOT have any documents out stating that solids in the coolant come from mixing them. The only "warning" that they have is that once you do mix them you no longer have the benefit of the long-life coolant. I have flushed numerous cars and replaced the coolant with Dex-Cool and as long as you mix 50/50 with clean tap water and use a good cap, there will be no problems.

Both coolants are Ethylene Glycol based. The "orange" coolant, or "Dex-Cool" long-life coolant is designed to prevent cooling system depiosits from wearing out the water pump seals. And to improve protection of aluminum components. Personally, I would use nothing else in a modern car. I would never replace Dex-Cool with anything else because going back to silicated coolants is like going from color TV to Black and White.

Gripenfelter

With the orange stuff you have to used distilled water.

Tap water promotes corrosion when mixed with the orange Dexcool.

At least thats what the service guys at the Pontiac dealership tell me.

dave1w41

Per GM's Service Manual:
"Clean, Drinkable, water" - nothing about distilled water being required. Besides that, do you think that GM uses distilled water in every new vehicle? Nope!, ask me how I know....

The coolant in the vehicle assembly plant is mixed with municipal water from from the tap. Same thing that goes to the drinking fountains and toilets in the plant.