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coolant flush

nevets

Jedi Knight
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What is the recommended interval between coolant replacement for our cars? Does the amount the car is driven make a difference to how often it should be changed? I must confess that I have only topped up as needed.
 
Ethylene glycol coolant should be flushed every 24-36 months, depending on mileage. I recommend every two years.
 
Agreed, but my 1981 Chevy Pickup still has its original coolant in it, I think. Perhaps it's due for a change.
 
Is it blue green or pink? Dexcool was started to be used by GM in the 80's. Dunno exactly when they all went to DeXcool. Dexcool is supposed to be good for ten years... But I would recommend replacing it at least every 5-6 years.

Oh, and Dexcool is kinda pinkish.
 
It is blue/green in the pickup, but I had dexcool (pink/orange) in a Chev Blazer. Didn't like the Dexcool at all. It can congeal and turn to a sludge material that really can damage the cooling system. Those that have dexcool need to change it at the required intervals or they face real problems. I recommend anyone that has it in their cooling systems should check out the blogs on it.
 
Hello,
I know the rule of changing the coolant. Currently I discussed this rule for our daily driver with my engineering collegues. We all agreed that the advantage for new anti-corrosion properties exhausted with filling in new water with new minerals. The reason why you should fill in new coolant, is only the anti corrosion characteristic, the cooling characteristic should be keep alive. The main reason in my opinion is that the automotive industry would like to make money...

In a closed system where should come the oxygen for additional corrosion in a old cooling fluid ? Because of breathing ?

In my opinion it should be ok if you change all 5 years. (except you don`t drive the car regular !)

Bye Michel- who fill in only missing coolant in his daily driver
 
Dexcool is a good chemical. When it starts sludging is when oxygen is being introduced. Where does the oxygen come from? ninety nine percent of the time the radiator fill cap has gone fonguohlahed....

One good feature of dexcool is that when it mixes with oil, say head gasket leak, cracked block, etc. It turns to grease. So the bottom end of the engine, bearings, etc. can be reused if not severely driven.

I have seen a number of engines where the shop wanted to replace the block, because of the dexcool intermix where it had turned to grease, be pleasantly surprised when they flushed the lube and coolant system and returned the engine to life..
 
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