Dexcool works just fine with our engines, and is especially formulated to work with aluminium radiators (like ours). You ONLY run into nasty issues if you have leaks in the cooling system, that allow air to mix with the Dexcool. Then you run into problems down the road. If your keeping on top of the cooling system, periodically inspecting for leaks and addressing leaks when they are present then it does not matter which coolant your using. Most of the folks on these forums who have cooling system issues are using the green stuff. Just comes down to poor vehicle maintenance. The green coolant is more toxic to the environment and especially animals like dogs and cats.


I recommend you guys do 2-4 cooling system flushes using distilled water and Prestone radiator flush. Do as many times until fluid in the expansion tank is clear and clean. Then drain and add desired antifreeze/coolant and bleed the system. Check for leaks and top off as needed and make sure the engine temp does not spike. I suggest using Land Rover recommended XLC Coolant. Also be a good idea to swap out the tan thermostat for the grey 180 thermostat. Cheers

 

To those starting dexcool is ok...

Most of the people on this forum that have cooling issues is due to air bubbles and poorly bled systems, not green coolant. My rover runs exactly the same temp no matter what coolant is in there. I dont have any cake growing on my throttle body heater and my water pump actually lasts longer than 3 years.

There is a class action lawsuit against the stuff.

Erodes gaskets, clogs cooling system components. The class action won so payments will be made. I wonder how soon dexcool will stop being made.

Why run dexcool and have to do added checks and more gasket changes? There is a peace of mind with running the green stuff. It's a no brainer.

 

I personally use and have found the BMW blue coolant to be the best. It is designed for aluminum radiators and blocks, and is very stable in our cooling systems.

I've used it in my Discovery for 150k+ miles, with annual changes. I have found that it works perfectly, and shows no sign of clogging, degradation to cooling system materials, and seems to be preserving the o rings and gaskets well.

 

Class action lawsuits dont necessarily prove anything. For example In 1994 Stella Liebeck filed a ridiculous lawsuit against Mcdonalds, after she accidentally spilled coffee in her lap. Her own stupidity. She walked away $640,000 richer. Americans have a thing filing absurd lawsuits over the stupidest ****. Anything to get attention, spotlight in the headlines and a fat paycheck.

GM never admitted responsibility for any damages supposidly caused by the use of Dex-cool. They only agreed to pay some money to reduce legal fees. According to GM rep Tom Wilkinson "the firm was not admitting any wrongdoing but was settling the case to cut down on legal bills. "Our experience with Dex-Cool is that when the cooling system is kept full and properly maintained, we haven't seen any problems," he said. "These kinds of things appear to be issues of low coolant, which isn't unusual with high-mileage vehicles, so we decided to agree to the settlement."

 

Actually it was found to eat away at nylon type gaskets at a microscopic level which eventually lead to failure...which is a pretty common type of gasket, just saying.

A gasket was pulled from one GM engine using green coolant and one from dexcool, guess which one was more seriously eroded?
With more and more gasket manufacturers making gaskets, cheaper, out of cheap materials...why even bother with dexcool?

I just tore down my d2 yo do the heads and find out why the back of the head was leaking and guess what I found?
Practically brand new head gaskets. The ones i pulled off in 2012 were terribly destroyed, this set the only problem was the rear cooling port had broken allowing the leak. I have also noted that my throttle body heater hasn't leaked a drop since i changed to green.

GM may not have admitted to fault in the class action lawsuit in your mind, but since they have started using a dexcool safe gasket I think that's enough for me.

You know that little nipple on the rad that goes to the overflow tank? Do you know why that breaks when you barely bump it? Because the dexcool has eroded away at it. Did you ever feel in the hose fittings and feel soft plastic? I have. That's dexcool erosion...nylon based plastics are VERY popular...

 

Im not going to speculate. I prefer to stick with the facts. Fact is many Americans do not take care of their cars. Many folks neglect to check their fluids say nothing about keeping everything topped off and changing fluids as recommended. Im not saying most people neglect vehicle maintenance just saying many people do neglect. A brake flush for example cost about $75 at local shops. Transmission flush is about $99. A gallon of coolant ranges from $12-15. Gallon of transmission fluid for my truck cost nearly $30. Fluids are not cheap nor is labor charge to pay a shop. Many folks jyst wanna drive the car into the ground and care less about routine maintenance. This is a problem. People need to take responsibility for their actions and hold themselves accountable rather than pinning all the blame on a manufacturer or food chain.

GM has pretty much admitted that low coolant levels where air is allowed to mix with dex-cool can result is serious issues. No argument there. Fact is dex-cool is still readily available in most auto parts stores and retail department stores. If the product was truly and unquestionably bad then the product would have been pulled and retailers would stop stocking it. Looks like dex-cool is here to stay and GM still recommends it for some of their vehicles. I trust they know what they are doing. All we can do is speculate and stir up mass hysteria and try our luck at a $$$$$$ settlement.

As for recomnended coolant for your Land Rover. Why not stick to the books and use Land Rover coolant. I have yet to hear any complaints about the product and Atlantic British stands behind it so why not?

 

You're speculating, I'm providing facts.

Science has analyzed dexcool and its interaction with nylon, Google it.

GM changed the formula of the way their gaskets are made so they can live with dexcool.

GM will not admit the real problem because of the HUGE government payout they received from using dexcool. They have tons of money tied up in the dexcool use.



Google nylon and dexcool and you will see what happens. It IS Fact.

Why not use dexcool? Because maybe changing gaskets every three years and risking goop growing in your radiator just isnt worth it? Why should I have to constantly monitor my coolant and spend countless dollars on gaskets and coolant when I dont have too?

The book was written before they knew everything about nylon and dexcool. Sometimes, books are written with good intentions..but, authors make mistakes.

If you read some of the books of the bible it states jesus was married and not crucified....which Is it.

Remember there are MANY people that use these forums that dont do complete fluid changes every year, or worry about what temp they have, ultragauge etc.
If you want to tell everyone to do more maintenance, why not just tell them to buy a Honda and stay away from these shėtty design of a truck?

Use the green. Your engine, hoses, radiator will remain spotless, and the gaskets will last a hell of allot longer than with the crap dexcool that factually eats the cheaper gaskets that companies are making and clog major components when you get air in a faulty system that's bound to developed air.

Why should we relocate our coil packs?
Why should we change to steel bumpers?
Why should we use an external thermostat?

It's really a no brainer.

 

Speculating on why GM will or will not take responsibility is speculation at best. Weather Government bailout had any influence or not is also speculation. Google does not make us much smarter nor does it substitute a degree. I can do a google search on 10 reasons why the earth is supposidly flat, or how the moon landing was a haox or how there are apparently 72 different genders.... does not mean its fact. Half the **** we find on google is copied and pasted or opinions collected from a journal archive. Im not saying your right or wrong. But I believe GM like all other vehicle manufacturers have access to resources that we simply do not have access to and thus they know better than a bunch of old timers on a forum. I imagine they have their own quality control division and laboratories and conduct regular experiments on their products including Dex-cool. Experiments the demand round the clock supervision, control groups and state of the art equipment and computers to properly analyze etc. In contrast all we have are claims from people who are trying to cash in on a lawsuit.

Back to Land Rover coolant. Im not sure if it is the same as dex-cool or not. I have speculated in the past that it might be the same but I have no absolute evidence to prove either or. You need to remember that the Buick/Rover V8 has been in production for ages well before our manuals were ever published. To say that the expert mechanics, techniqians, scinetists and designers who manufactured the block and the vehicles and for whom came up with the recommendations for what fluids to use with said engine, that they are stupid or that they did not know better is absurd at best. To assume forum folks are more knowledgeable than the designers is absurd.

Im sticking with Land Rover coolant and I will keep tabs on my engine, the cooling system and the performance. Let this be an experiment in favor of using Land Rover coolant vs the toxic green ****. Cheers

 

Yea, it's a Buick engine with green coolant.

Why have we gone decades using green with little issues, and then, when we switch we wind up with countless problems.

It's actually not the dexcool fault, it's what the gaskets are made of.

And why GM lost isnt really important either.

What fact is important, is that dexcool does eat rover gaskets, even more so now that cheaper gasket makers are making our gaskets, we all have issues with dexcool, regardless of your maintenance plan, it does clog radiators...none of which green does.

 

That lawsuit wasn't because she spilled the coffee, but because the coffee was so hot that she received 2nd and 3rd degree burns because of it. She was hospitalized.

She didn't even want to sue, but because it was so extreme her kids talked her into it.