After 101k miles of religiously changing Dexcool, I have decided to change to the green stuff (probably Peak universal).
When I would flush out the orange stuff, I would just open up the lower radiator hose and get most of the coolant out. Then I would fill the system with water, then open the hose again. Then I would refill with Dexcool. Not very efficient, but it worked well.
Now after hearing all of the horror stories of Dexcool, I 've decided to change it out. The problem is that I do not know how to empty out all of the Dexcool. So how do I get all of it out so that I don't mix the green and orange?
Thanks.

 

There's really nothing wrong with Dexcool, millions of vehicles run fine with it. It's when you mix it with green coolant that isn't designed to mix.

 

I really have never had any issues with it. I'm just worried that it could harm the engine. Then again, 101k later and this motor has just had the usual stuff, worst being head gasket changes (3 to be exact). To were covered by the warranty so the dealer might have just been making stuff up. The last one I did myself a few months ago just to be safe, but the gaskets looked fine. So now I'm confused. Should I still use Dexcool?

 

Up to you. I switched to green.

 

I've been wondering the same. Most newer vehicles use it. My friend is a master tech at Land Rover and he says all the vehicles there run on it. Even his own. Other than the BMW specific coolant he uses it in every truck that comes it. I've had corvettes and Tahoes with it. Our Toyotas use it. I really don't see the issue other than not changing it often enough. I would never use the same coolant for 100k like the book says. So if it's changed out regularly what's the issue?

 

One of the issues with Dexcool is, when it mixes with air (like a small leak), it becomes sludgy and starts eating gaskets and etc... Anyone can google "why is dexcool antifreeze bad for my car", and get there own opinion on it. Newer vehicles have improved gaskets to handle dexcool.

To get your dexcool out of your system, flush about 7 gallons of DI water through the system. Drain, fill, run engine till kinda warm, let cool down, drain, fill, repeat until your water is really clear, then put it back together with the green stuff. Might take a half day to do it correctly.

 

Remove the far right lower of the 2 11mm bolts on the water pump to help drain some additional coolant. Wrap with a thin layer of plumbers tape before re installing then flush as mentioned above.

 

I have been doing a bit of flushing/cleaning of my D2's cooling system prior to pump & thermostat replacements.

Removing lower radiator hose drains radiator but leaves a good amount of coolant in engine block. Block drains are a pain but doable if up on ramps and you have the tools. Alternative is the next lowest point to drain engine. Last time along with radiator I removed waterpump inlet hose & the heater outlet hose connection there at 4-way adapter. Flushed rad several times by filling/draining, heater though outlet tube, engine through pump inlet and down through top outlet fitting. Refilled with water and drove for awhile. Drain & refill with coolant. Access is easy by removing upper fan guard, fan/clutch, lower shroud and serpentine belt.

Slack *** easy way would be to just drain radiator, re-fill with water, operate to normal temp insuring good circulation and drain again. Repeat several times until drained fluid meets your clarity standards. That's a partial drain & dilute/drain procedure. Total amount of time spent probably the same as first option due to multiple cool down times.

One thing to remember is the clean water left in system when you flush/drain. If you just refill with 50/50 on a flushed system you will be under the 50% recommended antifreeze.


Good tip.
......

 

start your leaf blower and stick it in the upper hose, all the crap will blow out of the lower hose

 

Thanks for all of the replies. I think I will just stick to dexcool. I have not had any problems with it so far. Plus, changing it out for the green stuff seems like a big mess.