# Dexcool

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dexcool/223911>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 11, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dexcool/223911 "2004-01-11T02:33:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Typhoon\_777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Typhoon\_777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typhoon_777)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dexcool/223911/1 "2004-01-11T02:33:50Z")

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Greetings… Am wondering, for those of you who have a Post-1996 General Motors vehicle, with Dexcool antifreeze in the coolant system (the pink antifreeze), do you have more than normal problems with the cooling system? Thanks!

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**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dexcool/223911/2 "2004-01-11T02:36:38Z")

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I used to have a lot of problems with the heater core clogging in my 1996 Impala SS. When I flushed it, I would always get chunks of orange junk out of it. I have heard that GM put some kind of stopleak in at the factory, but I didn’t care enough to research it. It probably clogged up 4-5 times.

Nothing I can directly blame the coolant for, though.

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**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dexcool/223911/3 "2004-01-11T04:39:11Z")

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I had dexcool from the factory in my 96 Z28 and never had any problems. I had the car for 8 years and 65k miles. I changed it after 5 years and it came out clear with no sludge or rust.

I switched my other cars to dexcool also. The 71 Corvette was switched 3 years ago and the 83 Cadillac 2 years ago. No problems and the coolant is clean.

I understand GM had problems with some trucks. The rad caps would not seal and let air in. The air reacted with the coolant and created sludge that blocked coolant passages.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dexcool/223911/4 "2004-01-11T06:03:39Z")

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This is more of a survey than a factual question, so I’ll move it to the IMHO forum.

bibliophage  
moderator GQ

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**Author:** ![SendIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@SendIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SendIt)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dexcool/223911/5 "2004-01-12T13:23:55Z")

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Just had to replace both intake manifold gaskets on a 98 Chevy Malibu V6 3.2?L. I’ve heard this is a combination problem between the Dexcool and bad materials in the gaskets. It was a very expensive fix. The car has been a total pain in the ass since the warranty ran out.