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Green or Orange Antifreeze?

DieselSlug

DieselSlug

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I read the other day that green antifreeze slowly destorys radiators, and that the orange is not supposed to. I know your not supposed to mix them, but i thought the orange was for newer cars and trucks? I want to know what i should put in my truck when the new 6.5 goes in, green or orange? Is it ok to put water wetter in both? I currently have w/w in with my green stuff.... Thanks!!
 
To each his own! It is all what you want to run in it.

Some people run green, some people run orange. Too me it is what you want just, do not mix them.
 
I personally hate the orange stuff. I have found it likes to eat aluminium. I know there aint much of it on a 6.5 but I stick to the green, and water wetter.
 
Assuming good brands and quality stuff.

The orange aint bad if you keep air out of it ie no leaks AND you change it according to maintenance schedule at the 100K miles or 4-5 years.

The green is ok too but I think you are suppose to change it earlier.

According to some it doesn't matter water choice but I like and recommend distilled water.

Water causes the corrosion. The antifreeze is lube and anti-corrosion additive for the system . It does help with the boil point some but pressure also is what increases the boil point.

Boats corrode away in fresh water and way worse in salt water without any antifreeze at all. Its dissimalar metals, heat, and oxygen thats the mix to create an atmosphere for corrosion (oxidation).
 
5yr for Dex (Orange) or when ph test strip says time for a change Dex and what is in both of my 6.5s, no issues, at all with the aluminum rad, heater core, and aluminum heater plumbing running across the top of the engine.

Some switch to the green which works equally well, you need to fully flush all Dex out though if switching to the green. Green not normally considered "long life" antifreeze like Dex. Personally I have not found the need for water wetter, or other coolant modifiers.
 
From what I have seen you need to be careful switching from the red dexcool to green anti-freeze. I have seen SEVERAL water pumps fail within months of doing this. The one antifreeze I will NEVER EVER run again is the PRESTONE universal SHIT!!! It is the absolute WORST there is and has caused me more grief than I want to admit. It provides virtually no corrsion or rust resistance and I think it actually promotes it. Run a good high quality anti-freeze of either color first and foremost, I personally like to stick to what came in them from the factory though. I reccomend and use ZEREX in ALL of my vehicles, and that is ALL that will go in them if I can help it from now on.
 
I'm a 40/60 green "Peak" man, myself. (I service it every two years)
I've seen and heard too many horror stories (sludge and corrosion) with the extended life Dex-Cool.

JMO
 
See to me I thought orange was lifetime and red was dexcool. I flushed mine out and used Lifetime which can mix with dexcool but I'm pretty sure I got asll the dexcool out cause I flushed it with the water pump removed so I was able to put high pressure (60psi)water right into the block.
 
maybe there are two types of dexcool. i dont know but i will tell you that the dex cool in my truck is orange. but now that i think when i flushed my truck it was red which i was told by my uncle is some cheap dex cool. dont quote me on that though. i had a similar thread a few months ago. basically it doesnt matter.

i run orange dex cool because its what it came from the factory with and i didnt have time to completely flush the system and clean everything to make sure it was gone so it would be safe to run green. plus i kinda like the idea of waiting 5 years till the next flush
 
In summary, the green and dex don't mix. If you are currently have green stick with it and similarly with Dex, stick with it.

DieselSlug, if you are talking about your 94, it was using regular green. The DexCool started sometimes in 96 or 97 year. Unless, somebody changed it with a DexCool, you may be better using Green.
 
PMD came mounted on the IP too if youre all about factory.... And the danger starts at 260 according to teh factory gauges.

LOL... I switched over to green 8 months ago (Same ORIGINAL waterpump FYI). I heard of a slimey gunky sludge thing that happens with the Dex-Cool should it enter the engine oil destroying bearings fast on a possibly otherwise saveable engine.... But if A/F is in the oil anyhow you gots issues i guess.......

To each his own. When I'm leaking A/F I want to see a green puddle.

ON EDIT. I should say Same original waterpump on DEX-COol with 120k miles on it when I changed it. So It lasted a long time.
 
well my truck isnt overheating even after towing almost 5K worth of lawn tractors and misc parts. this is on a all stock truck. i understand your points but why replace something that is working and no proof it will stop working before its intended lifetime.
 
I think different brands have different tints. Texaco is more orangeish and not sure whose is more redish. I can't remember the details but I have read it before "Dexcool or orange" is typically propolene (spelling?) glycol and "Green" is ethelyne glycol. Seems my original stuff was more reddish too.

Google ethelyne vs propolene glycol for more info.

The green does have slightly higher specific heat than orange but shorter life expectancy and is much more toxic. Green is sweet (I have taken a mouth full of it) and animals like it which makes it worse being toxic. Some brands add a bitter agent. Might have been a mandate not sure.

IIRC green is about 2-3 years age and orange is 5 years. None of the normal stuff lasts forever. I have seen green antifreeze radiators with the coolant stained with rust and brown crud because it wasn't changed.

About lawsuit my understanding is they made a formulation change and its better now than when it first came out. I am guessing the first systems allowed too much air into the system and allowed excessive oxidation. Might have been from poor maintenance or other weak mix bad water etc. Expansion tanks and bleeding along with better formulation and education improved and time has proven dexcool is good stuff when used right. I think they might have touted it as lifetime but had to back off to 5 years due to problems with old age and might have contributed to class action.
 
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The ZEREX DEXCOOL I put into my DMAX is definately a red color. Also the new HD ZEREX green anti-freeze is a 5 year 100K mile formula now and meets ALL HD requirements for low silicate and cooling requirements.
 
I got rid of the dexcool after reading about it eating head gaskets. google dexcool lawsuit. how I flushed mine out was with a heater hose adapter kit from prestone designed for radiator flushing. cost was about 5.00 or you could just get a t-tap from somewhere. i ran the engine and turned the hose on with the rad cap off and the drain at the bottom of the rad open. did that for about two hours to make sure I had no orange left in the truck. Ed
 
I have heard that dex cool eats gaskets so i try to stay away from it at least in blazers it eats intake gaskets so I wouldn't think it would be good on head gaskets either. I was told to use green antifreeze in my truck and to use some sort of a cleaner type stuff I cant remember what it was called. The mechanic I was talking to said over time your antifreeze corrodes and becomes acidic. He said that it then is pretty much the same thing as battery acid. Although I've never tried it he said you could use a volt meter and get voltage out of your antifreeze. But the stuff he said to add is supposed to neutralize the acid he said it was a white milky looking stuff.
 
6.5coalroller said:
I have heard that dex cool eats gaskets so i try to stay away from it at least in blazers it eats intake gaskets so I wouldn't think it would be good on head gaskets either. I was told to use green antifreeze in my truck and to use some sort of a cleaner type stuff I cant remember what it was called. The mechanic I was talking to said over time your antifreeze corrodes and becomes acidic. He said that it then is pretty much the same thing as battery acid. Although I've never tried it he said you could use a volt meter and get voltage out of your antifreeze. But the stuff he said to add is supposed to neutralize the acid he said it was a white milky looking stuff.
Click to expand...

Most likely a SPA packet. Most people don't know it, but for years it has been reccomended to add an SPA packet to the anti-freeze in HD trucks and diesels. In big rigs it is already in your coolant filter that you change out once a year.
 
I stopped using the red crap in the big rig last year. Nasty stuff and ya can't mix anything with it. If you lose some and can't get more and add water the sruff is JUNK.

I wont use anything but good o'll green that you mix 50/50 with water. If you have to add a bunch of water to get home or in to fix something, no problemo, just drain out some and add a little concentrate to get the freeze point back to where ya need it.

Cheap, easy to use, a no brainer, and the stuff wont hurt the aluminum radiators or heater cores.

The fancy ELC stuff just eats your wallet me thinks..

MGW
 
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