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Thread: orange coolant

  1. #1
    Detailing + Design third_shift|studios's Avatar
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    orange coolant

    I have orange coolant-it's been there since I bought it 2 years ago. it's bright orange, not rust colored. I need to add some but I only have green stuff here and a friend told me never mix the two. True or false and where do I find this orange stuff if it's true?

    edit
    so i bought some GM Dexcool orange coolant and dumped about a Cup of it in my radiator to fill it to the top. I did about an hour of hard driving and temp was fine. Got off the freeway and started driving through town normally. Noticed that the temp was damn near the red line, pulled into the shade and shut it off. Opened the rad cap and couldn't see anything it there so i dumped a whole gallon of 50/50 in there...and could barely see it in the radiator. Car temp remained right up the center for the other 3 miles to my home. Pulled in the garage and i hear bubbling/gurgling from the overflow tank and see it's kinda wet all around the overflow cap-opened the overlow cap and it's up to the brim. Opened the rad cap and i can't see coolant at all.

    Can't see any indication of coolant leaking anywhere though-not on the block, not under the car, not from teh radiator or the new lines i installed

    do i just need more coolant???
    Last edited by third_shift|studios; 04-12-2009 at 12:23 PM.

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    My Neighbors Hate Me!!! lvbroham1's Avatar
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    True, do not mix them. It's dexacool it's at any local parts store, i think wally world even has it....

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    Single Malt rbob93's Avatar
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    Dexcool is orange.....it's alway best to flush coolant yearly.....fuck that 100K interval

    I think it's ok to mix them now.....long ago it was bad joojoo......Me??? I'd flush it

    Yep Wally World carries it.....Don't use the "PreMix".....mix your own 50/50

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    Detailing + Design third_shift|studios's Avatar
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    thanks!

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    Veteran pajeff02's Avatar
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    I think Shell, Prestone and Havoline all have GM approved versions of DEXCOOL. The factory service manual (from 2002) recommends either the factory or Havoline stuff.

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    Life in the Fast lane sunsetorangess's Avatar
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    Met. Sunset Orange
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    Now a days, they actualy have a universal coolant, it mixes with dex and the normal Green. Just have to read the label to make sure..
    J
    2001 SS, Its not the car its the Driver that matters....

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    Detailing + Design third_shift|studios's Avatar
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    so i bought some GM Dexcool orange coolant and dumped about a Cup of it in my radiator to top it off. I did about an hour of hard driving and temp was fine. Got off the freeway and started driving through town normally. Noticed that the temp was damn near the red line, pulled into the shade and shut it off. Opened the rad cap and couldn't see anything it there so i dumped a whole gallon of 50/50 in there...and could barely see it in the radiator. Car temp remained right up the center for the other 3 miles to my home. Pulled in the garage and i hear bubbling/gurgling from the overflow tank and see it's kinda wet all around the overflow cap-opened the overlow cap and it's up to the brim. Opened the rad cap and i can't see coolant at all.

    Can't see any indication of coolant leaking anywhere though-not on the block, not under the car, not from teh radiator or the new lines i installed

    do i just need more coolant???

  8. #8
    James Bond Spikito's Avatar
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    My coolant was rust colored and stunk, ive got a leak somewhere, been adding water to replace, finally flushed and refilled mine....it seems to have helped, bt i keeps getting hot and i have to add more, I think its just air working its way around

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    Senior Member Too Fast's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by third_shift|studios View Post
    so i bought some GM Dexcool orange coolant and dumped about a Cup of it in my radiator to top it off. I did about an hour of hard driving and temp was fine. Got off the freeway and started driving through town normally. Noticed that the temp was damn near the red line, pulled into the shade and shut it off. Opened the rad cap and couldn't see anything it there so i dumped a whole gallon of 50/50 in there...and could barely see it in the radiator. Car temp remained right up the center for the other 3 miles to my home. Pulled in the garage and i hear bubbling/gurgling from the overflow tank and see it's kinda wet all around the overflow cap-opened the overlow cap and it's up to the brim. Opened the rad cap and i can't see coolant at all.

    Can't see any indication of coolant leaking anywhere though-not on the block, not under the car, not from teh radiator or the new lines i installed

    do i just need more coolant???
    Could be a simple fix: Radiator cap. I've seen them where they let the pressure out (hence your overflow tank overfilled and wet around the top) but they won't let the coolant get sucked back into the radiator. I would try a new cap first, see what happens. Yes, fill the radiator to the top then put the new cap on, the overflow should be over the full cold when you do this. That way it should help purge the air in your cooling system after a few hot/cold cycles.

    Good luck!

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    Detailing + Design third_shift|studios's Avatar
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    I think my rad cap is good-it wasn't letting steam out or anything. It was holding pressure fine utnil I opened the rad cap while it was still hot and tons of steam came out. But my overflow cap might be bad-when i twist it down, it gets tight then pops, like it jumped a thread and has to be tightened again.

    Right now the car is cold. i can see the fluid about 3 inches below the rad cap and the fluid doesnt even appear on the overflow dipstick-any thoughts?

  11. #11
    Senior Member Cutlass's Avatar
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    Have you work on the cooling system recently? If so, then yes you need to just add more coolant and get the air pockets out of the system. Are you familiar with burping the cooling system?

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    The Bandit Wesman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rbob93 View Post
    Dexcool is orange.....it's alway best to flush coolant yearly.....fuck that 100K interval

    I think it's ok to mix them now.....long ago it was bad joojoo......Me??? I'd flush it

    Yep Wally World carries it.....Don't use the "PreMix".....mix your own 50/50
    No, its much better to use 50/50 because you're getting half coolant and half distilled water. Using tap water from the hose is not good for the system because there are minerals and contaminants in the water that can cause cooling system corrosion and degradation of the coolant.

    So unless you have distilled water available to mix with, just use 50/50.

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    Veteran pajeff02's Avatar
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    To fill the system: Begin with the engine cold and the radiator cap off. Start the engine, turn your heater control all the way to "Hot" and blower fan on to ensure circulation through the heater core (not sure if it has a valve in the system to keep hot water out of the core, so this way you know it will circulate).

    As the engine warms up, blip the throttle and you should see coolant flowing back into the radiator from the throttle body hose (bypassed, or not). The goal is to work the air out of the cooling system -- I even bounce the car on its suspension a bit and rock it side to side. Run the rpms up and down during this process to help push the air out. Monitor your temp -- use your gauge, an OBD-II scanner, a cooking thermometer, or even a laser temp sensor to keep an eye on things if you thing you may have a problem.

    As the temp comes up, you should begin to feel your driver side main hose -- once the thermostat opens this hose will start to warm up. After the thermostat opens all the way, the hose should eventually get too hot to hold. If this hose stays cold -- you have a problem with your thermostat. Shut the engine down, allow it to cool, and then try again so as not to overheat it.

    Once the engine is hot and the air is worked out, re-install the radiator cap and shut down. After the engine cools, fill your overflow tank to the "Full - Cold" line with a 50/50 mix and you should be done. The nice thing about the LS is that it has an air bleed at the top of the motor in the cooling system. Also, the thermostat has a small hole to also allow air to bleed out during the fill process.

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    Single Malt rbob93's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wesman View Post
    No, its much better to use 50/50 because you're getting half coolant and half distilled water. Using tap water from the hose is not good for the system because there are minerals and contaminants in the water that can cause cooling system corrosion and degradation of the coolant.

    So unless you have distilled water available to mix with, just use 50/50.
    Who the hell said use tap water?
    Distilled water costs only $1 & is available same place I buy my coolant.
    I'm not paying a premium price for something I can mix on my own, but you're welcome to do so if you want.

    Besides......how the hell do you know they use distilled water making the pre-mix???
    I bet it comes straight from the municipal water supply.

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    Quote Originally Posted by third_shift|studios View Post
    I think my rad cap is good-it wasn't letting steam out or anything. It was holding pressure fine utnil I opened the rad cap while it was still hot and tons of steam came out. But my overflow cap might be bad-when i twist it down, it gets tight then pops, like it jumped a thread and has to be tightened again.

    Right now the car is cold. i can see the fluid about 3 inches below the rad cap and the fluid doesnt even appear on the overflow dipstick-any thoughts?
    your radiator cap could still be bad even tho its not visibly "leaking". its function is to allow travel of coolant to and from the recovery tank when its called for. you cant necessarily "see" that its not working properly. cap on the recovery tank is just to keep coolant from splashing out and dirt from getting in, no coolant system function.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rbob93 View Post
    Who the hell said use tap water?
    Distilled water costs only $1 & is available same place I buy my coolant.
    I'm not paying a premium price for something I can mix on my own, but you're welcome to do so if you want.

    Besides......how the hell do you know they use distilled water making the pre-mix???
    I bet it comes straight from the municipal water supply.
    oh c'mon, its just like bottled drinking water, you know it comes from the clearest mountain springs you can find!

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    The Bandit Wesman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rbob93 View Post
    Who the hell said use tap water?
    Distilled water costs only $1 & is available same place I buy my coolant.
    I'm not paying a premium price for something I can mix on my own, but you're welcome to do so if you want.

    Besides......how the hell do you know they use distilled water making the pre-mix???
    I bet it comes straight from the municipal water supply.
    You didn't specify to use distilled water.

    If the manufacturers didn't use distilled (not saying all of them do, but the good ones do) you would see particles floating in the water, and it would have contaminants such as sulfur and chlorine in the coolant.

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    Single Malt rbob93's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wesman View Post
    You didn't specify to use distilled water.

    If the manufacturers didn't use distilled (not saying all of them do, but the good ones do) you would see particles floating in the water, and it would have contaminants such as sulfur and chlorine in the coolant.
    Exactly how do you KNOW they use distilled in the pre-mix?? That's my question.
    Here's a hint......you don't
    Mix your own & you know.

    BTW.....I have $10 that says all they do is filter the munincipal supply just like they do with bottled water sold at a $1 per in the drink machine.

  19. #19
    Detailing + Design third_shift|studios's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cutlass View Post
    Have you work on the cooling system recently? If so, then yes you need to just add more coolant and get the air pockets out of the system. Are you familiar with burping the cooling system?
    Yes, sort of. I had removed a lot of hose lines and replaced with braided steel. I recal coolant dripping from the hardline that runs over the block just under the throttle body.

    Quote Originally Posted by pajeff02 View Post
    To fill the system: Begin with the engine cold and the radiator cap off. Start the engine, turn your heater control all the way to "Hot" and blower fan on to ensure circulation through the heater core (not sure if it has a valve in the system to keep hot water out of the core, so this way you know it will circulate).

    As the engine warms up, blip the throttle and you should see coolant flowing back into the radiator from the throttle body hose (bypassed, or not). The goal is to work the air out of the cooling system -- I even bounce the car on its suspension a bit and rock it side to side. Run the rpms up and down during this process to help push the air out. Monitor your temp -- use your gauge, an OBD-II scanner, a cooking thermometer, or even a laser temp sensor to keep an eye on things if you thing you may have a problem.

    As the temp comes up, you should begin to feel your driver side main hose -- once the thermostat opens this hose will start to warm up. After the thermostat opens all the way, the hose should eventually get too hot to hold. If this hose stays cold -- you have a problem with your thermostat. Shut the engine down, allow it to cool, and then try again so as not to overheat it.

    Once the engine is hot and the air is worked out, re-install the radiator cap and shut down. After the engine cools, fill your overflow tank to the "Full - Cold" line with a 50/50 mix and you should be done. The nice thing about the LS is that it has an air bleed at the top of the motor in the cooling system. Also, the thermostat has a small hole to also allow air to bleed out during the fill process.
    damn, jeff! Thank you-looks like i have homework tomorrow.

  20. #20
    Senior Member Too Fast's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by third_shift|studios View Post
    I think my rad cap is good-it wasn't letting steam out or anything. It was holding pressure fine utnil I opened the rad cap while it was still hot and tons of steam came out. But my overflow cap might be bad-when i twist it down, it gets tight then pops, like it jumped a thread and has to be tightened again.

    Right now the car is cold. i can see the fluid about 3 inches below the rad cap and the fluid doesnt even appear on the overflow dipstick-any thoughts?
    You had no problems before you changed a few hoses? Still kinda sounds like some air in the system. Also could be a coincidence that your thermostat is not working right, not opening all the way.

    It does sound like your radiator cap is ok, it works 2 ways: to let the car build some pressure, around 15 lbs, to raise the boiling point; and also a vacuum valve to allow coolant to flow from the reserve tank back into the radiator. That's why I suggested a new cap earlier.

    Like the other detailed post said about how to purge the air, make sure while you are filling your coolant to not let your engine overheat. Keep a close eye on the temp when running until you know it is full and not going to overheat.

    Usually a good way to know the air in the system is gone is when you get good hot temp from your heater again. There are other vaiables, of course.

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