Extended Life Antifreeze

[Petrella]

Hey guys i got a 94 burb, and i wanted to change the antifreeze b4 the cold weatherhit. Do you think i should use The extended life antifreeze or stick to the original 50/50 mix? Reason why I ask is cause I have a barrel of Caterpillar extended life antifreeze it has a strawberry color, and i was told that this is the best antifreeze to use. Any opinions?

Anthony
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1994 K2500 4x4 Suburban
6.5 Turbo Diesel
Pyro,Tranny,Oil,Diff temp Gauges, Boost Gauge
FSD Cooler from my GM dealer
Sweet sounding JK Exhaust
Boost Controller
Crystal Projection headlights, Turn signals and reflectors.
Euro Tail Lights
Cowl Induction Hood
2" Lift
305/70R/16 BF Goodrich All Terrains
3.73 Limited Slip
American Eagle 16x10 chrome wheels, style 145
Alpine Stereo,DVD,Navigation System, and Alarm
Indigo Blue Metallic
Pics of my truck - http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=anthony1982&x=22&y=5

[More Power]

Coolant and engine manufacturers recommend sticking with whatever coolant your vehicle came with.

Switching is possible, but the old stuff must be completely flushed out first.

Our 6.5 Project (http://www.thedieselpage.com/finale.htm) with a copper/brass radiator is still running the original Havoline Dex-Cool it was filled with in 1999 and 155,000 miles ago. There have been no problems. The coolant switch in this truck was easy to do because a newly reman'ed engine, new radiator, and all new hoses were installed along with the Dex-Cool. The heater core had been flushed with distilled water.

MP

[RT]

I had to pull the rad in my 93 for repair so when it went back in I flushed it with water, changing every day for about 2 weeks to get all the old stuff out. I am running Rotella ELC coolant. It is intended for HD diesel use and compatible with all metals. I say flush it really well and use the Cat stuff if you already have it. RT

[Petrella]

ok i definately will flush it really good, and use my cat stuff, but i wont get any future problems with water pumos leaking or failing, or gaskets leaking right?

[damork]

Petrella,

I am nearly at 200,000 miles and flushed completely at about 80,000 miles and started using Dexcool. I upgraded the water pump to the high volume pump and did the timing gears at just over 160k and the internal parts looked very clean. I haven't had problems with leaks and even switched my wife's 96 Explorer over to it while in the process. I also did it to a 1989 BMW that was 11 years old just to get the silicate stuff out of it to avoid problems building up the white stuff. It's also used on my parents farm when servicing old farm tractors - a 210 Allis Chalmers and a Farmall 806 both were switched to Dexcool with no headaches.

I wrote a procedure a while back and it may still be on the site, but the key is to flush completely. I know I had to have drained and filled my cooling system with clear water at least 3-4 times before I did the final fill with the Dexcool mix, and I used plenty of distilled water in the process. I have not had any cooling problems since the switch.

[Brandon]

DEXCOOL and CAT ELC (extended life coolant)are of the same chemical make. There are no additives to add other than extender at 300,000 miles. Some Cummins engines require a shot of silica when changing to ELC for the first time.

[eracers999]

GM dexcool and ELC are not the same. ELC is fortified with more carboxylate than dexcool. ELC is not specific to Cat either. It was designed for fleets and owner operators to eliminate the water filter set up by just adding the extender. You can use DCA to adjust the nitrate levels in the both of them but that then negates the extender in the ELC. The white stuff that some refer to that builds around the cores in the radiator is electrolisis (acidicy) DCA will counter this. Using the green and the Dexcool there is simply no reasone not to use DCA additive so that you can use the test strips to monitor the nitrate levels and never change your A/F. DCA only costs 5.00 a pint. 2 at first approx 1 every year after.
Kent

[ucdavis]

Some interesting info on "waterless" antifreeze:
http://www.evanscooling.com/html/tech1.htm

[eracers999]

UCDAVIS;

I've heard great things about this product, spendy though.

Kent

[Keith Richards]

Petrella, sorry to stray from original post ,but looks as if its been answered.Very nice suburban,how did you get the 2" lift? Is this a body lift,and if you dont mind telling me hyow much it cost you?Thats the heght I would like my truck to be at,plus larger tires would accomodate my 4.10 gearing.

[Petrella]

actually, all i did was tighten up the torsion bars and it lifted the front 2 inches, then for the rear i added 2" spacers between the leaf springs and the axle.

[MikeC]

UCDavis,

I had Evans in my Burban at the time I did the reader's rigs article. It no longer is in the truck, but rather in use in my motorcycle and compact diesel tractor.

Other than the need to have extra coolant when traveling (since it's not a stock item at parts stores) just in case the radiator takes a hit, it just didn't seem to release heat well. I had put a recalibrated fan clutch and a Dmax fan on my 6.5 while the Evans was in it. The clutch did not seem to kick in until after the ECT was about 220. After changing it out for Dex-Cool the fan started kicking in just below 200 and the temp stays reasonable while the temp seemed to climb with the Evans in it. I really don't know if the Evans Coolant was at fault but the Dex-Cool just works better for me.

Mike