Which coolant should I use?

I will not run DeathCool in anything I own. It is horrible in systems that do not have a pressurized reserve bottle setup. Even the newer formulation will turn to mud when exposed to air. I have Fleet Charge in the 97 Van. Everything else has Nissan Blue coolant. The FleetCharge has additives similar to Royal Purple ICE or Water Wetter already in it to help make heat transfer more efficient. Figured the hot running 383 needed all the help it could get.

The 2005 L31 that is in the 1987 G20 van had 2" of deathcool mud in the block.

Too many vehicles on the road successfully running Dex to write it off.
As for old green it wasn't formulated for aluminum heads if I understand correctly.

tinfoil_hat said:

Too many vehicles on the road successfully running Dex to write it off.
As for old green it wasn't formulated for aluminum heads if I understand correctly.

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I wrote it off years ago, seeing a lot of vehicles with the same issues. I still see issues with it. It will always be one of the first things I change in a vehicle I own. I have had to pull block drains and poke a piece of wire through the Death Cool sludge on multiple vehicles to drain the cooling systems. Then it leaves gummy cruddy buildup everywhere that has to be chemically flushed out with multiple cooling system.

454cid said:

It's almost all ethylene glycol. It's the additives that change. But if I'm understanding you correctly, you're using the old green "traditional" silicated coolant.

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Yes sir,good ol green silicated.

454cid said:

I've read it being suggested that the reason hoses last so long now is because the newer coolant.

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I think I'd rather replace hoses every ten years rather than head and/or manifold gaskets.

454cid said:

Newer coolants handle the newer materials better than the old stuff, too.

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What newer materials? Blocks and heads are still cast iron or aluminum,radiator cores are still aluminum,hoses are still reinforced rubber or silicone.

454cid said:

Our cooling systems were not designed from the start to best handle Dexcool.

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Apparently not!
If it weren't for rust formation and we do get below freezing temps here I would run straight water. The water does the cooling,the aintifreeze/coolant just lowers the freezing point and raises the boiling point. I discovered this on a Model T Ford. As many know the Model T had no water pump. We put a 50/50 mix in the cooling system to prevent it from freezing and when the weather warmed up it overheated and puked most of the coolant out. We refilled it with straight water and no more overheating.

Scooterwrench said:

I think I'd rather replace hoses every ten years rather than head and/or manifold gaskets.

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But that's not the case, in an engine designed for Dexcool, baring other problems like an EGR cooler in a Ford Powerstroke, or a fitting that cracks on a 3800.

Scooterwrench said:

What newer materials? Blocks and heads are still cast iron or aluminum,radiator cores are still aluminum,hoses are still reinforced rubber or silicone.

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Yes, those new materials you listed (except iron). Green silicated wasn't the greatest with aluminum. Radiators used to be brass/copper, and engines had much less aluminum than they due now. Also there's more plastic. Even alloys have changed.... compacted iron? Magnesium with the aluminum (I know BMW did that).

Scooterwrench said:

Apparently not!
If it weren't for rust formation and we do get below freezing temps here I would run straight water. The water does the cooling,the aintifreeze/coolant just lowers the freezing point and raises the boiling point. I discovered this on a Model T Ford. As many know the Model T had no water pump. We put a 50/50 mix in the cooling system to prevent it from freezing and when the weather warmed up it overheated and puked most of the coolant out. We refilled it with straight water and no more overheating.

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Running straight water is a terrible idea, outside of maybe a race situation, where the next 500 laps is what matters. Old cars like Model Ts didn't run as long or hard as a modern engines.

454cid said:

Old cars like Model Ts didn't run as long or hard as a modern engines.

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Ha-ha, You never met John Hodges. He ran his A's and T's WFO every time he climbed in them and drove them miles and miles that way. His other car was a Chevette and it stayed in the driveway most of the time.

All coolant goes bad eventually and all coolant should be flushed and changed.

Caman96 said:

All coolant goes bad eventually and all coolant should be flushed and changed.

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^^^ This. I've been running the green stuff for over 20 years in my truck and haven't had any issues. I just change it every couple of years. Here's when I pulled it due to a spun rod bearing, but the coolant was still clean



At the same time, here's my aluminum heads after 4 years.

PlayingWithTBI said:

^^^ This. I've been running the green stuff for over 20 years in my truck and haven't had any issues. I just change it every couple of years. Here's when I pulled it due to a spun rod bearing, but the coolant was still clean

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At the same time, here's my aluminum heads after 4 years.

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Look good! I've tore down water cooled bike engines that are all aluminum and the water jackets were clean as a whistle inside.
Did those head come ported like that or did you massage them.

Scooterwrench said:

Did those head come ported like that or did you massage them.

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Nope, they're the fast burn "as cast" design (similar to GMPP fast burn), with angled plugs.